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John McEwen, then John Gorton |
Monarch – Elizabeth II
Governor General – The Lord Casey
Prime Minister – John McEwen (acting, until 10 January), John Gorton (from 10 January)
Premier of New South Wales – Robert Askin
Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin (until 17 January), then Jack Pizzey (until 31 July), then Gordon Chalk (until 8 July), then Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan (until 17 April), then Steele Hall
Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
Premier of Western Australia – David Brand
Governor of New South Wales – Sir Roden Cutler
Governor of Queensland – Sir Alan Mansfield
Governor of South Australia – Major-General Sir James William Harrison
Governor of Tasmania – Lieutenant General Sir Edric Bastyan
Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe
Governor of Western Australia – Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew
4 January – The search for the body of Prime Minister Harold Holt, who disappeared whilst swimming off Portsea, Victoria, is called off.
10 January – John Gorton is sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia after the disappearance of Harold Holt.
28 January – Members of English rock groups The Who and Small Faces are escorted by police from a plane at Melbourne's Essendon Airport, after the pilot diverts the flight citing the bands' behaviour.
1 April – American evangelist Billy Graham begins a tour of Australia.
17 April – A state election is held in South Australia. Steele Hall (Liberal and Country League) defeats Don Dunstan (ALP), and becomes Premier of South Australia.
8 April – Fluoridation of Sydney's water supply begins.
30 April – Jim Cairns unsuccessfully challenges Gough Whitlam for leadership of the Australian Labor Party.
1 May – The Duke of Edinburgh arrives in Australia for a ten-day visit.
5 May – Three Australian journalists are killed by the Viet Cong in Saigon.
21 May – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visits Australia.
14 June – Journalist Simon Townsend, future host of Simon Townsend's Wonder World, is granted exemption from military service after lodging a fifth appeal against his imprisonment and court martial for conscientious objection.
18 June – The first stage of the Warringah Freeway opens in Sydney.
24 June – British comedian Tony Hancock commits suicide in his Sydney hotel room.
2 July – Fifty students are arrested during an anti-Vietnam War protest in Martin Place, Sydney.
4 July – Forty five people are arrested during an anti-war protest outside the U.S. consulate in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.
31 July – The Premier of Queensland, Jack Pizzey, dies in office.
1 August – Jack Pizzey's deputy, Gordon Chalk, is sworn in as his successor until the appointment of Joh Bjelke-Petersen as Premier a week later.
3 August – The standard gauge rail line between Perth and Kalgoorlie is completed.
20 August – The National Gallery of Victoria is opened in Melbourne.
14 October – The town of Meckering, Western Australia, is badly damaged by an earthquake.
28 October – The Postmaster-General's Department decreases the number of mail deliveries per day from two to one.
31 October – Minister for the Army Phillip Lynch admits that Australian Army troops may have breached the Geneva Convention by using water torture during the interrogation of a female Viet Cong suspect.
1 November – The airline Ansett-ANA is renamed Ansett.
14 December – A referendum is held in Tasmania to allow the granting of Australia's first casino license to the Wrest Point Hotel. The referendum is passed.
31 December – MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 crashes south of Port Hedland, Western Australia, killing all 26 people on board.
Australia's population is estimated to have reached 12 million in 1968.
Arts and literature
17 January – The Seekers are named Australians of the Year for 1967.
19 January – Judy Cassab wins her second Archibald Prize for her portrait of Margo Lewers.
1 July – The Copyright Act 1968 replaces the existing 1911 copyright legislation.
Thomas Keneally's novel Three Cheers for the Paraclete wins the Miles Franklin Award
2 December – At the Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, Prime Minister John Gorton announces the creation of the Australian Film Development Corporation.
25 May – An episode of the ABC series Bellbird stops the nation when the character of Charlie Cousins (played by Robin Ramsay) dies in a fall from a silo.
26 February – Boxer Lionel Rose beats Japan's Fighting Harada in Tokyo to become world bantamweight champion.
25 May – Derek Clayton wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:14:47.8 in Hobart.
26 May – Australia wins the 1968 Federation Cup in women's tennis, defeating the Netherlands (3–0).
10 June – Australia wins the 1968 Rugby League World Cup when it beats France (20–2) in the final at the SCG.
21 September – The South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
28 September – The Carlton Blues narrowly beat Essendon Bombers by 3 points (56–53) in the grand final of the 1968 VFL season, winning their first flag in 21 years.
12 – 27 October – Australia participates in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, coming ninth in the medal tally with 5 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals (17 in total).
15 October – Ralph Doubell equals Peter Snell's world record (2:04.3) in the men's 800 metres, clocking 1:44.3 at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
5 November – Rain Lover wins the Melbourne Cup.
26 December – Ondine II takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Koomooloo is the handicap winner
Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield.
7 February – Phillip Tahmindjis, ice speed skater
12 February – Nathan Rees, Premier of New South Wales (2008–2009)
7 April – Duncan Armstrong, swimmer
26 May – Rachael Sporn, basketball player
28 May – Kylie Minogue, entertainer
1 June – Jason Donovan, entertainer
4 June – Rachel Griffiths, actress
27 July – Julian McMahon, actor
9 August – Eric Bana, actor
30 September – Sharon Jaklofsky, track and field athlete
12 October – Hugh Jackman, actor
14 January – Dorothea Mackellar (born 1885), poet
21 February – Howard Florey, Baron Florey (born 1898), Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist
24 June – Tony Hancock (born 1924), British comedian
31 July – Jack Pizzey (born 1911), Premier of Queensland
19 August – William McCall (born 1908), politician
28 September – Sir Norman Brookes (born 1877), tennis player
10 October – Gavin Long (born 1901), journalist and military historian
13 October – Dame Jean Macnamara (born 1899), medical scientist
27 October – James Hunter (born 1882), politician
20 December – John Jennings (born 1878), politician
1968 in Australia Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
