1961 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1961 in Australia.

1961 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Morrison, then William Sidney
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	10,548,267
Australian of the Year	Joan Sutherland
Elections	Federal, VIC

← 1960 1959 1958 1961 in Australia → 1962 1963 1964
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	1961 in Australian literature Other events of 1961 Federal election Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

Robert Menzies

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
• Governor General – William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil (died in office 3 February), then William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle
• Chief Justice – Sir Owen Dixon

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Robert Heffron
• Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
• Premier of South Australia – Sir Thomas Playford
• Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
• Premier of Western Australia – David Brand
• Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte

State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Eric Woodward
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Abel Smith
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Edric Bastyan (from 4 April)
• Governor of Tasmania – Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks

Events

• 2 January – Oral contraceptives are first sold in Australia
• 20 January to early March – Disastrous bushfires affect Western Australia, completely destroying a number of towns.
• 25 February – Last electric tram service runs in Sydney
• 23 June – Australia signed the Antarctic Treaty
• 12 August – Richmond become the only team since 1922 to fail to score a goal in a VFL/AFL match.
• 31 October – Parkes radiotelescope officially opened by the Governor General
• 30 November – Ansett-ANA Flight 325, a Vickers Viscount aircraft, crashes into Botany Bay shortly after takeoff, killing all 15 on board

Arts and literature

Main article: 1961 in Australian literature

• Dame Joan Sutherland is announced as Australian of the Year
• William Edwin Pidgeon wins the Archibald Prize
• The novel Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence is banned from sale
• Riders in the Chariot by Patrick White is awarded the Miles Franklin Literary Award

Television

• 19 August – Four Corners TV current affairs program first screened on ABC TV
• 1 December - The first regional television station is launched in Traralgon, Victoria, as GLV-10 Gippsland and Latrobe Valley (Television) Victoria.

Sport

• Cricket
  • New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
  • The Ashes: Australia defeats England 2-1 and retains The Ashes
• Football
  • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Norths defeated Valleys 29-5
  • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St. George defeated Western Suburbs 22-0
  • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by West Adelaide
  • Victorian Football League premiership: Hawthorn defeated Footscray 94-51
• Golf
  • Australian Open: won by Frank Phillips
  • Australian PGA Championship: won by Alan Murray (golfer)
• Horse racing
  • Summer Fair wins the Caulfield Cup
  • Dhaulagiri wins the Cox Plate
  • Magic Night wins the Golden Slipper
  • Lord Fury wins the Melbourne Cup
• Motor racing
  • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Mallala and won by Lex Davison driving a Cooper Climax
• Tennis
  • Australian Open men's singles: Roy Emerson defeats Rod Laver 1–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
  • Australian Open women's singles: Margaret Court defeats Jan Lehane O'Neill 6–1, 6–4
  • Davis Cup: Australia defeats Italy 5–0 in the 1961 Davis Cup final
  • Wimbledon: Roy Emerson and Neale Fraser win the Men's Doubles
  • Wimbledon: Rod Laver wins the Men's Singles
• Yachting
  • Astor takes line honours and Rival wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

• 1 January – Sam Backo, Indigenous Australian rugby league footballer
• 7 January – Andrew Thomson, lawyer and politician
• 9 February – Alison Megarrity, politician (died 2022)
• 12 February – Di Farmer, politician
• 25 February – Trevor Strong, politician
• 28 February – Mark Latham, politician
• 2 March – Simone Young, conductor
• 4 March – Bart Bassett, politician
• 14 March – Garry Jack, rugby league footballer and coach
• 16 March – Brett Kenny, rugby league footballer
• 24 March – Dean Jones, cricketer, coach and commentator (died 2020)
• 26 March – Richard Torbay, politician
• 29 March – Gary Brabham, racing driver
• 12 April
  • Magda Szubanski, actor and comedian
  • Lisa Gerrard, singer
• 20 April – Frances Adamson, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to China
• 2 May – Peter Doohan, tennis player (died 2017)
• 16 May – Gina Riley, actor and comedian
• 31 May – Justin Madden, Australian rules footballer
• 2 June – Kerry Saxby-Junna, racewalker
• 6 July - Rick Price, singer
• 18 July – Stephen Hodge, cyclist
• 21 July – Morris Iemma, 40th Premier of New South Wales
• 1 August – Peter Evans, swimmer
• 8 August – Tim Mander, politician and rugby league referee
• 12 August – Peter Dowling, politician
• 19 August – Frank Terenzini, politician
• 20 August – Greg Egan, science fiction author and mathematician
• 3 September – Andy Griffiths, author
• 15 September
  • Terry Lamb, rugby league footballer and coach
  • Joan Pease, politician
• 29 September – Julia Gillard, Welsh-Australian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Australia
• 8 October – Simon Burke, actor
• 19 October – Cliff Lyons, rugby league footballer
• 23 October – Brett Dean, composer, conductor and violist
• 18 November – Anthony Warlow, entertainer
• 23 November – Merv Hughes, cricketer
• 4 December – Sonia Hornery, politician
• 17 December – Larry Anthony, politician
• 29 December – Mal Brough, politician

Deaths

• 3 January – Auvergne Doherty, businesswoman (born 1896)
• 3 February – William Morrison (born 1893), Governor General of Australia
• 20 February – Percy Grainger (born 1882), pianist and composer
• 22 May – Lionel Lindsay (born 1874), artist
• 27 September – Peter Dawson (born 1882), singer
• 2 October – Essington Lewis (born 1881), industrialist
• 3 December – Pat O'Hara Wood (born 1891), tennis player
• 20 December – Earle Page (born 1880), Prime Minister of Australia ^[1]
• 29 December – Sibyl Morrison (born 1895), first female barrister in New South Wales

See also

• List of Australian films of the 1960s

References

1. Bridge, Carl. "Page, Sir Earle Christmas (1880–1961)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.