1964 in Australia

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1964 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Sidney
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Population	11,166,702
Australian of the Year	Dawn Fraser
Elections	Senate, TAS, VIC

1 Incumbents
2 Events
3 Science & Technology
4 Arts and literature
5 Film
6 Television
7 Sport
8 Births
9 Deaths
10 See also

[edit] Incumbents

Prime Minister - Robert Menzies
Governor General - William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle
Premier of New South Wales - Robert Heffron (til April 30), then Jack Renshaw
Premier of South Australia - Sir Thomas Playford
Premier of Queensland - Frank Nicklin
Premier of Tasmania - Eric Reece
Premier of Western Australia - David Brand
Premier of Victoria - Henry Bolte

[edit] Events

January 29 - The Royal Australian Air Force takes delivery of its first two Mirage fighter jets
February 3 - The first double-decker carriages begin trial runs on the Sydney rail network
February 4 - Cyclone Dora strikes north west Queensland
February 10 - Melbourne-Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and the destroyer HMAS Voyager collide, with the loss of 82 lives
March - There is a split in the Communist Party of Australia and the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) is formed
April - The Menzies government refuses to ratify the International Labor Organisation convention on equal pay for women.
April - The editors of Sydney satirical Oz magazine - Richard Neville, Richard Walsh and Martin Sharp - are charged with printing an obscene publication
April 8 - The Jackson-Moonie-Brisbane oil pipeline opens
April 24 - Melbourne woman Judy Hanrahan becomes the first female teller appointed by the Bank of NSW since WWII
April 27 Sir Garfield Barwick resigns as Minister for External Affairs to take up his appointment as the new Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
June - Macquarie University is founded.
July 6 - Warrant Officer Class 2, Kevin Conway of the Australian Army Training Team died; he was Australia's first Vietnam War battle casualty.
July 15 - The first edition of The Australian is published in Canberra. It is Australia's first national daily newspaper, published by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited.
July 17 - Donald Campbell sets new land speed record of 429 miles per hour in his jet-propelled car "Bluebird" at Lake Eyre, South Australia
August - The Tasman Bridge across the Derwent River opens in Hobart.
October 26 - Notorious Perth serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke is executed at Fremantle Prison; he is the last person to be hanged in Western Australia
November 10 - Prime Minister Robert Menzies announces the reintroduction of National Service
December 10 - The Queensland government declares a state of emergency in an attempt to end the Mt Isa Mines dispute
December 16 - Melbourne's La Trobe University is founded
December 31 -- Donald Campbell sets new water speed record of 276 miles per hour at Dumbleyung Lake, Western Australia
The Beatles tour Australia
Sir Percy Spender is appointed President of the International Court of Justice
Swimmer Dawn Fraser is named Australian of the Year

[edit] Science & Technology

2 October - Gladesville Bridge opened - the world's longest concrete arch at the time.

[edit] Arts and literature

Donald Horne's The Lucky Country published.
George Johnston's My Brother Jack published.
Kath Walker's We Are Going published.

[edit] Film

[edit] Television

The launch of ATV-0 marks the birth of the third commercial television network
Police drama Homicide begins a 12-year run and sets the pace for Australian television drama
Singer Johnny Chester hosts a new ABC TV show called Teen Scene, which also features his backing group The Chessmen as the house band.
The Mavis Bramston Show premieres on HSV 7 in Melbourne (November 11)

[edit] Sport

May 17 Bernard "Midget" Farrelly wins the first World Surfboard Championship at Manly Beach
July 18 - Robert Vagg wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:24:06.2 in Sydney.