1953 in Australia

Infobox Australian year
monarch = Elizabeth II
governor-general = William McKell, then William Slim
pm =Robert Menzies
population = 8,815,362
australian =
elections =Senate, WA, NSW, SA, QLD"See also:"
1952 in Australia,
other events of 1953,
1954 in Australia and the
Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

*Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II
*Governor-General – William McKell (until May 8), then Sir William Slim
*Prime Minister – Robert Menzies

tate Premiers

*Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
*Premier of Queensland – Vince Gair
*Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
*Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
*Premier of Victoria – John Cain I
*Premier of Western Australia – Ross McLarty (until February 23), then Albert Hawke

tate Governors

*Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
*Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
*Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George (from February 23)
*Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet
*Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
*Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

* 20 March – The "Television Act" is passed by parliament, setting regulations for the broadcast of television in Australia.
* 29 October – British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines (BCPA) Douglas DC-6, registration VH-BPE, en route from Sydney, crashes on approach to San Francisco, killing 19 people.
* 4 December – Oil is discovered in the Exmouth Gulf off the coast of Western Australia.

cience & Technology

The first town to fluoridate the water supply in Australia was Beaconsfield, Tasmania. [cite book | editor = Editors: Graham Aplin, S.G. Foster and Michael McKernan | title = Australians:Events and Places | year = 1987 | publisher = Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates | location = Sydney, NSW, Australia | id = ISBN 0-521-34073-X | pages = page 366 | chapter = Tasmania ]

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

port

* 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)

ee also

*1953
*1950s

References