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Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, then Duke of Gloucester John Curtin, Frank Forde, Ben Chifley |
Monarch – King George VI
Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie (until 30 January), then the Duke of Gloucester
Prime Minister – John Curtin (died in office 5 July), then Frank Forde (until 13 July), then Ben Chifley
Premier of New South Wales – William McKell
Premier of Queensland – Frank Cooper
Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
Premier of Victoria – Albert Dunstan (until 2 October), then Ian MacFarlan (until 21 November), then John Cain
Premier of Western Australia – John Willcock (until 31 July), then Frank Wise
Governor of New South Wales – John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst (until 6 June)
Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
Governor of South Australia – Sir Charles Norrie
Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark (until 4 August), then Sir Hugh Binney (from 24 December)
Governor of Victoria – Sir Winston Dugan
Governor of Western Australia – none appointed
30 January – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester becomes Australia's first royal Governor-General.
31 January - A Stinson aircraft crashes in Victoria, killing all 10 on board.
9 May – Germany surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe.
26 June – Dr H. V. Evatt signs the United Nations Charter on behalf of Australia.
8 to 30 June – Perth receives 476.1 millimetres (18.74 in) of rain in twenty-three days, easily its heaviest monthly rainfall on record and unlikely to be approached due to anthropogenic global warming.
5 July – Prime Minister John Curtin dies in office from heart problems at The Lodge in Canberra.
6 July – Frank Forde is sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia, following the death of John Curtin. He will serve Australia's shortest term as Prime Minister, being replaced by Ben Chifley a week later.
7 July – The Australian 7th Division commences operations in the Battle of Balikpapan. Operations are completed by 21 July.
13 July – Ben Chifley is elected as leader of the Australian Labor Party, becoming the 16th Prime Minister of Australia.
15 August – Japan surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II. The day is known as V-P Day (Victory in the Pacific).
10 November – A general election is held in Victoria.
Science and technology
12 December – Howard Florey shares the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.
Arts and literature
William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Edmund Herring
Russell Drysdale painted The Drover's Wife
1 May – The Australian National Film Board is established.
1 September – Eastern Suburbs defeats Balmain 22–18 in the final of the 1945 New South Wales Rugby Football League season.
29 September – The 1945 VFL Grand Final is held, and becomes known as the "Bloodbath" due to the wet, muddy conditions and frequent violence between players and amongst the spectators. Carlton defeats South Melbourne 15.13 (103) to 10.15 (75).
6 November – Rainbird wins the Melbourne Cup.
26 December – The first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begins. The British yacht Rani wins both line honours and the handicap, arriving in Hobart on 3 January.
1 January – Peter Duncan, politician
2 January – Diane Fahey, poet
2 January – Byron Lamont, botanist
8 January – Jeannie Lewis, musician
10 January – John Fahey, Premier of New South Wales (1992–1995)
15 January – John Peard, rugby league player and coach
19 January – Judith Clingan, composer and musician
22 January – Arthur Beetson, rugby league player and coach
22 January – Ken Ticehurst, politician
26 January – John Coates, mathematician
11 February – Ralph Doubell, Olympic athlete
23 February – Robert Gray, poet
26 February – Peter Brock, racing driver (died 2006)
3 March – George Miller, film director and producer
16 March – Michael Cobb, politician
10 April – Kevin Berry, butterfly swimmer (died 2006)
13 April – Judy Nunn, actress, author
8 May – Janine Haines, politician (died 2004)
17 May – Tony Roche, tennis player
22 May – Bob Katter, politician
29 May – Chris Barrie, Chief of the Defence Force
1 June – Kerry Vincent, chef and author
2 June – Michael Leunig, cartoonist.
5 July – Johnny Famechon, boxer
8 July – Graeme Blundell, actor
13 July – Ashley Mallett, cricketer
17 July – Athena Starwoman, astrologer
18 July – Max Tolson, soccer player
21 July – Geoff Dymock, cricketer
1 August – Ken Aldred, politician
2 August – Alex Jesaulenko, Australian rules football player
7 August – Graham Ramshaw, Australian rules football player
12 August – Mal Washer, politician
18 August – Gillian Bouras, writer
27 August – Kerry O'Brien, television journalist
25 October – Peter Ledger, illustrator (died 1994)
26 October – John Romeril, playwright
1 November – John Williamson, singer
15 November – Roger Donaldson, New Zealand film director
19 November – Barry Haase, politician
26 November – Roger Price, politician
28 November – John Hargreaves, actor
5 December – Joanne Burns, poet
15 December – Thaao Penghlis, actor
22 December – Sam Newman, Australian rules football player and media personality
31 December – Vernon Wells, actor
28 January – Samuel Dennis (born 1870), politician
4 March – Harry Chauvel (born 1865), soldier
5 March – Rupert Downes (born 1885), soldier
15 April – Tom Collins (born 1884), politician
5 June – Albert Piddington (born 1862), High Court judge
5 July – John Curtin (born 1885), Prime Minister of Australia (1941–1945)
29 July – Henry Burrell (born 1873), naturalist
20 August – Sir Macpherson Robertson (born 1859), confectioner
6 December – Sir Edmund Dwyer-Gray (born 1870), Premier of Tasmania (1939)
1945 in Australia Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
