Rahul Sharma (Editor)

1958 in Australia

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Monarchy
  
Elizabeth II

Prime minister
  
Robert Menzies

Elections
  
Federal, VIC

Governor-General
  
William Slim

Population
  
9,842,333

Incumbents

  • Monarch – Elizabeth II
  • Governor-General – Sir William Slim
  • Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
  • State premiers

  • Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
  • Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
  • Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
  • Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove (until 26 August), then Eric Reece
  • Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
  • Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke
  • State governors

  • Governor of New South Wales – Sir Eric Woodward
  • Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Abel Smith (from 18 March)
  • Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
  • Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet (until 4 June)
  • Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
  • Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner
  • Events

  • 14 January – Qantas Airways introduces a round-the-world air service from Australia to London.
  • 20 January – The Royal Australian Naval College is moved back to Jervis Bay Territory from Flinders Naval Depot in Victoria.
  • 28 January to 11 February – Harold Macmillan visits Australia, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to do so while in office.
  • 14 February to 7 March – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visits Australia for the second time.
  • 21 March – John McEwen replaces Arthur Fadden as federal leader of the Country Party.
  • 24 March – The Cahill Expressway in Sydney opens, the first true freeway in Australia.
  • 3 April – A cyclone destroys most of the town of Bowen in Queensland.
  • 15 April – Monash University is founded in Melbourne, Victoria.
  • 11 May – Construction of Australia's largest man-made lake, Lake Eucumbene on the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains, is completed.
  • 31 May – Henry Bolte's Liberal government is re-elected in Victoria.
  • 19 July – The last tram service runs in Perth.
  • 26 August – Robert Cosgrove retires as Premier of Tasmania, and is replaced by Eric Reece.
  • 30 September – The ANZAC Day Act 1958 receives Royal Assent, making ANZAC Day (25 April) a national public holiday in Australia.
  • 26 October – The wreckage of the Australian National Airways Avro 10 aircraft, VH-UMF Southern Cloud, is found. The aircraft had been missing since 1931.
  • 22 November – A federal election is held. The Liberal-Country coalition led by Robert Menzies defeats H. V. Evatt's Australian Labor Party with 74 seats to 45 in the House of Representatives, a majority unprecedented since Federation, gained from preferences from the Democratic Labor Party.
  • Unknown dates

  • Johnny O'Keefe has his first hit with Wild One.
  • Radio station 2UE publishes the first Australian Top 40.
  • Science and technology

  • 26 January – The HIFAR nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights goes critical for the first time.
  • Unknown dates

  • Australian engineer Dr. David Warren of Melbourne's Aeronautical Research Laboratories constructs the world's first flight recorder ("black box").
  • Arts and literature

  • 11 December – The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) opens in Sydney.
  • William Edwin Pidgeon wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of journalist Ray Walker
  • Eric Smith wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Moment Christ Died
  • Randolph Stow wins the Miles Franklin Award for To the Islands
  • Russel Ward releases The Australian Legend
  • Film

  • 8 March - The film Bridge on the River Kwai was released in Sydney.
  • Television

  • October - Autumn Affair, first television soap opera produced in Australia debuts
  • 1 November – The first episode of Bandstand goes to air on TCN-9, hosted by Brian Henderson.
  • 22 November – The Australian federal election, 1958 is the first to be televised.
  • Sport

  • Athletics
  • 23 March – John Russell wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:40:30 in Sydney
  • 6 August – Herb Elliott sets a world record for the one-mile dash (3:54.5) at Morton Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
  • Cricket
  • New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
  • Football
  • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Brothers defeated Valleys 22-7
  • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St. George defeated Western Suburbs 20-9
  • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
  • Victorian Football League premiership: Collingwood defeated Melbourne 82-64
  • Golf
  • Australian Open: won by Gary Player
  • Horse Racing
  • Sir Blink wins the Caulfield Cup
  • Yeman wins the Cox Plate
  • Skyline wins the Golden Slipper
  • Baystone wins the Melbourne Cup
  • Motor Racing
  • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Bathurst and won by Lex Davison driving a Ferrari
  • Tennis
  • Australian Open men's singles: Ashley Cooper defeats Malcolm Anderson 7-5 6-3 6-4
  • Australian Open women's singles: Angela Mortimer defeats Lorraine Coghlan 6-3 6-4
  • Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 3-2 in the 1958 Davis Cup final
  • Yachting
  • Solo takes line honours and Siandra wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
  • Births

  • 6 February – Simon Baker, race walker
  • 20 March – Phil Anderson, cyclist
  • 12 April – Glenn Patching, swimmer
  • 5 May – Robert DiPierdomenico, footballer and media personality
  • 7 May – Alan John, composer
  • 11 May – Peter Antonie, rower
  • 11 May – Phil Smyth, basketball player
  • 3 July – Gary Buckenara, Australian Rules footballer
  • 6 July – Gary Humphries, politician
  • 13 July – Richard Glover, journalist, author and radio personality
  • 15 July –Phil Gould, rugby league identity
  • October - Garry Pankhurst, former child actor
  • 13 October – Jim Krakouer, Australian Rules footballer
  • 15 November - Lewis Fitz-Gerald, actor and director
  • 12 December – Monica Attard, journalist
  • 31 December – Geoff Marsh, cricketer
  • Deaths

  • 24 January – William Roy Hodgson (born 1892), public servant
  • 8 April – Ethel Turner (born 1872), writer
  • 13 September – Russell Mockridge (born 1928), cyclist
  • 14 October – Douglas Mawson (born 1882), polar explorer
  • 30 November – Hubert Wilkins (born 1888), polar explorer
  • References

    1958 in Australia Wikipedia