1975 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1975 in Australia.

1975 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Sir John Kerr
Prime minister	Gough Whitlam, then Malcolm Fraser
Population	13,722,571
Australian of the Year	John Cornforth and Alan Stretton
Elections	SA, Federal

← 1974 1973 1972 1975 in Australia → 1976 1977 1978
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	Other events of 1975 Federal election Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

Sir John Kerr

Gough Whitlam

Malcolm Fraser

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Sir John Kerr
• Prime Minister – Gough Whitlam (until 11 November), then Malcolm Fraser
  • Deputy Prime Minister – Jim Cairns (until 2 July), then Frank Crean (until 11 November), then Doug Anthony
  • Opposition Leader – Billy Snedden (until 21 March), then Malcolm Fraser (until 11 November), then Gough Whitlam
• Chief Justice – Sir Garfield Barwick

State and territory leaders

• Premier of New South Wales – Sir Robert Askin (until 3 January), then Tom Lewis
  • Opposition Leader – Neville Wran
• Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-Petersen
  • Opposition Leader – Tom Burns
• Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan
  • Opposition Leader – Bruce Eastick (until 24 July), then David Tonkin
• Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece (until 31 March), then Bill Neilson
  • Opposition Leader – Max Bingham
• Premier of Victoria – Rupert Hamer
  • Opposition Leader – Clyde Holding
• Premier of Western Australia – Sir Charles Court
  • Opposition Leader – John Tonkin
• Majority Leader of the Northern Territory – Goff Letts

Governors and administrators

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Roden Cutler
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Colin Hannah
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Mark Oliphant
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Stanley Burbury
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Henry Winneke
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Hughie Edwards (until 2 April), then Sir Wallace Kyle (from 24 November)
• Administrator of Norfolk Island – Edward Pickerd (until 31 August), then Charles Buffett
• Administrator of the Northern Territory – Jock Nelson (until 12 November)
• High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea – Tom Critchley (until 16 September)

Events

January

• 1 January –
  • In the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, Northern Territory administrator Jock Nelson criticises Major General Alan Stretton's plan to recommend that emergency directors be given absolute authority in areas affected by disasters. ^[1] Nelsen is supported by NT police commissioner William McLaren and Darwin mayor Harold Brennan. ^[1]
  • Davis Hughes, Kenneth McCaw, William Tyree, Oliver Gillard, William Shearer, William Philip, Thomas Webb, Theodor Bray, James Foots, Douglas Tooth and John Parker are awarded the title of knight bachelor in the 1975 New Year Honours. ^[2]
• 2 January – As Darwin begins to be rebuilt following Cyclone Tracy, Anglican bishop Ian Shevill writes an opinion piece for The Sydney Morning Herald in which he questions the viability of rebuilding the city in an area which is likely to experience future natural disasters. ^[3]
• 3 January – New South Wales premier Sir Robert Askin retires from politics and is succeeded by Tom Lewis. ^{[4] [5]}
• 5 January – The Tasman Bridge disaster occurs in Hobart when the Tasman Bridge is struck by the ore carrier MV Lake Illawarra. ^[6] The bridge partially collapses onto the vessel, which sinks. ^[7] Seven crew and five motorists are killed. ^[8]
• 7 January – An Executive Council Minute authorising the raising of a "temporary loan" of US$4,000 million for 20 years is reversed before it becomes public knowledge. The move to bypass the Loans Council – to become known as the "Loans Affair" – had been initiated a month earlier by several Labor Ministers without consulting Cabinet.
• 8–29 January – New South Wales experiences a three-week period of unreliable electricity supply after "militant" unionists impose bans on Electricity Commission employees maintaining power stations across the state during an ongoing pay dispute. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]} The New South Wales government are forced to implement measures such as industrial zoning, a three-day week and a ban on electricity for non-essential industry in Sydney. ^{[15] [16]} The crisis is finally resolved at a stopwork meeting held at the Gosford Showground on 29 January. ^[17]
• 13 January – Music conductor Sir Bernard Heinze is announced as 1974's Australian of the Year. ^[18]
• 14 January – A major fire occurs in the Sydney CBD. ^[19] For over five hours, fire brigades battle to control the blaze at Cost Less Imports in the four-storey Angus & Robertson building at 89 Castleagh Street. ^[19] Thousands of people are evacuated and nearby shops are closed as the fire engulfs the building. Approximately 20 fire fighters are treated by ambulance officers after being overcome by smoke. ^[19]
• 19 January – Sydney's 2JJ, the ABC's new youth station and the predecessor of Triple J, commences broadcasting. ^{[20] [21]}
• 20 January – A four-year-old boy is killed when he is hit by a motorcycle after a member of the Astro Daredevil team performs a stunt in the grounds of a hotel on the Gold Coast. ^[22] The rider is ultimately acquitted of a charge of unlawfully killing the boy when a criminal court jury is directed in September 1976 to find him not guilty due to insufficient evidence. ^[23]
• 26 January – The Workers Party is launched at a banquet at the Sydney Opera House where Lang Hancock is the guest of honour. ^[24] The party is libertarian in principle, demanding less government intervention, as well as being virulently anti-Socialist. ^[24] The name is subsequently changed to the Progress Party in 1977.

February

• 1 February – Having commenced broadcasting in December 1974, Australia's first FM radio station 2MBS is officially launched in Sydney by prime minister Gough Whitlam and premier Tom Lewis. ^[25]
• 3 February –
  • Two RAAF jets on a training flight off the New South Wales North Coast receive a distress signal which lead them to two sailors stranded in a liferaft who had survived the sinking of their eight-metre sloop the night before. ^[26] The sailors are eventually retrieved by a 15,000 tonne tanker which was located approximately 20 kilometres away. ^[26]
  • Eleven 12-year-old students and their 22-year-old teacher were injured when a gas line explodes in a science laboratory at Busby High School in the Sydney suburb of Green Valley. ^[27]
• 7 February –
  • An 11-year-old boy dies after being attacked by a shark at Point Sinclair in South Australia. ^[28]
  • During a statewide 24-hour strike by the Queensland Municipal Officers Association, Toowoomba City Council mayor Nell Robinson famously sits at a small table in the foyer of City Hall and handles all administrative duties, including the collection of fines and rates. ^[29]
• 8 February – Off duty police officers are stationed at the home of Lang Hancock in the Perth suburb of Dalkeith with strict security checks being performed as he holds a 21st birthday party for his daughter Gina. ^[30]
• 9 February – Lionel Murphy resigns to become a High Court judge (a move for which Garfield Barwick's appointment had set a precedent). ^[31]
• 11 February – New South Wales Premier Tom Lewis decides to replace Lionel Murphy in the Senate with a non-Labor nominee. ^[32] Cabinet unanimously endorses his decision with Albury's 77-year-old mayor, Cleaver Bunton selected, thus reducing Labor to 28 in the Senate. ^[33] The move is seen as breaking constitutional convention and was against the advice of senior Liberals and most Premiers. ^[33]
• 13 February – The federal minister for the Northern Territory Rex Patterson announces that the Darwin Relief Fund has approved immediate payments of $10,000 for the widows of Cyclone Tracy, while each child under 16 will receive $1000. ^[34] Payments of $5,000 had also been approved to families where the wife had been killed in the cyclone and an additional $2,500 approved for each child killed. ^[34]
• 24 February – On the final day of the three-day state Labor conference in Launceston, Tasmanian premier Eric Reece announces his resignation. ^[35] The announcement came after a vote in which Labor ruled that people aged 65 or over could not be endorsed as an ALP candidate at the next state election, likely voiding Reece's eligibility. ^[35] However, four hours later Reece announces he has changed his mind after delegates unanimously passed a vote of confidence in Reece and ask him to stay until the end of his term. ^[35]
• 27 February – Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's failure to support Speaker Jim Cope in a ruling involving Clyde Cameron led to the Speaker's resignation and his replacement by Gordon Scholes. ^[36] Cope had been having difficulty with the Opposition's increasing larrikinism.

March

• 12 March – Chargé d'affaires Graeme Lewis is killed when the Air Vietnam Douglas C-54 he was a passenger on crashed during a flight between Vientiane and Saigon, killing all onboard. ^{[37] [38]}
• 13 March – Four American businessmen and their Australian pilot are killed instantly when the Cessna 310 they were onboard crashed on Fitzroy Station in the Northern Territory, between Katherine and Kununurra. ^{[39] [40]} All four businessmen were representatives of subsidiaries of the Standard Oil Company. ^[39]
• 14 March – ABC Radio producer Peter Whitlock who had been working in Thailand becomes trapped in the South Vietnamese city of Buôn Ma Thuột when it comes under heavy attack from communist forces. ^[41]
• 16 March – A young child is stabbed twice in the back by a man as she played in a park in the Sydney suburb of Newtown. ^{[42] [43]} She is taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in a stable condition. ^[42]
• 18 March –
  • The Victorian Government appoints the Beach Board of Inquiry to report on allegations of misconduct against the police force. ^[44]
  • Tasmanian premier Eric Reece again announces his resignation. ^[45] The announcement comes after Reece initially announced his resignation at the state Labor conference in Launceston in February before changing his mind four hours later. ^[45] Reece now confirms he will leave the role at the end of March to be succeeded by Bill Neilson. ^[45]
  • It's reported 47 women are to lose their jobs at Thomas Nationwide Transport as the company plans to outsource its computer work to Singapore. ^[46] Chairman of TNT Sir Peter Abeles defends the move and claims the company had attempted to find new jobs for the women but none of them had accepted any new positions. ^[46]
  • The Department of Foreign Affairs asks the ambassador of Australia to North Vietnam David Wilson to make official enquires about missing ABC Radio producer Peter Whitlock who is believed to be under house arrest in Buôn Ma Thuột in South Vietnam, which was overrun by Viet Cong troops earlier in the month. ^[47]
  • Federal transport minister Charles Jones confirms Concorde will be allowed into Australia for at least three proving flights in either July or August. ^[48]
• 19 March – 20-year-old bank teller William Rice is shot dead during an armed robbery at an ANZ Bank branch in the Sydney suburb of Bondi. ^[49] In April 1977, Gary Findlay pleads guilty to murdering Rice and to also having wounded 72-year-old Thomas Edward Douglas Watson with intent to murder two days earlier. ^[50] Findlay is sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment. ^[50] Findlay was on parole when the offences were committed, having been sentenced in 1970 to 10 years jail on each of three counts of armed robbery but was released on parole in November 1973. ^[50]
• 20 March –
  • Deputy prime minister Jim Cairns, Minister for Agriculture Ken Wriedt and Iranian government ministers jointly announce that Australia and Iran had negotiated to strengthen economic ties, with Australia agreeing to sell uranium to Iran "under favourable conditions" while Iran agrees to joint ventures in mining and agriculture ^[51]
  • Charmain Brent confirms she is filing for divorce from her husband Ronald Biggs. ^[52] Brent has remained in Australia with their two sons while Biggs is now living in Brazil with his girlfriend and their seven-month-old son. ^[52]
• 21 March – The 1975 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill occurs which sees Malcolm Fraser replace Billy Snedden as the leader of the Liberal Party, winning the party room ballot 37:27. ^[53] Phillip Lynch retains the deputy leadership. ^[53]
• 22 March – Husband and wife Noel and Sophia Weckert are both murdered between Mackay and Rockhampton while travelling Queensland's Bruce Highway enroute from Townsville to Emu Park. ^[54] In March 1976, Raymond John Wylie is found guilty of Noel Weckert's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment while Maxwell John Harper and Janice Christine Anne Payne are found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to seven years hard labour. ^[55] In February 1977, Wylie and Harper are both found guilty of Sophia Weckert's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment while Payne is sentenced to 10 years jail for manslaughter. ^[56]
• 26 March – 47-year-old Reginald Edward Issacs is found guilty of abducting, sexually assaulting and murdering 9-year-old Gregory Paul Cowie in the Wombat State Forest on 13 September 1974. ^[57] Justice Gowans sentences pronounces the statuary death sentence. ^{[58] [59]}
• 30 March – Two men, aged 21 and 18, are killed when they are struck by lightning on a property near Ilford, New South Wales during a rabbit shooting trip. ^[60] A 17-year-old boy was seriously injured in the strike and was taken to hospital in Mudgee. ^[61]

April

• 3 April – Prime minister Gough Whitlam launches a public appeal for the Australian Council for Overseas Aid to help raise money for refugees from Vietnam and Indo-China, confirming the Australian Government would commit $50,000 to the cause. ^[62] The Federal Government also confirms around 500 orphans from Vietnam would soon arrive in Australia. ^[63] A total of 226 families have already having been approved to adopt the orphans, with 270 adoptions applications in progress. ^[63]
• 8 April – After 21 hours of bitter debate in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, a Bill to abolish the death penalty is passed 36:30, with 5 abstentions. ^[64] To this end, Labor Council leader John Galbally had brought in 21 private members Bills in some 15 years. The abolition Bill must now pass the Legislative Council where lengthy debate and an even closer vote is expected.
• 11 April – Approximately 10,000 Water and Sewerage Employees Union members employed by the Sydney Water Board stop work and commence an indefinite strike as they demand a new industrial award conditions including a wage increase, permanency for employees after one year of service, free time for migrants to learn English and free work clothes after three months service. ^[65] Due to the strike, untreated sewage is permitted to flow into the sea from pumping stations at Cronulla, Malabar, Bondi and North Head. ^[66]
• 17 April – Senator Don Willesee announces the Australian Government will recognise the Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia following the Fall of Phnom Penh when Cambodian Government troops surrender to the Khmer Rouge. ^[67]
• 18 April – The residents of Darwin are given clearance to commence rebuilding their homes after the city was devastated by Cyclone Tracy with chairman of the Reconstruction Commission Tony Powell confirming the draft building code submitted to the interim commission under Leslie Thiess had been adopted by the Darwin Reconstruction Commission. ^[68]
• 19 April – The PRG fails to provide information about the whereabouts or the state of health of ABC Radio producer Peter Whitlock who became trapped in Buôn Ma Thuột when it fell to communist forces during the Battle of Ban Me Thuot more than a month ago. ^[69] When asked about Whitlock at his weekly press conference, Colonel Vo Dong Giang stated: "I am not aware of the concrete factors, that is why I regret I cannot answer you in a concrete way." ^[69]
• 23 April –
  • The Victorian Legislative Council votes to abolish the Death penalty in a 20-13 vote. ^[70] All 9 labor members in the legislative council, 11 liberal members voted in favor. 7 liberals and all 6 Country voted against. ^[71]
  • Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips arrive in Australia to commence a two-week royal tour of the country, beginning in Sydney and then continuing in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. ^{[72] [73] [74] [75] [76]}
• 25 April –
  • The 60th anniversary of the Landing at Anzac Cove is commemorated at Anzac Day services around Australia. ^{[77] [78] [79]}
  • The Australian Embassy in South Vietnam is closed and staff evacuated prior to the Fall of Saigon. ^[80]

May

• 1 May – Following an 11-day trial, 41-year-old Alwyn Theodore Kleinig is sentenced in the Central Criminal Court to life imprisonment for the murder of Francis David Pye who died when the main homestead on Pye's property was destroyed by fire at Collie near Gilgandra, New South Wales on 18 April 1973. ^[81]
• 2 May –
  • James Ryan O'Neill is charged in Tasmania's Bellerive Court with murdering 9-year-old Ricky John Smith in February 1975 and then murdering 9-year-old Bruce Colin Wilson in April 1975. ^[82] O'Neill pleads not guilty to murdering the boys. ^[83] However, at a trial in November 1975, O'Neill is tried and convicted of Smith's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. ^[84] Despite being charged with Wilson's murder which he purportedly confessed to in a police interview, he was not tried due to a prosecution policy in Tasmania stipulating that persons charged with multiple murders could only be tried on one of the charges. ^[84]
  • Qantas announces it has doubled the size of no smoking areas on its aircraft, so that one-third of all seats will be designated no-smoking zones. ^[85]
• 4 May – Several people are injured during a violent clash between pro-Palestinian supporters and pro-Israel supporters outside the Australian Union of Students headquarters in Melbourne. ^{[86] [87] [88]}
• 5 May – After the local council struggles to find an effective way to remove thousands of starlings which are roosting in the city of Wagga Wagga, a group of men consisting of local police officers and gun club members commence several days of an RSPCA-approved mass shooting of the birds. ^{[89] [90]} Approximately 150 birds are killed on the first day of shooting, while around another 600 are killed during the second day. ^{[91] [92] [93]}
• 8 May – New South Wales police minister John Waddy announces a new scheme in which police officers at school crossings are replaced by dedicated lollypop men and women had been approved following a successful three-month trial. ^[94] Approximately 70 police officer are to re-deployed to other duties while Waddy says he expects the crossing supervisors to mainly consist of pensioners and housewives. ^[94] The lollypop men and women will be paid $30 each week. ^[94]
• 9 May – All 17 crew members are rescued from the cargo ship "Tropic Queen" after it sinks north-west of Port Hedland, Western Australia. ^[95]
• 10 May – A three-year-old girl is raped and murdered in her own bedroom the Brisbane suburb of Cribb Island. ^[96] 30-year-old Robert Douglas Skilton is convicted of her murder and sentenced on 3 October 1975 to life imprisonment. ^{[97] [98] [99]} In 1988, he was assessed as not being suitable for parole. ^[100] He died of natural causes at the Wolston Correctional Centre on 28 April 2018. ^[100]
• 12 May – After a protracted period of industrial action and negotiations lasting 32 days, a meeting is held involving all parties concerned where striking Sydney Water Board employees vote overwhelmingly to end their 32-day strike. ^{[101] [102] [103] [104]}
• 13 May –
  • The Federal Opposition attempts to censure prime minister Gough Whitlam for allegedly misleading parliament for comments he made in a statement on 9 April. ^[105] The censure motion is defeated in the House of Representatives 69-63. ^[105] In the senate, a censure motion against Foreign Affairs minister Senator Don Willesee was defeated after the vote was tied 28-all, with Liberal Movement leader Steele Hall and independent senator Cleaver Bunton voting with the government. ^[105]
  • A 61-year-old train driver and a 38-year-old railways inspector are killed when the Northern Tablelands Express collides with a semi-trailer carrying 290 sheep on a level crossing near Gunnedah, New South Wales. ^[106] Four passengers aboard the train also suffer minor injurie but the 34-year-old truck driver and his two young children were unhurt. ^[106] Around 50 sheep were also killed. ^[106]
• 15 May –
  • Ray McPharlin announces the Country Party of Western Australia has withdrawn from the coalition government it had formed with Western Australian Liberal Party due a series of policy differences on rural issues, forcing premier Charles Court to govern with a minority government. ^[107]
  • A 49-year-old Sydney former newsagent is convicted by a jury on six charges of selling obscene and indecent publications. ^[108] He had pleaded not guilty to selling copies of Bitch and Venus to two vice squad detectives on 29 March 1974. ^[109] He is fined a total of $500. ^[110]
• 18 May – Following the Country Party of Western Australia's split from the coalition government, the leader and deputy leader of the party Ray McPharlin and Matt Stephens both resign and are succeeded by Dick Old and Peter Jones respectively. ^[111]
• 19 May – Despite being transported to Hobart from Sydney, it's confirmed that the 62-year-old ferry Lady Ferguson will need to be scrapped after being found to have a rotten timber hull. ^[112] Parts from Lady Ferguson will be salvaged and used in another former Sydney ferry, Kosciusko . ^[112]
• 20 May – The loans affair continues with the Executive Council revoking the approval it had given on 28 January for a US$2,000 million overseas loan. ^{[113] [114]} Henceforth, all negotiations are to be conducted through the Treasury. ^[115]
• 29 May – A taxi driver who refused to carry a cigarette smoking passenger faces a Brisbane magistrate charged with a summons complaint of breaching a section of Queensland Transport's regulations in his refusal to carry the passenger. ^{[116] [117]} After pleading not guilty, and evidence presented by health experts, the magistrate dismisses the charge, and orders the complainant to pay $150 in costs. ^[116]
• 30 May – Western Australian premier Charles Court announces that the Country Party has reformed the coalition government with the Western Australian Liberal Party. ^[118]

June

• 2 June – After a six-day trial, 37-year-old Bowral labourer Kenneth William Johnston is found guilty by a jury and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of 13-year-old Bowral High School student Michelle Tracy Allport at Mittagong on 1 November 1974. ^{[119] [120]} Despite being eligible for parole from November 1993, the State Parole Authority declines to release Johnston to parole and he remains in the Long Bay Correctional Centre until his death at the age of 79 on 29 October 2017. ^[121]
• 5 June – Lance Barnard's resignation to become Ambassador to Sweden leads to a reorganisation of the Federal Ministry. ^[122] Social Security Minister Bill Hayden (Ipswich) replaces Jim Cairns as Treasurer, and Cameron is demoted from the Labour and Immigration Ministry to Science and Consumer Affairs (amid his own and union protests). ^[122]
• 15 June – The South Australian Australian Labor Party conference gives Prime Minister Gough Whitlam a mixed reception. The Australian Workers' Union, in particular, is offended by his recent demotion of Clyde Cameron, for decades a leading figure in South Australia's Labor and Industrial Affairs. ^[123]
• 27 June – Former Balmain Tigers rugby league player Kevin Yow Yeh dies in a police cell in Mackay, Queensland. ^[124]
• 28 June – The 1975 Bass by-election is held. ^[125] Malcolm Fraser and Gough Whitlam campaign against each other for the first time as leaders. A swing of about 16% against the Australian Labor Party gives the seat to the Liberal candidate Kevin Newman, and the Opposition sees this as the green light for its strategy of forcing a second premature election. ^{[125] [126]}
• 30 June – Queensland Senator Bert Milliner dies, leaving a Senate vacancy. ^[127] The filling of this vacancy and the controversy surrounding it becomes one of the key events of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.

July

• 1 July – Medibank is introduced, Australia Post and Telecom are formed from the Postmaster-General's Department. ^{[128] [129] [130]}
• 2 July – Prime Minister Gough Whitlam has Jim Cairns' commission as Environment Minister terminated for misleading Parliament. ^[131] Cairns had denied having written a secret letter to a loans broker in March, but a signed letter was produced in June. ^[131]
• 4 July – Sydney newspaper publisher Juanita Nielsen disappears from her Kings Cross home where she published attacks on inner-city development. ^[132] Edward Trigg and Shayne Martin-Simmonds are later found guilty of conspiring to abduct her. ^{[133] [134]} In 2021, New South Police announce a $1 million reward for anyone who provides information relating to Neilsen's suspected murder. ^[135]

September

• 3 September – Convention is breached when the Queensland Parliament rejects Australian Labor Party nominee Mal Colston to replace the deceased Senator Bert Milliner, choosing instead Pat Field (automatically expelled for having nominated against the endorsed candidate. ^[136]
• 16 September – Papua New Guinea gains its independence from Australia. ^[137]
• 20 September – Thirteen miners are killed in an underground coal mine explosion at the Kianga coal mine near Moura, Queensland. ^{[138] [139]}

October

• 1 October – Senator Albert Field (now an Independent) is granted a month's leave of absence while his eligibility to take his seat is tested in the High Court of Australia, sitting as a Court of Disputed Returns. ^[140] There has been doubting as to whether he resigned in the correct way from the Public Service at the time he was appointed. ^[140]
• 8 October – Prime Minister Gough Whitlam denies in Parliament that any of his senior ministers were still involved in trying to raise overseas loans in defiance of the 20 May revocation. ^[141] Press reports based on information from the loan intermediary, Tirath Khemlani, suggest that Rex Connor is still involved.
• 10 October – The High Court of Australia upholds the validity of the territorial Senators legislation. ^[142] In any half-Senate election, four senators, plus replacements for Bunton and Field, would take their places in the Senate at once, thus giving Labor the chance to win back control there. ^[142]
• 15 October – At a Brisbane Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon, Queensland Governor Sir Colin Hannah associates himself with the criticism of the Federal Government. ^[143] In the ensuing row, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam persuades Queen Elizabeth II to revoke Hannah's dormant commission to act as Governor-General. ^[144]
• 16 October – The Balibo Five are killed by Indonesian troops in Portuguese Timor. ^{[145] [146]}
• 28 October – Senator Don Willesee confirms the ABC's Peter Whitlock will be flown out of Hanoi later in the week, after receiving information from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that a number of foreigners who had been detained by the North Vietnamese would be on the flight. ^[147]
• 30 October – After being held captive by the Viet Cong for nearly eight months, the ABC's Peter Whitlock is freed by North Vietnam and flown to Thailand with 13 others. ^[148]
• 1 to 31 October – Averaged over Victoria, this stands as the wettest month since at least 1900 with a statewide average rainfall of 154.53 millimetres or 6.08 inches. ^[149]

November

• 2 November – After being held captive by the Viet Cong for nearly eight months, the ABC's Peter Whitlock arrives back in Australia. ^[150] Upon his arrival, he criticises some reporting that suggested he was on a spying or political mission when he was captured, stating: "I'm bitterly disappointed about it. Apart from everything else it could have harmed my professional standing with my colleagues. If anyone had the right to question my credentials, it was the North Vietnamese and they never once suggested that I was involved in anything sinister." ^[150]
• 11 November – The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis culminates with Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissing the Whitlam government. ^{[151] [152]} Malcolm Fraser is installed as caretaker Prime Minister. ^{[151] [152]}
• 19 November –
  • Underworld figure Billy "The Texan" Longley is found guilty of murdering union secretary Pat Shannon on 17 October 1973 and sentenced to life imprisonment. ^{[153] [154]}
  • Two staff members of the Queensland Premier's department are injured when they open a letter-bomb addressed to Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. ^[155]

December

• 8 December – 4ZZZ independent community radio station launches in Brisbane under its original callsign 4ZZ-FM. ^[156]
• 9 December – New South Wales Country Party Leader Sir Charles Cutler retires and Deputy Leader Leon Punch replaces him with Tim Bruxner as his deputy. ^[157]
• 13 December –
  • The 1975 Australian federal election is held. After a bitter campaign in which Labor tried to keep constitutional matters to the fore and the Coalition concentrated on inflation, unemployment and Labor's errors in office, the Fraser Government is confirmed in power, securing 54% of the vote, 91 of the 127 House seats, and 35 Senate seats. ^[158]
  • The Victorian Government forms a committee to examine some of the recommendations from the Beach Board of Inquiry.
• 25 December – The Savoy Hotel fire occurs in which fifteen persons are killed in an arson attack at the Savoy Hotel in Kings Cross, New South Wales. ^{[159] [160]}

Science and technology

• 17 October – John Cornforth shares the Nobel Prize for Chemistry ^{[161] [162]}

Arts and literature

Main article: 1975 in Australian literature

• 17 January – Sam Fullbrook is announced as the winner of the 1974 Archibald Prize for his portrait of jockey Norman Stephens. ^[163]
• 6 March – American actress Bette Davis arrives in Australia for An Informal Evening with Bette Davis which commences at the Sydney Opera House on 9 March before taking the show to Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. ^[164]
• 19 March –
  • American journalist and anchor of CBS Evening News , Walter Cronkite arrives in Australia as a guest of IBM to deliver lectures about developments in politics and economics, and to meet informally with prime minister Gough Whitlam. ^{[165] [166]}
  • Popular American family music group The Osmonds arrive in Australia for a series of concerts in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. ^[167]
• 20 March – The New South Wales state minister for culture, sport and recreation John Barraclough condemns the federal government for allowing rock musician Alice Cooper into Australia. ^[168] Barraclough says Cooper's performances cannot be justified as "cultural" and describes the system of issuing entry permits into the country as needing an urgent overhaul. ^[168]
• 24 March – Sponsored by Festival of Light Australia, American singer Pat Boone and his family arrive in Australia for a series of performances in major cities, including five performances at the Sydney Opera House, while also making special appearances at Christian rallies and open air services. ^[169]
• 22 April – Ronald McKie is announced as the winner of the 1974 Miles Franklin Award for his novel The Mango Tree . ^[170]
• 17 May – Internationally renowned ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev arrives in Australia for a tour with the London Festival Ballet, for which he will produce and star in The Sleeping Beauty . ^[171]
• 23 January 1976 – John Bloomfield is announced as the winner of the 1975 Archibald Prize for his portrait of Tim Burstall. ^[172] However, the validity of Bloomfield's entry is questioned with Bloomfield admitting he had never met Burstall despite the conditions of the competition specifying subjects are required to have been painted from life. ^[173]
• 27 February 1976 – The board of trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales rescind the 1975 Archibald Prize from John Bloomfield, determining his entry did not comply with the conditions that the portrait be painted from life. ^[174] The trustees subsequently choose Kevin Connor as the 1975 Archibald Prize for his portrait of The Hon Sir Frank Kitto, KBE. ^[174]
• 27 April 1976 – Xavier Herbert's novel Poor Fellow My Country is announced as the winner of the 1975 Miles Franklin Award. ^[175]

Film

• 23 March – Sunday Too Far Away is awarded Best Film at the 1974-75 Australian Film Awards. ^[176]
• October – Picnic at Hanging Rock , directed by Peter Weir, is released. ^[177]

Television

• 31 January – A special "Salute to Australia" edition of The Merv Griffin Show airs in the United States featuring Australian performers Helen Reddy, Peter Allen, Daphne Davis, Dita Cobb and The LeGarde Twins. ^[178]
• 1 March – "Colour Day" arrives with the launnch of full-time colour television broadcasting. ^[179]
• 3 March – During a live Cedal hair products commercial on The Graham Kennedy Show , Kennedy interrupts to make "a sound like a crow", prompting criticism by the Broadcasting Control Board about the "general vulgarity and poor taste" of the show. ^[180]
• 7 March – Ernie Sigley and Denise Drysdale from The Ernie Sigley Show both win Gold Logies at the Logie Awards of 1975 for being the most popular male and female personalities on Australian television. ^[181]
• 19 March – The Broadcasting Control Board rules that Graham Kennedy be restricted to pre-recorded television appearances only, and only those that are approved by a station executive, prompting Kennedy to threaten legal action. ^[182]
• 24 March – Wollongong mayor Frank Arkell demands an apology from the ABC over a comedy special entitled Wollongong the Brave which aired on ABC TV and included a sketch depicting migrants on leashes undergoing "assimilation training." ^[183] Arkell claims the producers of the program displayed a "contemptuous arrogance in dealing with Wollongong." ^[183]
• 17 April – After remarks in which he was critical of federal minister for the media Doug McClelland were edited out of his pre-recorded program, Graham Kennedy resigns from Channel 9. ^[184]

Sport

• 30 January – Western Australia wins the 1974–75 Sheffield Shield season finishing at the top of the table ahead of Queensland by five points. ^[185]
• 16 March – Australia is represented by twelve long-distance runners (eight men, four women) at the third IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Rabat, Morocco. Bill Scott is Australia's best finisher, claiming the 22nd spot (36:28.0) in the race over 12 kilometres.
• 11 May – Czechoslovakia defeats Australia 3–0 in the 1975 Federation Cup held in Aix-en-Provence, France. ^[186]
• 12 May – After discovering Australia's oldest living gold medalist, 77-year-old Mina Wylie could not afford to travel to the United States for her induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, a rushed fundraising effort is launched by New South Wales politician Neil Pickard who pledged $100 of his own money before donations from Lady Violet Braddon (widow of Sir Henry Braddon) and Sir Peter Abeles were also received. ^[187] Enough money was eventually raised to enable Wylie to travel to the United States. ^[188]
• 9 August – John Farrington wins his fourth men's national marathon title, clocking 2:17:20 in Point Cook.
• 23 August:
  • Glenelg kick the all-time record score for a major Australian football competition, kicking 49.23 (317) to Central District's 11.13 (79). Fred Phillis kicked eighteen goals and Peter Carey eight.
  • Eastern Suburbs set a record NSWRL/ARL/NRL winning streak of their last nineteen home-and-away games before losing the major semi-final.
• 20 September – Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs set a record NSWRL Grand Final winning margin, beating St. George 38 points to nil. ^[189] South Sydney finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon. ^[189]
• 27 September – North Melbourne become the last of the then-extant VFL clubs to win a premiership, beating Hawthorn 19.8 (122) to 9.13 (67) in the 1975 VFL Grand Final. ^[190]
• 4 November – The Bart Cummings-trained Think Big, ridden by Harry White, wins the Melbourne Cup. ^[191]
• 29 December – Rampage is declared the handicap winner of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race while Kialoa takes line honours. ^[192]

Births

• 2 January – Chris Cheney, singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
• 17 January – Rob Stokes, politician and lawyer
• 19 January – Natalie Cook, beach volleyball player
• 4 February – Natalie Imbruglia, singer and actor
• 7 March – Leon Dunne, swimmer
• 13 March – Matt Sing, rugby league player
• 19 March – Matthew Richardson, footballer and sportscaster
• 19 April – Jason Gillespie, cricketer
• 13 May – Nathan Green, golfer
• 21 May – Anthony Mundine, rugby league footballer and boxer
• 27 May – Michael Hussey, cricketer
• 7 June – Leigh Colbert, footballer
• 9 June – Andrew Symonds, cricketer
• 23 June
  • Jane Jamieson, track and field athlete
  • Markus Zusak, novelist
• 2 July – Daniel Kowalski, swimmer
• 4 July – Scott Major, actor and director
• 5 July – Kip Gamblin, actor
• 7 July – Michael Voss, Australian footballer and coach
• 17 July – Loretta Harrop, triathlete
• 7 August
  • Megan Gale, model
  • David Matthew Hicks, prisoner at Guantánamo Bay, convicted of "providing material support for terrorism"
• 12 August – Taryn Woods, water polo player
• 21 August – Simon Katich, cricketer
• 25 August – Petria Thomas, swimmer
• 1 September – Natalie Bassingthwaighte, singer and actor ^[193]
• 16 September – Shannon Noll, singer
• 18 September – Don Hany, actor
• 25 September – Scott Westcott, long-distance runner
• 28 September – Stuart Clark, cricketer
• 9 October – Mark Viduka, football (soccer) player
• 23 October – Phillip Gillespie, cricket umpire
• 31 October
  • Carla Boyd, basketball player
  • Jagan Hames, track and field athlete
• December 18 – SIA, Australian singer and songwriter

Deaths

• 30 April –
  • Aubrey Abbott, politician and administrator of the Northern Territory (b. 1886) ^[194]
  • Mabel Brookes, humanitarian (b. 1890) ^[195]
• 27 June – Kevin Yow Yeh, rugby league player (b. 1941) ^[124]
• 30 June – Bert Milliner, Queensland politician (b. 1911) ^[127]
• 14 August – Percy Cerutty, athletics coach (b. 1895) ^[196]
• 27 September – Jack Lang, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1876) ^[197]
• 6 November – Annette Kellerman, swimmer, actress, and author (b. 1887) ^[198]
• 27 November – Joan Stevenson Abbott, World War II army hospital matron (b. 1899) ^[199]

See also

• 1975 in Australian television
• List of Australian films of 1975

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