1972 in Australia

See also: 1971 in Australia, 1973 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
• Governor General – Sir Paul Hasluck
• Prime Minister – William McMahon, then Gough Whitlam

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Sir Robert Askin
• Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan
• Premier of Queensland – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
• Premier of Tasmania – Angus Bethune, then Eric Reece
• Premier of Western Australia – John Tonkin
• Premier of Victoria – Sir Henry Bolte, then Rupert Hamer
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Marshall Perron

Events

Shane Gould, Australian of the Year

• 10 May – Law professor George Duncan is drowned in the Torrens River, Adelaide. Police establish that his death was a homophobic-related murder.^[1]
• 3 June – Douglas Nicholls becomes the first Indigenous Australian to be knighted.
• 29 July – Kerry Anne Wells earned Australia's first Miss Universe crown, in Dorado, Puerto Rico.
• 6 October – Faraday School kidnapping – six pupils and their teacher are kidnapped for $1 million ransom in Victoria.
• 15 November – First aircraft hijacking in Australia. Ansett Airlines flight 232 from Adelaide to Alice Springs with 28 passengers and a crew of 4. Followed by gun battle at Alice Springs Airport.
• 1 December – Belinda Green is crowned Miss World in London, becoming the second Australian winner of this pageant. Australia won the two most important beauty contest in this year.
• 2 December – Gough Whitlam becomes Prime Minister of Australia.
• Shane Gould is announced as Australian of the Year
• The health warning, "Smoking is a Health Hazard" became compulsory on cigarette packets in Australia.

Arts and literature

• Thea Astley's novel The Acolyte wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

Television

• 13 March – Controversial soap opera Number 96 debuts on Network 0–10.
• 16 November – The Aunty Jack Show premieres on ABC-TV in Sydney.

Sport

• 16 September – Bernard Vine wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:28:21 in Richmond, Australia.
• In the 1972 NSWRFL season's premiership final Manly-Warringah defeat Eastern Suburbs
• In the Bulimba Cup final Brisbane defeat Toowoomba 55-2 at Lang Park
• Piping Lane wins the Melbourne Cup
• Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
• American Eagle takes line and handicap honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
• Shane Gould wins 3 gold medals for swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich
• Australia draws Ashes Cricket Test Series 2-2 with England

Births

• 5 February – Brad Fittler, rugby league footballer and coach
• 6 February – Mark Ladbrook, track and field sprinter
• 11 March – Adam Bandt, politician
• 25 March – Nina Bonner, field hockey goalkeeper
• 8 April – Katrina Powell, field hockey player
• 30 May – Renita Farrell, field hockey player
• 19 June – Poppy Montgomery, actress
• 24 June – Robbie McEwen, cyclist
• 24 June – Ian Rutledge, field hockey coach
• 30 June – Stuart Rendell, hammer thrower
• 12 August – Allison Tranquilli, basketball player
• 1 September – Louise Dobson, field hockey player
• 20 September – Jenny Morris, field hockey player
• 11 October – Claudia Black, actress
• 1 November – Toni Collette, actress
• 7 November – Melissa Bell, actress
• 13 November – Samantha Riley, swimmer
• 13 December - Christian Boyd, musician
• 22 December – Anthony Edwards, rower
• 28 December – Patrick Rafter, tennis player
• 30 December – Jamie Aaron, philanthropist

Deaths

• 7 July – Owen Dixon (born 1886), former Chief Justice of Australia
• 21 August – Ernestine Hill (born 1899), author

References