1951 in Australia

1951 in Australia
Monarchy	George VI
Governor-General	William McKell
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	8,421,775
Elections	Federal

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1951
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Decades:

1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s

Incumbents

State Premiers

Premier of New South Wales – James McGirr
Premier of Queensland – Ned Hanlon
Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
Premier of Victoria – John McDonald
Premier of Western Australia – Ross McLarty

State Governors

Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
Governor of South Australia – Sir Charles Norrie
Governor of Tasmania – Sir Hugh Binney (until 8 May), then Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet (from 22 August)
Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
Governor of Western Australia – Sir James Mitchell (until 1 July), then Sir Charles Gairdner (from 6 November)

Events

Five Latvian girls in the bush near Brisbane, 1951

1 January – The 50th anniversary of Australian federation is celebrated.
19 February – Jean Lee becomes the last woman to be hanged in Australia, when she, Robert Clayton and Norman Andrews are executed in Melbourne for the murder of a 73-year-old man.
1 March – The Bank of Australasia merges with the Union Bank of Australia to form the ANZ Bank.
9 March – The High Court of Australia rules in the case Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth that the Communist Party Dissolution Bill 1950, passed by the parliament to ban the Communist Party of Australia, was unconstitutional.
19 March – The Governor-General, William McKell, issues a double dissolution of parliament for the second time in its history, citing the Senate's referral of the Commonwealth Bank Bill as a "failure to pass" the bill.
12 April – Conscription begins as the first call-up notice is issued under the National Service Act (1951), requiring Australian 18-year-old males to undergo compulsory military training.
28 April – A federal election is held. The Liberal government of Robert Menzies retains power.
8 June – The first lessons of the School of the Air are broadcast from the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Adelaide.^[1]
16 August – The Australian Financial Review is first published.
1 September – The Anzus Treaty, between Australia, New Zealand and the United States, is signed.
9 September – Australia signs the Treaty of San Francisco, formalising peace with Japan.
22 September – A federal referendum is held, proposing to alter the Australian Constitution to allow the banning of the Communist Party. The referendum was not carried.
4 October – Francis McEncroe sells the first Chiko Rolls at the Wagga Wagga agricultural show.
15 October - A De Havilland Dove aircraft crashes near Kalgoorlie killing all 7 on board.^[2]
13 November – William McKell is gazetted a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, becoming the only Governor-General of Australia to be knighted during their term.

Arts and literature

Main article: 1951 in Australian literature

Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Laurie Thomas
Justin O'Brien wins the inaugural Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Virgin Enthroned

Sport

Athletics
- 5 March – Gordon Stanley wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:59:44.6 in Hobart.
Cricket
- Victoria wins the Sheffield Shield
- Australia defeats England 4-1 in The Ashes
Football
- The 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand is conducted
- Bledisloe Cup: won by the All Blacks
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Souths defeated Easts 20-10
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Manly-Warringah 42-14
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
- Victorian Football League premiership: Geelong defeated Essendon 81-70
Golf
- Australian Open: won by Peter Thomson
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Norman Von Nida
Horse Racing
- Basha Felika wins the Caulfield Cup
- Bronton wins the Cox Plate
- Delta wins the Melbourne Cup
Motor Racing
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Narrogin and won by Warwick Pratley driving a George Reed Special
Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Dick Savitt defeats Ken McGregor 6-3 2–6 6-3 6-1
- Australian Open women's singles: Nancye Wynne Bolton defeats Thelma Coyne Long 6-1 7-5
- Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 3-2 in the 1951 Davis Cup final
- US Open: Frank Sedgman wins the Men's Singles
- Wimbledon: Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman win the Men's Doubles
Yachting
- Margaret Rintoul takes line honours and Struen Marie wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

19 January – Charles Blunt, politician
20 January – Clyde Sefton, road cyclist
26 February – Wayne Goss, Premier of Queensland
29 April – Jon Stanhope, Chief Minister of the ACT
29 May – Don Baird, pole vaulter
4 July – John Alexander, tennis player and politician
6 July – Geoffrey Rush, actor
31 July – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, tennis player
5 August – John Jarratt, actor
6 August – Daryl Somers, television personality
30 August – Danny Clark, track cyclist and road bicycle racer
9 September – Alexander Downer, politician
27 September – Geoff Gallop, Premier of Western Australia
1 December – Doug Mulray, radio personality
18 December – Andy Thomas, astronaut
22 December – Jan Stephenson, professional golfer

Deaths

29 January – Frank Tarrant (born 1880), cricketer
18 April – Daisy Bates (born 1863), journalist and social worker
27 May – Thomas Blamey (born 1884), soldier
13 June – Ben Chifley (born 1885), Prime Minister of Australia

References

↑ How It Began, Alice Springs School of the Air.
↑ "Seven Dead In W.A. Air Crash" The West Australian - 16 October 1951, p.1 (National Library of Australia) Retrieved 2012-08-24

Years in Australia (1788–present)

1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800

1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900

1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Timeline of Australian history

1951 in Oceania

Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue

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