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John Gorton, William McMahon |
Monarch – Elizabeth II
Prime Minister – John Gorton (Until 10 March), then William McMahon
Governor General – Paul Hasluck
Premier of New South Wales – Robert Askin
Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan
Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Premier of Tasmania – Angus Bethune
Premier of Western Australia – David Brand (Until 3 April), then John Tonkin
Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
Neville Bonner becomes first Indigenous Australian to sit as a member in the Parliament of Australia
Evonne Goolagong is named Australian of the Year.
3 January -
Sudden hailstorms lash the Sydney area causing widespread damage to houses and properties, as well as traffic chaos and nearly $150,000 worth of damage to fruit and vegetable crops at Cobbity.
New South Wales Transport Minister announces that intensified police weekend patrols might become a regular part of the campaign to cut the road toll after 8,148 New South Wales motorists were arrested or charged over the New Year holiday weekend.
4 January -
Federal Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam says in Port Moresby that Papuan leaders seem to accept completely the Australian Labor Party's timetable for independence of Papua New Guinea. The timetable provides for self-government as soon as a Labor Government comes to power in Australia, and independence in 1976.
Immigration Minister Phillip Lynch gives a ruling that three Asian doctors at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, who entered Australia under the private overseas student program, will be sent home, but may apply to return to Australia as migrants conditionally.
2 November -
President Richard Nixon gives Prime Minister William McMahon an unqualified endorsement of the Anzus alliance, saying that the United States would honour its commitments under the alliance, which he described as one of America's fundamental pillars in the Pacific.
Sonia McMahon, wife of Prime Minister William McMahon, captures international attention when she wears a daring full-length dress, with a long slit down the sides revealing her legs, to a White House reception. The dress was designed by South Yarra fashion designer Victoria Ciscijo of Valencia House. Sonia McMahon would be most remembered in years to come for this dress.
24 December – Cyclone Althea hits Townsville and surrounding islands, killing 3
State Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen declares a state of emergency in Queensland in response to escalating protest to the 1971 Springbok tour
Australia and New Zealand Announce Pull Out Of Troops from Vietnam
Arts and literature
David Williamson writes The Removalists
David Ireland's novel The Unknown Industrial Prisoner wins the Miles Franklin Award
Walkabout
Wake in Fright
4 January – American children's educational TV series Sesame Street premieres on ABC.
28 July – Pick-A-Box, hosted by Bob and Dolly Dyer, airs for the final time. It had first been broadcast as a radio program in 1948.
18 September – South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated St George Dragons in the NSWRL Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground; thus winning four premierships in five years.
25 September – Derek Clayton wins his third men's national marathon title, clocking 2:11:08.8 in Hobart.
Silver Knight wins the Melbourne Cup
South Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
Kialoa takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Pathfinder takes handicap honours
1971 Springbok tour
17 January – Peter Winter, track and field decathlete
26 January – Lee Naylor, track and field athlete
14 February – Lisa-Marie Vizaniari, discus thrower
19 February – Lisa McCune, actress and singer
26 March – Rennae Stubbs, tennis player
2 April – Todd Woodbridge, tennis player
20 April – Grant Smith, field hockey player
4 May – Miles Stewart, triathlete
17 May
Mark Connors, rugby player
Shaun Hart, footballer, coach, and sportscaster
3 July - Julian Assange, activist
2 September – Gregory Corbitt, field hockey striker
18 September – Kate Starre, field hockey midfielder
1 October – Andrew O'Keefe, highest-rating television personality
20 October – Dannii Minogue, singer, actress and television personality
29 October – Matthew Hayden, cricket player
10 November - Monique Allen, gymnast
14 November – Adam Gilchrist, cricket player
19 November – Michelle Andrews, field hockey midfielder
6 December – Brendan Garard, field hockey player
27 May – Chips Rafferty (born 1909), actor
30 July – Kenneth Slessor (born 1901), poet
16 October – Robin Boyd (born 1919), architect
1971 in Australia Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
