1956 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1956 in Australia.
1956 in Australia | |
---|---|
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor-General | William Slim |
Prime minister | Robert Menzies |
Population | 9,425,563 |
Elections | WA, SA, NSW, TAS, QLD |
| |||||
Decades: |
| ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
See also: |
Incumbents
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Portrait_Menzies_1950s.jpg/140px-Portrait_Menzies_1950s.jpg)
- 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 – Henry Bolte
- Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke
State Governors
- Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
- Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
- Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
- Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet
- Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
- Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner
Events
- August - The Murray River flooded (the biggest flood in recorded history), affecting many towns near the river.
- 22 November – The 1956 Summer Olympics opened in Melbourne. The opening ceremony was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with 107,700 people watching.
Arts and literature
- William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize for his portrait of Albert Namatjira
- Quadrant literary magazine is founded, edited by James McAuley
Television
- 16 September – Australia's first TV station TCN-9 begins regular transmission in Sydney
- 4 November - HSV-7 begins as Melbourne's first TV Station.
- 5 November – The first TV station of the Australian Broadcasting Commission is launched; ABN-2 Sydney.
Sport
- 8 September – John Russell wins his first men's national marathon title, clocking 2:26:37.8 in Melbourne.
- Melbourne Cup winner in 1956 was Evening Peal, ridden by George Podmore Trained by E.D.Lawson
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
- Kurrewa IV takes line honours and Solo wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St George defeated Balmain
- Victorian Football League premiership: Melbourne defeated Collingwood
- Australian Men's Tennis Championship was won by Lew Hoad from NSW aged 22
- Australian Women's Tennis Championship was won by Miss Mary Carter
Births
- 9 January – Bill Leak, editorial cartoonist (d. 2017)
- 20 January – Richard Morecroft, English-Australian journalist
- 29 January – Ian Davies, basketball player (d. 2013)
- 6 February – Ken Lorraway, triple jumper (d. 2007)
- 27 February – Andrea Mitchell, Western Australian politician and sports administrator (d. 2020)
- 7 March – David Koch, television personality
- 9 March – Steve Vizard, actor
- 9 May – Jana Wendt, journalist
- 22 May – Peter Ali, basketball player
- 15 July – Steve Mortimer, rugby league footballer
- 21 July – Andy Campbell, basketball player
- 31 July – Ernie Dingo, actor
- 12 August – Suzanne Twelftree, Paralympic wheelchair tennis player and powerlifter (d. 2019)
- 17 August – John Kosmina, soccer player and manager
- 17 September – Ross Glendinning, Australian Rules footballer
- 17 September – Yunupingu, musician (Yothu Yindi) and community leader (d. 2013)
- 2 October ~ Peter Evans
- 16 October – Martin Sacks, actor
- 7 November
- Michael Wooldridge, politician
- Gordon McLeod, basketball player and assistant coach.
- 14 November – John Anderson, politician
- 23 November – Shane Gould, swimmer
Deaths
- 20 March – Fanny Durack, (b. 1889), swimmer[1]
- 29 May – Frank Beaurepaire, (b. 1891), swimmer and politician
- 12 July – John Hayes, (b. 1868), Premier of Tasmania
- 9 August – Archie Cameron, politician (b. 1895)[2]
See also
References
- ^ Helen King (1981). Bede Nairn; Geoff Serle (eds.). Durack, Sarah (Fanny) (1889–1956). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 1. Melbourne University Press. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Archie Galbraith Cameron (1895–1956)". Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- v
- t
- e
- 1801
- 1802
- 1803
- 1804
- 1805
- 1806
- 1807
- 1808
- 1809
- 1810
- 1811
- 1812
- 1813
- 1814
- 1815
- 1816
- 1817
- 1818
- 1819
- 1820
- 1821
- 1822
- 1823
- 1824
- 1825
- 1826
- 1827
- 1828
- 1829
- 1830
- 1831
- 1832
- 1833
- 1834
- 1835
- 1836
- 1837
- 1838
- 1839
- 1840
- 1841
- 1842
- 1843
- 1844
- 1845
- 1846
- 1847
- 1848
- 1849
- 1850
- 1851
- 1852
- 1853
- 1854
- 1855
- 1856
- 1857
- 1858
- 1859
- 1860
- 1861
- 1862
- 1863
- 1864
- 1865
- 1866
- 1867
- 1868
- 1869
- 1870
- 1871
- 1872
- 1873
- 1874
- 1875
- 1876
- 1877
- 1878
- 1879
- 1880
- 1881
- 1882
- 1883
- 1884
- 1885
- 1886
- 1887
- 1888
- 1889
- 1890
- 1891
- 1892
- 1893
- 1894
- 1895
- 1896
- 1897
- 1898
- 1899
- 1900
- 1901
- 1902
- 1903
- 1904
- 1905
- 1906
- 1907
- 1908
- 1909
- 1910
- 1911
- 1912
- 1913
- 1914
- 1915
- 1916
- 1917
- 1918
- 1919
- 1920
- 1921
- 1922
- 1923
- 1924
- 1925
- 1926
- 1927
- 1928
- 1929
- 1930
- 1931
- 1932
- 1933
- 1934
- 1935
- 1936
- 1937
- 1938
- 1939
- 1940
- 1941
- 1942
- 1943
- 1944
- 1945
- 1946
- 1947
- 1948
- 1949
- 1950
- 1951
- 1952
- 1953
- 1954
- 1955
- 1956
- 1957
- 1958
- 1959
- 1960
- 1961
- 1962
- 1963
- 1964
- 1965
- 1966
- 1967
- 1968
- 1969
- 1970
- 1971
- 1972
- 1973
- 1974
- 1975
- 1976
- 1977
- 1978
- 1979
- 1980
- 1981
- 1982
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987
- 1988
- 1989
- 1990
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1994
- 1995
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
- 1999
- 2000