1968 in Australia

Infobox Australian year
monarch = Elizabeth II
governor-general = Richard Casey
pm =Harold Holt, then John Gorton
population = 11,799,078
australian =
elections =WA, NSW, SA"See also:"
1967 in Australia,
other events of 1968,
1969 in Australia and the
Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

*Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor General – Lord Casey
*Prime Minister – John Gorton (from January 10)

tate premiers

*Premier of New South Wales – Robert Askin
*Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin (until January 17), then Jack Pizzey (until July 31), then Joh Bjelke-Petersen
*Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan (until April 17), then Steele Hall
*Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
*Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
*Premier of Western Australia – David Brand

tate governors

*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

Events

*January 4 – The search for the body of Prime Minister Harold Holt, who disappeared whilst swimming off Portsea, Victoria, is called off.
*January 10 – John Gorton is sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia after the disappearance of Harold Holt.
*January 28 – 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.
*April 1 – American evangelist Billy Graham begins a tour of Australia.
*April 17 – A state election is held in South Australia. Steele Hall (Liberal and Country League) defeats Don Dunstan (ALP), and becomes Premier of South Australia.
*April 8 – Fluoridation of Sydney's water supply begins.
*April 30 – Jim Cairns unsuccessfully challenges Gough Whitlam for leadership of the Australian Labor Party.
*May 1 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh arrives in Australia for a ten day visit.
*May 5 – Three Australian journalists are killed by the Viet Cong in Saigon.
*May 21 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visits Australia.
*June 14 – 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.
*June 18 – The first stage of the Warringah Freeway opens in Sydney.
*June 24 – British comedian Tony Hancock commits suicide in his Sydney hotel room.
*July 2 – Fifty students are arrested during an anti-Vietnam War protest in Martin Place, Sydney.
*July 4 – Forty five people are arrested during an anti-war protest outside the U.S. consulate in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.
*July 31 – The Premier of Queensland, Jack Pizzey, dies in office. Joh Bjelke-Petersen is sworn in as his successor.
*August 3 – The standard gauge rail line between Perth and Kalgoorlie is completed.
*October 14 – The town of Meckering, Western Australia, is badly damaged by an earthquake.
*October 28 – The Postmaster-General's Department decreases the number of mail deliveries per day from two to one.
*October 31 – 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.
*November 1 – The airline Ansett-ANA is renamed Ansett.
*December 14 – 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.
*December 31 – A MacRobertson Miller Viscount plane crashes south of Port Hedland, Western Australia, killing 26 people.

Non-specific dates

* Australia's population is estimated to have reached 12 million in 1968.

cience and technology

Arts and literature

*January 17 – The Seekers are named Australians of the Year for 1967.
*January 19 – Judy Cassab wins her second Archibald Prize for her portrait of Margo Lewers.
*July 1 – The Copyright Act 1968 replaces the existing 1911 copyright legislation.
*Thomas Keneally's novel "Three Cheers for the Paraclete" wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

*December 2 – At the Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, Prime Minister John Gorton announces the creation of the Australian Film Development Corporation.

Television

*May 25 – 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.

port

*February 26 — Boxer Lionel Rose beats Japan's Fighting Harada in Tokyo to become world bantamweight champion.
*May 25 — Derek Clayton wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:14:47.8 in Hobart.
*May 26 — Australia wins the 1968 Federation Cup in women's tennis, defeating the Netherlands (3–0).
*June 10 — Australia wins the 1968 Rugby League World Cup when it beats France (20–2) in the final at the SCG.
*September 21 — The South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
*September 28 — 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.
*October 12–October 27 — 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).
*October 15 — 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.
*November 5 — Rain Lover wins the Melbourne Cup.
*December 26 — "Ondine II" takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. "Koomooloo" is the handicap winner

Unknown dates

* Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield.

Births

* February 7 — Phillip Tahmindjis, ice speed skater
* April 7 — Duncan Armstrong, swimmer
* May 26 — Rachael Sporn, basketball player
* May 28 — Kylie Minogue, entertainer
* June 1 — Jason Donovan, actor
* June 4 — Rachel Griffiths, actress
* July 27 — Julian McMahon, actor
* August 9 — Eric Bana, actor
* September 30 — Sharon Jaklofsky, track and field athlete
* October 12 — Hugh Jackman, actor

Deaths

* January 14 – Dorothea Mackellar (b. 1885), poet
* February 21 – Howard Florey, Baron Florey (b. 1898), Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist
* June 24 – Tony Hancock (b. 1924), British comedian
* August 19 – William McCall (b. 1908), politician
* September 28 – Sir Norman Brookes (b. 1877), tennis player
* October 10 – Gavin Long (b. 1901), journalist and military historian
* October 13 – Dame Jean Macnamara (b. 1899), medical scientist
* October 27 – James Hunter (b. 1882), politician
* December 20 – John Jennings (b. 1878), politician

ee also

*1968
*1960s