During February, a cyclone hits the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, killing 26[1]
1 March - Adelaide and large parts of southern South Australia are shaken by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, resulting in the injuries of 16 people, and a damage bill of £17 million (2017: $578 million).
3 April – Vladimir Petrov, a Soviet diplomat, defects to Australia, sparking the Petrov Affair
On 31 October, the first Vickers Viscount aircraft delivered to Australia crashed at Mangalore Airport while on a training flight only days after its arrival in Australia, killing 3 of the 7 people on board.[2]
^"Viscount Crashes" Archived 16 July 2024 at the Wayback MachineThe Argus - 1 November 1954, p.1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 2012-07-01
^"Carol TOMCALA - Olympic Shooting | Australia". International Olympic Committee. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.