1947 in Australia

1947 in Australia
Monarch	George VI
Governor-General	Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, then William McKell
Prime Minister	Ben Chifley
Population	7,579,358
Elections	VIC, NSW, QLD, WA, SA

See also: 1946 in Australia, other events of 1947, 1948 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Contents 1 Incumbents 1.1 State Premiers 1.2 State Governors 2 Events 3 Science and technology 4 Arts and literature 5 Film 6 Sport 7 Births 8 Deaths

Incumbents

• Monarch – King George VI
• Governor-General – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (until 11 March), then William McKell
• Prime Minister – Ben Chifley

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – William McKell (until 6 February), then James McGirr
• Premier of Queensland – Ned Hanlon
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove (until 18 December), then Edward Brooker
• Premier of Victoria – John Cain (until 20 November), then Thomas Hollway
• Premier of Western Australia – Frank Wise (until 1 April), then Ross McLarty

State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
• Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Charles Norrie
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Hugh Binney
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Winston Dugan
• Governor of Western Australia – none appointed

Events

• 1 April – The Woomera rocket range is established in South Australia as a testing site for British and Australian missiles.
• 5 May – A train derails in the Camp Mountain rail accident in Queensland, killing 16 people.
• 30 June – The Australian government assumes control of Qantas.
• 1 July – Real estate company L. J. Hooker is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
• 5 August – Australia becomes a member of the International Monetary Fund
• 30 August – The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration grants workers a 40-hour week.
• 18 November – Australia reduces its trade tariffs after ratifying the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in Geneva.
• 26 December – Heard Island and McDonald Islands in Antarctica are transferred from British control to Australian territories.

Science and technology

Arts and literature

• William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Marcus Clarke

Film

Sport

• Morna takes line honours and Westward wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
• Hiraji wins the Melbourne Cup

Births

• 19 June – James Mason, field hockey player
• 28 July – Peter Cosgrove, Chief of the Defence Force (2002-2005)
• 28 August – Jennie George, politician and trade unionist
• 28 September – Bob Carr, premier of New South Wales (1995–2005)
• 2 November – David Ahern, composer (d. 1988)

Deaths

• 25 April – Rupert Bunny (b. 1864), artist
• 30 July – Joseph Cook (b. 1860), Prime Minister of Australia