| content | ||||||||||||||
| 1953 in Australia | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
|---|---|
| Governor-General | William McKell, then William Slim |
| Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
| Population | 8,815,362 |
| Elections | Senate, WA, NSW, SA, QLD |
See also: 1952 in Australia, other events of 1953, 1954 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.
Contents |
Incumbents
- Prime Minister - Robert Menzies
- Governor General - William McKell (until May 8), then William Slim
- Premier of New South Wales - Joseph Cahill
- Premier of South Australia - Thomas Playford IV
- Premier of Queensland - Vince Gair
- Premier of Tasmania - Robert Cosgrove
- Premier of Western Australia - Ross McLarty (until February 23), then Albert Hawke
- Premier of Victoria - John Cain I
Events
- March 20 - The Television Act is passed by parliament, setting regulations for the broadcast of television in Australia
- October 15 - Operation Totem, a pair British atomic tests, commences at Emu Field, South Australia. Totem 1 is detonated with a yield of 10 kilotons
- October 27 - Totem 2 is detonated at Emu Field, with a yield of 8 kilotons
- October 29 - British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA) Douglas DC-6, registration VH-BPE, en route from Sydney, crashes on approach to San Francisco, killing 19 [1]
Science & Technology
The first town to fluoridate the water supply in Australia was Beaconsfield, Tasmania.[1]
Arts and literature
- Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Sir Henry Simpson Newland
- Michael Kmit wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Evangelist John Mark
Film
Sport
- Athletics
- September 26 - Roland Guy wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:24:48 in Sydney.
- Cricket
- South Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
- Football
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Souths defeated Easts 21-4
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated St. George 31-12
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by West Torrens
- Victorian Football League premiership: Collingwood defeated Geelong 77-65
- Golf
- Australian Open: won by Norman Von Nida
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Ossie Pickworth
- Horse Racing
- My Hero wins the Caulfield Cup
- Hydrogen wins the Cox Plate
- Wodalla wins the Melbourne Cup
- Motor Racing
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Albert Park and won by Doug Whiteford driving a Talbot-Lago
- Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Ken Rosewall defeats Mervyn Rose 6-0 6-3 6-4
- Australian Open women's singles: Maureen Connolly defeats Julie Sampson Haywood 6-3 6-2
- Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 3-2 in the 1953 Davis Cup final
- Wimbledon: Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall win the Men's Doubles
- Yachting
- Solveig IV takes line honours and Ripple wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Births
- January 6 — Ian Frazer, immunologist
- February 14 — Greg Browning, field hockey player
- March 4 — Ray Price, rugby league football player
- March 15 — Randall Goff, water polo player
- March 17 — Margaret Jackson, businesswoman
- April 16 — Peter Garrett, singer and politician
- April 21 — John Brumby, politician
- May 20 — Robert Doyle, politician
- June 24 — Michael Tuck, Australian Rules football player
- July 1 — David Gulpilil, actor
- July 23 — Marcia Hines, singer
- August 17 — Noni Hazelhurst, actress
- September 11 — Renée Geyer, singer
- November 25 — Graham Eadie, rugby league footballer
- December 12 — Martin Ferguson, politician
Deaths
- January 28 – James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
- February 12 – Hal Colebatch, Premier of Western Australia (b. 1872)
- December 2 – Reginald Baker (69), athlete, sports promoter and film actor (b. 1884)
See also
References
- ^ (1987) "Tasmania", in Editors: Graham Aplin, S.G. Foster and Michael McKernan: Australians:Events and Places. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates, page 366. ISBN 0-521-34073-X.
