1972 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1972 in Australia.

1972 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Sir Paul Hasluck
Prime minister	William McMahon, then Gough Whitlam
Population	13,067,265
Australian of the Year	Shane Gould
Elections	TAS, QLD, Federal

← 1971 1970 1969 1972 in Australia → 1973 1974 1975
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	Other events of 1972 Federal election Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

Sir Paul Hasluck

William McMahon

Gough Whitlam

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Sir Paul Hasluck
• Prime Minister – William McMahon (until 5 December), then Gough Whitlam
  • Deputy Prime Minister – Doug Anthony (until 5 December), then Lance Barnard
  • Opposition Leader – Gough Whitlam (until 5 December), then Billy Snedden (from 20 December)
• Chief Justice – Sir Garfield Barwick

State and territory leaders

• Premier of New South Wales – (Sir) Robert Askin
  • Opposition Leader – Pat Hills
• Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-Petersen
  • Opposition Leader – Jack Houston
• Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan
  • Opposition Leader – Steele Hall (until 15 March), then Bruce Eastick
• Premier of Tasmania – Angus Bethune (until 3 May), then Eric Reece
  • Opposition Leader – Eric Reece (until 3 May), then Max Bingham
• Premier of Victoria – Sir Henry Bolte (until 23 August), then Rupert Hamer
  • Opposition Leader – Clyde Holding
• Premier of Western Australia – John Tonkin
  • Opposition Leader – Sir David Brand (until 5 June), then Sir Charles Court

Governors and administrators

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Roden Cutler
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Alan Mansfield (until 21 March), then Sir Colin Hannah
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Mark Oliphant
• Governor of Tasmania – Lieutenant General Sir Edric Bastyan
• Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe
• Governor of Western Australia – Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew
• Administrator of Norfolk Island – Robert Dalkin (until August), then Edward Pickerd
• Administrator of the Northern Territory – Sir Frederick Chaney
• Administrator of Papua and New Guinea – Les Johnson

Events

Shane Gould, Australian of the Year

• 26 January – Aboriginal Tent Embassy was constructed in front of Parliament House (now old Parliament House).
• 10 May – Law professor George Duncan is drowned in the Torrens River, Adelaide. Police establish that his death was a homophobic-related murder. ^{[1] [2]}
• 3 June – Douglas Nicholls becomes the first Indigenous Australian to be knighted.
• 29 July – Kerry Anne Wells earned Australia's first Miss Universe crown, in Dorado, Puerto Rico.
• 30 August - Three people are killed in the 1972 Taroom explosion when a burning truck loaded with ammonium nitrate explodes near Taroom, Queensland.
• 6 October – Faraday School kidnapping – six pupils and their teacher are kidnapped for $1 million ransom in Victoria.
• 15 November – First aircraft hijacking in Australia. Ansett Airlines Flight 232 from Adelaide to Alice Springs with 28 passengers and a crew of 4. Followed by gun battle at Alice Springs Airport.
• 1 December – Belinda Green is crowned Miss World in London, becoming the second Australian winner of this pageant. Australia won the two most important beauty contest in this year.
• 2 December – 1972 Australian federal election: The Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam defeats the Liberal/Country Coalition government led by Prime Minister William McMahon. Consequently, Whitlam becomes the first Labor Prime Minister of Australia since the defeat of Ben Chifley in 1949.
• Shane Gould is announced as Australian of the Year
• The health warning, "Smoking is a Health Hazard" becomes compulsory on cigarette packets in Australia.

Arts and literature

Main article: 1972 in Australian literature

• Thea Astley's novel The Acolyte wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

Television

• 13 March – Controversial soap opera Number 96 debuts on Network 0–10.
• 16 November – The Aunty Jack Show premieres on ABC-TV in Sydney.

Sport

• 16 September – Bernard Vine wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:28:21 in Richmond, Australia.
• Manly-Warringah defeated Eastern Suburbs 19–14 in the 1972 NSWRFL season Grand Final, claiming the first premiership win in the club's history. Parramatta finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon.
• In the Bulimba Cup final Brisbane defeat Toowoomba 55–2 at Lang Park
• Piping Lane wins the Melbourne Cup
• Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
• American Eagle takes line and handicap honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
• Shane Gould wins 3 gold medals for swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich
• Australia draws Ashes Cricket Test Series 2–2 with England

Births

• 2 January – Adam Elliot, animator and screenwriter
• 7 January – Shane Kelly, cyclist
• 16 January
  • Ang Christou, Australian rules footballer
  • Greg Page, former member of The Wiggles
• 21 January – Brett Mullins, rugby league player
• 1 February – Taryn Fiebig, opera and musical theatre soprano (died 2021)
• 5 February
  • Brad Fittler, rugby league footballer and coach
  • Queen Mary of Denmark ^[3]
• 6 February – Mark Ladbrook, track and field sprinter
• 7 March – Simon Pryce, current member of The Wiggles
• 9 March – Spencer Howson, radio announcer
• 11 March – Adam Bandt, politician
• 25 March – Nina Bonner, field hockey goalkeeper
• 8 April – Katrina Powell, field hockey player
• 15 April – Glenn Butcher, politician
• 16 May – Adam Crouch, politician
• 20 May – Michael Diamond, professional target shooter
• 30 May - Simon Holmes à Court, entrepreneur and founder of Climate 200
• 30 May – Renita Farrell, field hockey player
• 31 May – Sarah Murdoch, model, actress and television presenter
• 19 June – Poppy Montgomery, actress
• 22 June – Damien Oliver, jockey
• 24 June – Robbie McEwen, cyclist
• 24 June – Ian Rutledge, field hockey coach
• 30 June – Stuart Rendell, hammer thrower
• 6 July – Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria
• 14 July – Deborah Mailman, actress and singer
• 26 July – Nathan Buckley, Australian rules footballer
• 12 August – Allison Tranquilli, basketball player
• 1 September – Louise Dobson, field hockey player
• 19 September
  • Matt Cockbain, rugby player and coach
  • Ryan Girdler, rugby league player
• 20 September – Jenn Morris, field hockey player
• 11 October – Claudia Black, actress
• 1 November – Toni Collette, actress ^[4]
• 7 November – Melissa Bell, actress
• 8 November – Kylie Shadbolt, artistic gymnast ^[5]
• 13 November – Samantha Riley, swimmer
• 9 December – Annalise Braakensiek, model, actress, television presenter, businesswoman and activist (died 2019)
• 11 December – Del Kathryn Barton, artist
• 12 December – Quan Yeomans, musician; lead singer of Regurgitator
• 13 December – Chris Grant, Australian rules footballer
• 22 December – Anthony Edwards, rower
• 28 December – Patrick Rafter, tennis player

Deaths

• 6 January – Olegas Truchanas (born 1923), conservationist and nature photographer
• 22 January – Jack Cummings (born 1901), tennis player
• 2 February – Matt Goggin (born 1936), Australian rules footballer (Geelong)
• 15 February – Sir Kenneth Street (born 1890), Chief Justice of New South Wales
• 29 February – Ernie Barber (born 1895), Australian rules footballer (South Melbourne)
• 9 March – Roy Kendall (born 1899), politician and MI6 officer
• 19 March –
  • George Bassett (born 1888), politician
  • Jack Carington Smith (born 1908), artist
• 16 April – Frank O'Connor (born 1894), public servant
• 2 May – Arthur Trebilcock (born 1907), Tasmanian cricketer
• 7 July – Sir Owen Dixon (born 1886), Chief Justice of Australia
• 21 August – Ernestine Hill (born 1899), author
• 23 September – Peter O'Sullivan (born 1932), Australian rules footballer (Essendon, North Melbourne)
• 4 November – Harry Rigby (born 1896), World War I flying ace
• 24 November – Sir Daniel McVey (born 1892), public servant

References

1. A look back at the Duncan murder Archived 17 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine , The 7.30 Report (ABC), 9 May 2002.
2. How the killing of a gay academic changed Australia, Jamie Duncan, BBC 14 November 2017
3. "The regal meaning behind Queen Mary's coronation dress". Harper's Bazaar. 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
4. "Toni Collette | Biography, Movies, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
5. "Kylie SHADBOLT - Olympic Gymnastics Artistic | Australia". International Olympic Committee. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2019.