1956 in Australia

Decades:	1930s ; 1940s ; 1950s ; 1960s ; 1970s ;
See also:	Other events of 1956 ; Timeline of Australian history ;

1956 in Australia
1956 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Slim
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	9,425,563
Elections	WA, SA, NSW, TAS, QLD

Last updated January 31, 2024

The following lists events that happened during 1956 in Australia.

Events

August - The Murray River flooded (the biggest flood in recorded history), affecting many towns near the river.
22 November – The 1956 Summer Olympics opened in Melbourne. The opening ceremony was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with 107,700 people watching.

Arts and literature

William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize for his portrait of Albert Namatjira
Quadrant literary magazine is founded, edited by James McAuley

Television

16 September – Australia's first TV station TCN-9 begins regular transmission in Sydney
4 November - HSV-7 begins as Melbourne's first TV Station.
5 November – The first TV station of the Australian Broadcasting Commission is launched; ABN-2 Sydney.

Sport

8 September – John Russell wins his first men's national marathon title, clocking 2:26:37.8 in Melbourne.
Melbourne Cup winner in 1956 was Evening Peal, ridden by George Podmore Trained by E.D.Lawson
New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
Kurrewa IV takes line honours and Solo wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St George defeated Balmain
Victorian Football League premiership: Melbourne defeated Collingwood
Australian Men's Tennis Championship was won by Lew Hoad from NSW aged 22
Australian Women's Tennis Championship was won by Miss Mary Carter

Births

9 January – Bill Leak, editorial cartoonist (d. 2017)
20 January – Richard Morecroft, English-Australian journalist
29 January – Ian Davies, basketball player (d. 2013)
6 February – Ken Lorraway, triple jumper (d. 2007)
27 February – Andrea Mitchell, Western Australian politician and sports administrator (d. 2020)
7 March – David Koch, television personality
9 March – Steve Vizard, actor
9 May – Jana Wendt, journalist
22 May – Peter Ali, basketball player
15 July – Steve Mortimer, rugby league footballer
21 July – Andy Campbell, basketball player
31 July – Ernie Dingo, actor
12 August – Suzanne Twelftree, Paralympic wheelchair tennis player and powerlifter (d. 2019)
17 August – John Kosmina, soccer player and manager
17 September – Ross Glendinning, Australian Rules footballer
17 September – Yunupingu, musician (Yothu Yindi) and community leader (d. 2013)
2 October ~ Peter Evans
16 October – Martin Sacks, actor
7 November
- Michael Wooldridge, politician
- Gordon McLeod, basketball player and assistant coach.
14 November – John Anderson, politician
23 November – Shane Gould, swimmer

Deaths

20 March – Fanny Durack, (b. 1889), swimmer^[1]
29 May – Frank Beaurepaire, (b. 1891), swimmer and politician
12 July – John Hayes, (b. 1868), Premier of Tasmania
9 August – Archie Cameron, politician (b. 1895)^[2]

References

↑ Helen King (1981). Bede Nairn; Geoff Serle (eds.). Durack, Sarah (Fanny) (1889–1956). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 1. Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
↑ Archie Galbraith Cameron (1895–1956)

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[1] Helen King (1981). Bede Nairn; Geoff Serle (eds.). Durack, Sarah (Fanny) (1889–1956). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 1. Melbourne University Press. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[2] Archie Galbraith Cameron (1895–1956)

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Timeline of Australian history

v t e 1956 in Oceania
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1956 in Australia

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