1956 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 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

← 1955 1954 1953 1956 in Australia → 1957 1958 1959
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	1956 in Australian television 1956 in Australian literature Other events of 1956 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 – 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

• 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

Main article: 1956 in Australian 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)
• 7 November
  • Michael Wooldridge, politician
  • Gordon McLeod, basketball player and assistant coach.
• 14 November – John Anderson, politician
• 23 November – Shane Gould, swimmer
• 21 December – Mark McArdle, Queensland politician (d. 2020) ^[1]

Deaths

• 20 March – Fanny Durack, (b. 1889), swimmer ^[2]
• 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) ^[3]

See also

• List of Australian films of the 1950s

References

1. "Former Member Details: McArdle, Mark Francis". Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
2. Helen King (1981). Bede Nairn; Geoff Serle (eds.). Durack, Sarah (Fanny) (1889–1956). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 1. Melbourne University Press. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
3. "Archie Galbraith Cameron (1895–1956)". Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.