1959 in Australia
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See also: 1958 in Australia, other events of 1959, 1960 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.
Contents |
[edit] Incumbents
- Prime Minister - Robert Menzies
- Governor General - William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil
- Premier of New South Wales - Joseph Cahill died in office 22 October; succeeded by Robert Heffron
- Premier of South Australia - Sir Thomas Playford
- Premier of Queensland - Frank Nicklin
- Premier of Tasmania - Eric Reece
- Premier of Western Australia - Albert Hawke succeeded by David Brand on 2 April
- Premier of Victoria - Henry Bolte
[edit] Events
- 26 January (Australia Day) - Darwin was granted city status
- February - major floods in Queensland [1]
- March - formal construction of the Sydney_Opera_House began
- 4 June - the Soviet embassy in Canberra was reopened. It had been closed since 29 April 1954 as a result of the Petrov Affair [2]
- August and September - Princess Alexandra toured Australia [3]
- September - Australian National University building an "Atom Smasher" [4]
- November - Donald Bradman batted for 15 minutes in a demonstration. He retired from cricket. [5]
[edit] Science & Technology
[edit] Arts and literature
- William Dobell wins the Archibald Prize with a portrait of Dr Edward MacMahon
[edit] Film
On the Beach starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner was shot around Melbourne. The film was based on the novel by Nevil Shute.
[edit] Television
6 o'clock rock screened on the Australian Broadcasting Commission's channel. It was compered by Johnny O'Keefe and was the ABC's response to Bandstand on Channel Nine.
[edit] Sport
- Macdougal wins the Melbourne Cup
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
- Solo wins the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
- England toured Australia in the summer of 1958/59 for The_Ashes; Australia won the series 4-0.
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Longford, Tasmania and won by Stan Jones driving a Maserati
[edit] Births
- August 30 - Mark 'Jacko' Jackson, Australian footballer and actor
- September 4 - Kevin Harrington, Australian actor
[edit] Deaths
- June 20 - Sir Ian Clunies Ross (b. 1899), Australian scientist
- August 8 - Albert Namatjira (b. 1902), Aboriginal artist noted for his central Australian landscapes painted in water-colours
- October 14 - Errol Flynn (b. 1909), Hollywood movie star born in Tasmania
- October 14 - Jack Davey radio comedian and quiz show host
- October 22 - Joseph Cahill (b. 1891), Premier of New South Wales
- November 10 - Gertrude Bodenweiser Australian choreographer [6]
- November 11 - Charles Chauvel (b. 1897), film maker
- December 18 - Eduoard Borovansky Czech born ballet dancer and choreographer; founder of the Borovansky Australian Ballet