1953 in Australia

1953 in Australia
Monarchy	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William McKell, then William Slim
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	8,815,362
Elections	Senate, WA, NSW, SA, QLD

← 1952 1951 1950 1953 in Australia → 1954 1955 1956
Decades:	1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s
See also:	Other events of 1953 Timeline of Australian history

Aerial view of the Story Bridge, 1953

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – William McKell (until 8 May), then Sir William Slim
• Prime Minister – Robert Menzies

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 – John Cain I
• Premier of Western Australia – Ross McLarty (until 23 February), then 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 (from 23 February)
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

• 20 March – The Television Act is passed by parliament, setting regulations for the broadcast of television in Australia, although television transmission did not commence until 1956.
• 29 October – British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Douglas DC-6, registration VH-BPE, en route from Sydney, crashes on approach to San Francisco, killing 19 people.
• 4 December – Oil is discovered in the Exmouth Gulf off the coast of Western Australia.

Science and technology

The first town to fluoridate the water supply in Australia was Beaconsfield, Tasmania.^[1]

Arts and literature

• John Brack paints Men's Wear and The New House in Oakleigh, Victoria
• Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Sir Henry Simpson Newland
• Michael Kmit loses the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Evangelist John Mark

Sport

Winner of the Sun Girl Quest at Suttons Beach, 1953

• Athletics
  • 26 September – Roland Guy wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:24:48 in Sydney.
• Cricket
  • South Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
• Football
  • 23 May: Fitzroy go within ten minutes of a team score of 0.0 (0), which would have been a VFL first, against Footscray in appalling conditions. Allan Ruthven kicks a late goal to save them from this ignominy.
  • 1 August: Collingwood end Geelong’s record 26-game unbeaten streak, which still stand, when they win 10.15 (75) to 7.13 (55).
  • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by West Torrens
  • Victorian Football League premiership: Collingwood defeated Geelong 77-65
• Rugby
  • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Souths defeated Easts 21-4
  • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated St. George 31-12
• Golf
  • Australian Open: won by Norman Von Nida
  • Australian PGA Championship: won by Ossie Pickworth
• Horse Racing
  • My Hero wins the Caulfield Cup
  • Hydrogen wins the Cox Plate
  • Wodalla wins the Melbourne Cup
• Motor Racing
  • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Albert Park and won by Doug Whiteford driving a Talbot-Lago
• Tennis
  • Australian Open men's singles: Ken Rosewall defeats Mervyn Rose 6-0 6-3 6-4
  • Australian Open women's singles: Maureen Connolly defeats Julie Sampson Haywood 6-3 6-2
  • Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 3-2 in the 1953 Davis Cup final
  • Wimbledon: Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall win the Men's Doubles
• Yachting
  • Solveig IV takes line honours and Ripple wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

• 16 January – Vic Aanensen, Australian Rules football player
• 5 February – Rod Jones, Australian novelist
• 14 February – Greg Browning, field hockey player
• 4 March – Ray Price, rugby league football player
• 15 March – Randall Goff, water polo player
• 17 March – Margaret Jackson, businesswoman
• 16 April – Peter Garrett, singer and politician
• 21 April – John Brumby, politician
• 2 May – Chris Anderson – rugby league footballer and coach
• 20 May – Robert Doyle, politician
• 24 June – Michael Tuck, Australian Rules football player
• 1 July – David Gulpilil, actor
• 17 August – Noni Hazelhurst, actress
• 26 August – General David Hurley, AC, DSC, Chief of the Defence Force (2011–present)
• 11 September – Renée Geyer, singer
• 27 September – Greg Ham, musician (Men at Work)
• 25 November – Graham Eadie, rugby league footballer
• 12 December – Martin Ferguson, politician

Deaths

• 28 January – James Scullin, Prime Minister of Australia (born 1876)
• 12 February – Hal Colebatch, Premier of Western Australia (born 1872)
• 18 February – Denis Lutge, rugby footballer (born 1879)
• 2 December – Reginald Baker (69), athlete, sports promoter and film actor (born 1884)

References

1. Editors: Graham Aplin, S.G. Foster and Michael McKernan, ed. (1987). "Tasmania". Australians:Events and Places. Sydney, NSW, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates. p. 366. ISBN 0-521-34073-X.