1958 in Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1958 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Slim
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Population	9,842,333
Elections	Federal, VIC

1 Incumbents
- 1.1 State premiers
- 1.2 State governors
2 Events
- 2.1 Unknown dates
3 Science & Technology
- 3.1 Unknown dates
4 Arts and literature
5 Film
6 Television
7 Sport
8 Births
9 Deaths
10 See also

[edit] Incumbents

[edit] State premiers

Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove (until August 26), then Eric Reece
Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke

[edit] State governors

Governor of New South Wales – Sir Eric Woodward
Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Abel Smith (from March 18)
Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross (until June 4)
Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

[edit] Events

January 14 – Qantas Airways introduces a round-the-world air service from Australia to London.
January 20 – The Royal Australian Naval College is moved back to Jervis Bay Territory from Flinders Naval Depot in Victoria.
January 28 to February 11 – Harold Macmillan visits Australia, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to do so while in office.
February 14 to March 7 – Elizabeth, the Queen Mother visits Australia for the second time.
March 21 – John McEwen replaces Arthur Fadden as federal leader of the Country Party.
March 24 – The Cahill Expressway in Sydney opens, the first true freeway in Australia.
April 3 – A cyclone destroys most of the town of Bowen in Queensland.
April 15 – Monash University is founded in Melbourne, Victoria.
May 11 – Construction of Australia's largest man-made lake, Lake Eucumbene on the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains, is completed.
May 31 – Henry Bolte's Liberal government is re-elected in Victoria.
July 19 – The last tram service runs in Perth.
August 26 – Robert Cosgrove retires as Premier of Tasmania, and is replaced by Eric Reece.
September 30 – The ANZAC Day Act 1958 receives Royal Assent, making ANZAC Day (April 25) a national public holiday in Australia.
October 26 – The wreckage of the Australian National Airways Avro 10 aircraft, VH-UMF Southern Cloud, is found. The aircraft had been missing since 1931
November 22 – A federal election is held. The Liberal-Country coalition led by Robert Menzies defeats H. V. Evatt's Australian Labor Party with 74 seats to 45 in the House of Representatives, a majority unprecedented since Federation, gained from preferences from the Democratic Labor Party.

[edit] Unknown dates

Johnny O'Keefe has his first hit with Wild One
Radio station 2UE publishes the first Australian Top 40

[edit] Science & Technology

January 26 - The HIFAR nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights goes critical for the first time.

[edit] Unknown dates

Australian engineer Dr. David Warren of Melbourne's Aeronautical Research Laboratories constructs the world's first flight recorder ("black box").

[edit] Arts and literature

December 11 – The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) opens in Sydney.
William Pidgeon wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of journalist Ray Walker
Eric Smith wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Moment Christ Died
Randolph Stow wins the Miles Franklin Award for To The Islands

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

November 1 - The first episode of Bandstand goes to air on TCN-9, hosted by Brian Henderson.
November 22 - The Australian federal election, 1958 is the first to be televised.

[edit] Sport

Athletics
- March 23 - John Russell wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:40:30 in Sydney
- August 6 - Herb Elliott sets a world record for the one-mile dash (3:54.5) at Morton Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield

Football
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Brothers defeated Valleys 22-7
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St. George defeated Western Suburbs 20-9
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
- Victorian Football League premiership: Collingwood defeated Melbourne 82-64

Golf
- Australian Open: won by Gary Player

Horse Racing
- Sir Blink wins the Caulfield Cup
- Yeman wins the Cox Plate
- Skyline wins the Golden Slipper
- Baystone wins the Melbourne Cup