1950 in Australia
| 1950 in Australia | |
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| Monarchy | George VI |
| Governor-General | William McKell |
| Prime minister | Robert Menzies |
| Population | 8,178,696 |
| Elections | NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS |
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| Decades: |
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Incumbents
- Monarch – King George VI
- Governor-General – William McKell
- Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
State Premiers
- Premier of New South Wales – James McGirr
- Premier of Queensland – Ned Hanlon
- Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
- Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
- Premier of Victoria – Thomas Hollway (until 27 June), then John McDonald
- Premier of Western Australia – 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 Dallas Brooks
- Governor of Western Australia – Sir James Mitchell
Events
- 25 January – The Tank Landing Ship HMAS Tarakan explodes at Garden Island in Sydney, killing 8 people.
- 8 February – Petrol rationing ends, nearly ten years after it was introduced during World War II.
- 6 May – A state election is held in Tasmania. The result is a hung parliament, but Robert Cosgrove's Labor Party remains in power with independent support.
- 13 May – A state election is held in Victoria.
- 23 June – The Parliament of Australia passes the Communist Party Dissolution Bill, effectively banning the operation of the Communist Party of Australia.
- 26 June – Douglas DC-4 Amana crashes near Perth, Western Australia, killing 28. One passenger survived the crash.
- 26 July – The government announces that Australia will send troops to fight in the Korean War. The first Australian forces land in Korea on 17 September.
- 28 October – The Smith's Weekly newspaper, founded in 1919, is published for the last time.
- New South Wales and Queensland receive extraordinary annual rainfall.
Arts and literature
- 11 December – A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute is published.
Unknown dates
- William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Sir Leslie McConnan
- The novel Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy is published.
- The Ballet Corroboree, by John Antill, is first performed
Sport
- General
- Australia wins 34 gold medals at the 4th British Empire Games, held in Auckland, New Zealand
- Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
- Cycling
- Sid Patterson wins the world amateur pursuit cycling title in Belgium
- Football
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Easts defeated Wests 14-10
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Western Suburbs 21-15
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Norwood
- Victorian Football League premiership: Essendon defeated North Melbourne 92-54
- Golf
- Australian Open: won by Norman Von Nida
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Norman Von Nida
- Horse Racing
- Grey Boots wins the Caulfield Cup
- Alister wins the Cox Plate
- Comic Court wins the Melbourne Cup
- Motor Racing
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Nuriootpa and won by Doug Whiteford driving a Ford
- Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Frank Sedgman defeats Ken McGregor 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-1
- Australian Open women's singles: Louise Brough defeats Doris Hart 6-4 3-6 6-4
- Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 4-1 in the 1950 Davis Cup final
- US Open: John Bromwich and Frank Sedgman win the Men's Doubles
- Wimbledon: John Bromwich and Adrian Quist win the Men's Doubles
- Yachting
- Margaret Rintoul takes line honours and Nerida wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Births
- 1 January – Wayne Bennett, rugby league footballer and coach
- 11 February – John Cobb, politician
- 14 February – Phil Dent, tennis player
- 16 February – Malcolm Blight, Australian Rules football player
- 20 February – Gary Manuel, football (soccer) player
- 1 March – Estelle Blackburn, journalist
- 11 March – Sam Kekovich, Australian Rules football player
- 18 March – Larry Perkins, ATCC/V8 Supercars racing driver
- 30 March – Warren Snowdon, politician
- 10 April – Mick Dodson, indigenous leader
- 15 April – Peter Cochrane, historian
- 29 April – Phillip Noyce, film director
- 11 May – Gary Foley, indigenous activist
- 15 May – Jim Bacon, Premier of Tasmania (2001–2004, died 2004)
- 26 May – Paul Omodei, WA politician
- 29 May – Lesley Hunt, tennis player
- 31 May – Warren Entsch, politician
- 13 June - Belinda Bauer, actress
- 15 July – Colin Barnett, WA politician
- 15 July – Alan Hurst, cricketer
- 15 July – Peter Reith, politician
- 17 July – Nick Bolkus, politician
- 21 July – Allan Maher, football (soccer) goalkeeper
- 8 August – Philip Salom, poet and novelist
- 16 August – Jeff Thomson, cricketer
- 6 September – Robyn Davidson, writer
- 11 September – Bruce Doull, Australian Rules football player
- 27 September – John Marsden, writer
- 14 October – Kate Grenville, novelist
- 30 October - Tim Sheens, rugby league footballer and coach
- 2 November – Graeme Murphy, choreographer
- 7 November – John Lang, rugby league footballer and coach
- 25 November – Alexis Wright, writer
- 1 December – Ross Hannaford, guitarist (Daddy Cool)
- 10 December – Robert Cusack, swimmer
- 12 December – Louis Nowra, writer and playwright
- 18 December – Gillian Armstrong, film director
- 22 December – Nick Enright, playwright, director
Deaths
- 2 January – James Dooley (born 1877), Premier of New South Wales (1921–1922)
- 20 January – Ray Duggan (born 1913), speedway motorcycle racer
- 25 January – Chummy Fleming (born 1863), trade unionist
- 23 February – Henry Willis (born 1860), politician
- 28 February – Ted Theodore (born 1884), Premier of Queensland (1919–1925)
- 19 March – Harry Wright (born 1870), Australian rules footballer (Essendon)
- 14 April – Sir Albert Dunstan (born 1882), Premier of Victoria (1935–1943, 1943–1945)
- 6 May – Lancelot De Mole (born 1880), engineer and inventor
- 15 May – Jack Hickey (born 1887), dual-code rugby international
- 11 June – Ernest Henshaw (born 1870), WA politician
- 20 June – Claude Jennings (born 1884), cricketer
- 14 July – Bill Howell (born 1869), cricketer
- 31 July – George Wise (born 1853), politician and solicitor
- 6 August – Edwin Corboy (born 1896), politician
- 8 August – Fergus McMaster (born 1879), co-founder of Qantas
- 3 September – Michael Durack (born 1865), pastoralist and WA pioneer
- 22 September – Edward Fowell Martin (born 1875), soldier
- 24 September – Dame Mary Turner Cook (born 1863), wife of Prime Minister Sir Joseph Cook
- 6 November – Frank Brennan (born 1873), politician
- 20 November – Erle Cox (born 1873), journalist and science fiction author
- 16 December – James Fenton (born 1864), politician
- 29 December – Albert Lane (born 1873), politician
External links
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