In outlining the enormous internal changes in the overall stable Australian suicide rate, the author remarks on the 50% increase in the female rate from 1881-1984 & the dramatic rise in youth suicide, particularly among teenagers from 1961-84. He briefly discusses marriage as a protective factor; the increasd risk for immigrants; the main causes of suicide as related to age; the 10 highest suicide prone male ocupations; methods, noting the rise in the use of guns; time & seasonal factors. (GW)