Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

1964 in Australia

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Monarchy
  
Elizabeth II

Australian of the Year
  
Dawn Fraser

Governor-General
  
The Viscount De L'Isle

Elections
  
Senate, TAS, VIC

Incumbents

  • Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
  • Governor General – William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle
  • Premier of New South Wales – Robert Heffron (til 30 April), then Jack Renshaw
  • Premier of South Australia – Sir Thomas Playford
  • Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
  • Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
  • Premier of Western Australia – David Brand
  • Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
  • Events

  • 29 January – The Royal Australian Air Force takes delivery of its first two Mirage fighter jets
  • 3 February – The first double-decker carriages begin trial runs on the Sydney rail network
  • 4 February – Cyclone Dora strikes north west Queensland
  • 10 February – Melbourne-Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne and the destroyer HMAS Voyager collide, with the loss of 82 lives
  • March – There is a split in the Communist Party of Australia and the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) is formed
  • April – The Menzies government refuses to ratify the International Labor Organisation convention on equal pay for women.
  • April – The editors of Sydney satirical Oz magazine – Richard Neville, Richard Walsh and Martin Sharp – are charged with printing an obscene publication
  • 8 April – The Jackson-Moonie-Brisbane oil pipeline opens
  • 24 April – Melbourne woman Judy Hanrahan becomes the first female teller appointed by the Bank of NSW since WWII
  • 27 April Sir Garfield Barwick resigns as Minister for External Affairs to take up his appointment as the new Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
  • June – Macquarie University is founded.
  • 12–30 June - The Beatles tour Australia and New Zealand.
  • 6 July – Warrant Officer Class 2, Kevin Conway of the Australian Army Training Team died; he was Australia's first Vietnam War battle casualty.
  • 15 July – The first edition of The Australian is published in Canberra. It is Australia's first national daily newspaper, published by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited.
  • 17 July – Donald Campbell sets new land speed record of 429 miles per hour in his jet-propelled car "Bluebird" at Lake Eyre, South Australia
  • August – The Tasman Bridge across the Derwent River opens in Hobart.
  • 26 October – Notorious Perth serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke is executed at Fremantle Prison; he is the last person to be hanged in Western Australia
  • 10 November – Prime Minister Robert Menzies announces the reintroduction of National Service
  • 10 December – The Queensland government declares a state of emergency in an attempt to end the Mount Isa Mines dispute
  • 16 December – Melbourne's La Trobe University is founded
  • 31 December – Donald Campbell sets new water speed record of 276 miles per hour at Dumbleyung Lake, Western Australia
  • The Beatles tour Australia
  • Sir Percy Spender is appointed President of the International Court of Justice
  • Swimmer Dawn Fraser is named Australian of the Year
  • Science and technology

  • 2 October – Gladesville Bridge opened – the world's longest concrete arch at the time.
  • Arts and literature

  • Donald Horne's The Lucky Country published.
  • Kath Walker's We Are Going published.
  • My Brother Jack by George Johnston is awarded the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
  • Television

  • The launch of ATV-0 marks the birth of the third commercial television network, now known as Network Ten
  • Singer Johnny Chester hosts a new ABC TV show called Teen Scene, which also features his backing group The Chessmen as the house band.
  • 20 October – Police drama Homicide begins a 12-year run and sets the pace for Australian television drama.
  • 11 November – The Mavis Bramston Show premieres on HSV 7 in Melbourne.
  • Sport

  • 17 May Bernard "Midget" Farrelly wins the first World Surfboard Championship at Manly Beach
  • 18 July – Robert Vagg wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:24:06.2 in Sydney.
  • Polo Prince wins the Melbourne Cup
  • South Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
  • Freya wins the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
  • Australia places 8th in the 1964 Olympic Games with 6 gold medals
  • St. George Dragons win the Australian Rugby League Grand Final
  • Melbourne Football Club wins the Victorian Football League Grand Final
  • Births

  • 17 June - James Ellis, Goalkeeper, Gosnells City
  • 16 January – Chris Dittmar, squash player
  • 23 January - Nick Breyder, junior cross country runner
  • 4 March – Karen Knowles, entertainer
  • 7 April – Douglas Humphrey, philosopher/statesman
  • 15 April – Lee Kernaghan, country singer/songwriter
  • 19 April – Peter Jackson (died 1997), Australian rugby league footballer
  • 30 April – Ian Healy, cricket player and commentator
  • 28 May – Jeff Fenech, boxer and trainer
  • 3 June – Matthew Ryan, equestrian
  • 7 June – Gia Carides, actress
  • 9 June – Jane Kennedy, actress and comedian
  • 4 August – Andrew Bartlett, politician
  • 10 August – Andy Caldecott, motorcycle racer (died 2006)
  • 14 August – Jason Dunstall, Australian Rules football player
  • 19 August – Dermott Brereton, Australian Rules football player
  • 5 September – Frank Farina, soccer player and manager
  • 11 September – Kathy Watt, cyclist
  • 27 October – Mark Taylor, cricket player and commentator
  • 29 October – Eddie McGuire, businessman and television presenter
  • 29 October – Jackie Pereira, field hockey striker
  • 9 November – Mark Dalton, basketball player
  • 9 December – Larry Emdur, television presenter
  • 16 December – Georgie Parker, actress
  • Deaths

  • 23 January – Claude Hulbert, British actor (born 1900)
  • 12 February – Arthur Upfield, author (born 1890)
  • 18 April – Wilfred Mibus, Victorian politician (born 1900)
  • 19 October – Nettie Palmer, author (born 1885)
  • References

    1964 in Australia Wikipedia