1954 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1954 in Australia.

1954 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Slim
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	8,986,530
Elections	Federal

← 1953 1952 1951 1954 in Australia → 1955 1956 1957
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	Other events of 1954 Federal election Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

 

Robert Menzies

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Sir William Slim
• Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
• Chief Justice – Sir Owen Dixon

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
• Premier of Queensland – Vince Gair

State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
• Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

• 3 February – Elizabeth II arrives in Sydney on her first visit as monarch
• 13 February – Mawson Station in the Australian Antarctic Territory is established
• During February, a cyclone hits the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, killing 26^[1]
• 1 March - Adelaide and large parts of southern South Australia are shaken by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, resulting in the injuries of 16 people, and a damage bill of £17 million (2017: $578 million).
• 3 April – Vladimir Petrov, a Soviet diplomat, defects to Australia, sparking the Petrov Affair
• Shirley Bliss wins the Miss Australia Quest
• On 31 October, the first Vickers Viscount aircraft delivered to Australia crashed at Mangalore Airport while on a training flight only days after its arrival in Australia, killing 3 of the 7 people on board.^[2]

Science and technology

• The Australian Academy of Science is established.

Arts and literature

Main article: 1954 in Australian literature

 

Woman modelling streetwear, Australia, 1954. Fashion photo by Gervais Purcell (1919-1999).

• Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Rt Hon R G Menzies, PC, CH, QC, MP
• Charles Bannon wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work Judas Iscariot
• Overland literary magazine is founded, edited by Stephen Murray-Smith

Sport

• Cricket
  • New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
• Football
  • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Wests defeated Brothers 35-18
  • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Newtown 23-15
  • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
  • Victorian Football League premiership: Footscray defeated Melbourne 102-51
• Golf
  • Australian Open: won by Ossie Pickworth
  • Australian PGA Championship: won by Kel Nagle
• Horse racing
  • Rising Fast wins the Caulfield Cup
  • Rising Fast wins the Cox Plate
  • Rising Fast wins the Melbourne Cup
• Motor racing
  • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Southport and won by Lex Davison driving a HWM Jaguar
• Tennis
  • Australian Open men's singles: Mervyn Rose defeats Rex Hartwig 6-2 0–6 6-4 6-2
  • Australian Open women's singles: Thelma Coyne Long defeats Jenny Staley Hoad 6-3 6-4
  • Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 2–3 in the 1954 Davis Cup final
  • Wimbledon: Rex Hartwig and Mervyn Rose win the Gentlemen's Pairs
  • Wimbledon: Jaroslav Drobný defeats Ken Rosewall 13–11 4–6 6–2 9–7 in the Gentlemen's Singles
• Yachting
  • Kurrewa IV takes line honours and Solveig IV wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

• 10 January – Greg Towns, footballer
• 25 January – Kay Cottee, sailor
• 26 January – Kim Hughes, cricketer
• 27 April – Mark Holden, singer and media personality
• 1 May – Garry Who, actor and comedian
• 2 May – Don Cameron, water polo player and coach
• 19 May – Phil Rudd, musician
• 27 May – Pauline Hanson, politician
• 30 June – Wayne Swan, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
• 2 July – Scott W. Sloan, professor of civil engineering (died 2019)
• 11 July – Paul Blackwell, actor (died 2019)
• 11 August – Wally Carr, boxer (died 2019)
• 12 August – Rob Borbidge, Premier of Queensland
• 2 September – Gai Waterhouse, horse trainer
• 13 September – Steve Kilbey, musician
• 20 September – James Moloney, author
• 27 September – Ray Hadley, 2GB radio announcer
• 13 October – Banduk Marika, Indigenous artist and printmaker (died 2021)
• 15 October – Steve Bracks, 44th Premier of Victoria
• 24 October – Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia
• 12 November – Paul McNamee, tennis player
• 22 November – Carol Tomcala, sports shooter^[3]
• 26 November – Jacki MacDonald, media personality
• 28 November – John McMartin, Pastor, ACC State President NSW, National Executive
• 29 November – Steve Rogers (died 2006), Rugby league footballer

Deaths

• 10 January – Chester Wilmot, war correspondent (b. 1911)
• 19 September – Miles Franklin, writer and feminist (b. 1879)
• 14 November – Inigo Owen Jones, meteorologist and farmer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1872)
• 22 November – Roy Rene, comedian (b. 1891)

See also

• List of Australian films of the 1950s

References

1. Bureau of Meteorology
2. "Viscount Crashes" The Argus - 1 November 1954, p.1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 2012-07-01
3. "Carol TOMCALA - Olympic Shooting | Australia". International Olympic Committee. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2020.