1955 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1955 in Australia.

1955 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Slim
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	9,199,729
Elections	Federal, TAS, VIC

← 1954 1953 1952 1955 in Australia → 1956 1957 1958
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	Other events of 1955 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
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
• Premier of Victoria – John Cain I (until 7 June), then Henry Bolte
• Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke

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 Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

• 19 February – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established at a meeting in Bangkok. ^[1]
• 22–28 February – 1955 Hunter Valley floods: Enormous flooding of the Hunter River and adjacent areas of the Murray–Darling basin causes loss of life and set many rainfall and streamflow records.
• 19 April – Australian Labor Party split of 1955. Expelled members form the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist), predecessor of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP).
• 28 May – A state election is held in Victoria. John Cain's Labor government is defeated by the Liberal and Country Party, led by Henry Bolte.
• August – Widespread floods and exceedingly persistent rainfall effect the southern fringe of the continent.
• 12 August – The aircraft carrier HMAS Vengeance is returned to the British Royal Navy. ^[2]
• 21 August – The Consolidated Zinc Corporation announced it has discovered bauxite at Weipa, Queensland. ^[3]
• 28 October – The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne is commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy. ^[2]
• 6 November – The 1955 Queensland Road Racing Championship is held at Southport. ^[4]
• 16 November – The Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia is established.
• 23 November – The Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean are transferred from British to Australian control.
• 10 December – Federal election: The incumbent Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party led by Arthur Fadden defeat the Labor Party led by H. V. Evatt. Malcolm Fraser first enters Parliament as Liberal member for Wannon.

Science and technology

• The Guthega power station becomes the first to generate electricity in the Snowy Mountains Scheme

Arts and literature

Main article: 1955 in Australian literature

• 28 November – Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll receives its stage premiere by the Union Theatre Repertory Company in Melbourne with the playwright in a leading role; this is influential as the first authentically naturalistic modern drama in the theatre of Australia ^[5]
• 19 December – Dame Edna Everage makes her first stage appearance, in Melbourne
• John Brack paints The Car and Collins St., 5 pm in Oakleigh, Victoria
• Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Robert Campbell Esq.
• Donald Friend wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work St John and Scenes from the Apocalypse
• Patrick White's novel The Tree of Man is published
• Alan Marshall's childhood autobiography I Can Jump Puddles is published

Film

• Jedda , a film by Charles Chauvel, is released

Sport and recreation

• Board games
• 19 January – Australian debut of Scrabble
• Cricket
  • New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
  • England defeats Australia 3–1 in The Ashes
• Football
  • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
  • Victorian Football League premiership: Melbourne defeated Collingwood 64–36
• Rugby
  • Bledisloe Cup: won by the All Blacks
  • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Valleys defeat Brothers 17–7
  • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeat Newtown 12–11
• Golf
  • Australian Open: won by Bobby Locke
  • Australian PGA Championship: won by Ossie Pickworth
• Horse racing
  • Rising Fast wins the Caulfield Cup
  • Kingster wins the Cox Plate
  • Toparoa wins the Melbourne Cup
• Motor racing
  • The Australian Grand Prix is held at Port Wakefield and won by Jack Brabham driving a Cooper Bristol
• Tennis
  • Australian Open men's singles: Ken Rosewall defeats Lew Hoad 9–7 6–4 6–4
  • Australian Open women's singles: Beryl Penrose Collier defeats Thelma Coyne Long 6–4 6–3
  • Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 5–0 in the 1955 Davis Cup final
  • Wimbledon: Rex Hartwig and Lew Hoad win the Gentlemen's Doubles
• Yachting
  • Even takes line honours and Moonbi wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

• 1 January – Mario Andreacchio, film director
• 6 January – Graham Murray (died 2013), rugby league footballer and coach
• 13 January – Paul Kelly, rock musician
• 10 February – Greg Norman, golfer
• 4 March – Tim Costello, Baptist minister and CEO of World Vision
• 6 April - Ray Blacklock (died 2020), rugby league footballer
• 23 April – Judy Davis, actress
• 3 May – David Hookes (died 2004), cricketer
• 31 May – Tommy Emmanuel, guitarist
• 23 June – Alan J. Gow, motorsport executive
• 5 July – Peter McNamara, tennis player
• 24 July – David Smith, race walker
• 26 July – Ron Peno (died 2023), rock singer/songwriter
• 27 July – Allan Border, cricketer
• 5 August – Robert Flower (died 2014), footballer
• 19 August – Mary-Anne Fahey, actress and comedian
• 18 September - Jim Saleam, far right activist
• 5 October – Wilbur Wilde, saxophonist
• 8 October – Paul Lennon, Premier of Tasmania
• 24 October – Katherine Knight, murderer
• 30 November – Deborra-Lee Furness, actress and producer
• 11 December – David Atkins, actor and dancer
• 19 December– Lincoln Hall (died 2012), mountain climber

Deaths

• 10 May – John Radecki, stained-glass artist (born in Poland) (b. 1865)
• 6 June – Max Meldrum, artist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1875)
• 1 August – Charles Shaw, journalist and novelist (b. 1900)
• 26 August – P.C. Anderson, golfer and educator (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1871)
• 5 September – Haydn Bunton Sr., Australian rules footballer (Fitzroy) (b. 1911)
• 11 November – Harry Cobby, military aviator (b. 1894)
• 19 December – Sir Keith Smith, aviator (b. 1890)

See also

• List of Australian films of the 1950s

References

1. "Casey Signs SEATO Pact". The Sydney Morning Herald . National Library of Australia. 10 September 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
2. "Our new carrier 'Most modern afloat'". The Argus . Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 6 April 1955. p. 5. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
3. "Great Promise in Bauxite Deposits". The Central Queensland Herald . Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 23 August 1956. p. 19. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
4. Alf Cummings, Grand Prix win at 22, Modern Motor (magazine), January 1956, pages 22, 23 & 84
5. Fitzpatrick, Peter (1979). After The Doll: Australian Drama Since 1955. Studies in Australian culture. Melbourne: Edward Arnold Australia. p. vii. ISBN   0726720402.