1955 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1955 in Australia.
| 1955 in Australia | |
|---|---|
| Monarchy | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General | William Slim |
| Prime minister | Robert Menzies |
| Population | 9,199,729 |
| Elections | Federal, TAS, VIC |
| |||||
| Decades: |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See also: | |||||
Incumbents
- Monarch – Elizabeth II
- Governor-General – Sir William Slim
- Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
- Chief Justice – Sir Owen Dixon
State Premiers
- Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
- Premier of Queensland – Vince Gair
- Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
- Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
- Premier of Victoria – John Cain I (until 7 June), then Henry Bolte
- Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke
State Governors
Events
- 19 February – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established at a meeting in Bangkok.[1]
- 22–28 February – 1955 Hunter Valley floods: Enormous flooding of the Hunter River and adjacent areas of the Murray–Darling basin causes loss of life and set many rainfall and streamflow records.
- 19 April – Australian Labor Party split of 1955. Expelled members form the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist), predecessor of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP).
- 28 May – A state election is held in Victoria. John Cain's Labor government is defeated by the Liberal and Country Party, led by Henry Bolte.
- August – Widespread floods and exceedingly persistent rainfall effect the southern fringe of the continent.
- 12 August – The aircraft carrier HMAS Vengeance is returned to the British Royal Navy.[2]
- 21 August – The Consolidated Zinc Corporation announced it has discovered bauxite at Weipa, Queensland.[3]
- 28 October – The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne is commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy.[2]
- 16 November – The Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia is established.
- 23 November – The Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean are transferred from British to Australian control.
- 10 December – Federal election: The incumbent Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party led by Arthur Fadden defeat the Labor Party led by H. V. Evatt. Malcolm Fraser first enters Parliament as Liberal member for Wannon.
Science and technology
- The Guthega power station becomes the first to generate electricity in the Snowy Mountains Scheme
Arts and literature
- 28 November – Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll receives its stage premiere by the Union Theatre Repertory Company in Melbourne with the playwright in a leading role; this is influential as the first authentically naturalistic modern drama in the theatre of Australia[4]
- 19 December – Dame Edna Everage makes her first stage appearance, in Melbourne
- John Brack paints The Car and Collins St., 5 pm in Oakleigh, Victoria
- Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Robert Campbell Esq.
- Donald Friend wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work St John and Scenes from the Apocalypse
- Patrick White's novel The Tree of Man is published
- Alan Marshall's childhood autobiography I Can Jump Puddles is published
Film
- Jedda, a film by Charles Chauvel, is released
Sport and recreation
- Board games
- 19 January – Australian debut of Scrabble
- Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
- England defeats Australia 3–1 in The Ashes
- Football
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
- Victorian Football League premiership: Melbourne defeated Collingwood 64–36
- Rugby
- Bledisloe Cup: won by the All Blacks
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Valleys defeat Brothers 17–7
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeat Newtown 12–11
- Golf
- Australian Open: won by Bobby Locke
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Ossie Pickworth
- Horse Racing
- Rising Fast wins the Caulfield Cup
- Kingster wins the Cox Plate
- Toparoa wins the Melbourne Cup
- Motor Racing
- The Australian Grand Prix is held at Port Wakefield and won by Jack Brabham driving a Cooper Bristol
- Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Ken Rosewall defeats Lew Hoad 9–7 6–4 6–4
- Australian Open women's singles: Beryl Penrose Collier defeats Thelma Coyne Long 6–4 6–3
- Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 5–0 in the 1955 Davis Cup final
- Wimbledon: Rex Hartwig and Lew Hoad win the Gentlemen's Doubles
- Yachting
- Even takes line honours and Moonbi wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Births
- 1 January – Mario Andreacchio, film director
- 6 January – Graham Murray, rugby league player and coach (died 2013)
- 13 January – Paul Kelly, rock musician
- 10 February – Greg Norman, golfer
- 4 March – Tim Costello, Baptist minister and CEO of World Vision
- 23 April – Judy Davis, actress
- 3 May – David Hookes (died 2004), cricketer
- 31 May – Tommy Emmanuel, guitarist
- 23 June – Alan J. Gow, motorsport executive
- 5 July – Peter McNamara, tennis player
- 24 July – David Smith, race walker
- 27 July – Allan Border, cricketer
- 5 August – Robert Flower (died 2014), footballer
- 19 August – Mary-Anne Fahey, actress and comedian
- 5 October – Wilbur Wilde, saxophonist
- 8 October – Paul Lennon, Premier of Tasmania
- 11 December – David Atkins, actor and dancer
- 19 December– Lincoln Hall (died 2012), mountain climber
Deaths
- 10 May – John Radecki (born 1865 in Poland), stained-glass artist
- 6 June – Max Meldrum (born 1875), painter
- 1 August – Charles Shaw (born 1900), fiction writer
- 26 August – Peter Corsar Anderson (born 1871 in Scotland), golfer[5]
- 11 November – Harry Cobby (born 1894), military aviator
- 19 December – Keith Smith (born 1890), aviation pioneer
References
- "Casey Signs SEATO Pact". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 10 September 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- "Our new carrier 'Most modern afloat'". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 6 April 1955. p. 5. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- "Great Promise in Bauxite Deposits". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 23 August 1956. p. 19. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- Fitzpatrick, Peter (1979). After The Doll: Australian Drama Since 1955. Studies in Australian culture. Melbourne: Edward Arnold Australia. p. vii. ISBN 0726720402.
- "Biographical Entry". Australian Dictionary of Biography Online.
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