1958 in Australia

1958 in Australia
Monarchy	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Slim
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	9,842,333
Elections	Federal, VIC

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1958
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Australia

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Decades:

1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s

Incumbents

State premiers

Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove (until 26 August), then Eric Reece
Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke

State governors

Governor of New South Wales – Sir Eric Woodward
Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Abel Smith (from 18 March)
Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet (until 4 June)
Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

14 January – Qantas Airways introduces a round-the-world air service from Australia to London.
20 January – The Royal Australian Naval College is moved back to Jervis Bay Territory from Flinders Naval Depot in Victoria.
28 January to 11 February – Harold Macmillan visits Australia, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to do so while in office.
14 February to 7 March – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visits Australia for the second time.
21 March – John McEwen replaces Arthur Fadden as federal leader of the Country Party.
24 March – The Cahill Expressway in Sydney opens, the first true freeway in Australia.
3 April – A cyclone destroys most of the town of Bowen in Queensland.
15 April – Monash University is founded in Melbourne, Victoria.
11 May – Construction of Australia's largest man-made lake, Lake Eucumbene on the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains, is completed.
31 May – Henry Bolte's Liberal government is re-elected in Victoria.
19 July – The last tram service runs in Perth.
26 August – Robert Cosgrove retires as Premier of Tasmania, and is replaced by Eric Reece.
30 September – The ANZAC Day Act 1958 receives Royal Assent, making ANZAC Day (25 April) a national public holiday in Australia.
26 October – The wreckage of the Australian National Airways Avro 10 aircraft, VH-UMF Southern Cloud, is found. The aircraft had been missing since 1931
22 November – A federal election is held. The Liberal-Country coalition led by Robert Menzies defeats H. V. Evatt's Australian Labor Party with 74 seats to 45 in the House of Representatives, a majority unprecedented since Federation, gained from preferences from the Democratic Labor Party.

Unknown dates

Johnny O'Keefe has his first hit with Wild One
Radio station 2UE publishes the first Australian Top 40

Science and technology

26 January – The HIFAR nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights goes critical for the first time.

Unknown dates

Australian engineer Dr. David Warren of Melbourne's Aeronautical Research Laboratories constructs the world's first flight recorder ("black box").

Arts and literature

Main article: 1958 in Australian literature

11 December – The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) opens in Sydney.
William Edwin Pidgeon wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of journalist Ray Walker
Eric Smith wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Moment Christ Died
Randolph Stow wins the Miles Franklin Award for To the Islands
Russel Ward releases The Australian Legend

Film

8 March - The film Bridge on the River Kwai was released in Sydney.

Television

October - Autumn Affair, first television soap opera produced in Australia debuts
1 November – The first episode of Bandstand goes to air on TCN-9, hosted by Brian Henderson.
22 November – The Australian federal election, 1958 is the first to be televised.

Sport

Athletics
- 23 March – John Russell wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:40:30 in Sydney
- 6 August – Herb Elliott sets a world record for the one-mile dash (3:54.5) at Morton Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
Football
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Brothers defeated Valleys 22-7
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St. George defeated Western Suburbs 20-9
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
- Victorian Football League premiership: Collingwood defeated Melbourne 82-64
Golf
- Australian Open: won by Gary Player
Horse Racing
- Sir Blink wins the Caulfield Cup
- Yeman wins the Cox Plate
- Skyline wins the Golden Slipper
- Baystone wins the Melbourne Cup
Motor Racing
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Bathurst and won by Lex Davison driving a Ferrari
Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Ashley Cooper defeats Malcolm Anderson 7-5 6-3 6-4
- Australian Open women's singles: Angela Mortimer defeats Lorraine Coghlan 6-3 6-4
- Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 3-2 in the 1958 Davis Cup final
Yachting
- Solo takes line honours and Siandra wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

6 February – Simon Baker, race walker
20 March – Phil Anderson, cyclist
12 April – Glenn Patching, swimmer
5 May – Robert DiPierdomenico, footballer and media personality
7 May – Alan John, composer
11 May – Peter Antonie, rower
11 May – Phil Smyth, basketball player
3 July – Gary Buckenara, Australian Rules footballer
6 July – Gary Humphries, politician
13 July – Richard Glover, journalist, author and radio personality
15 July –Phil Gould, rugby league identity
October - Garry Pankhurst, former child actor
13 October – Jim Krakouer, Australian Rules footballer
15 November - Lewis Fitz-Gerald, actor and director
12 December – Monica Attard, journalist
31 December – Geoff Marsh, cricketer

Deaths

24 January – William Roy Hodgson (born 1892), public servant
8 April – Ethel Turner (born 1872), writer
13 September – Russell Mockridge (born 1928), cyclist
14 October – Douglas Mawson (born 1882), polar explorer
30 November – Hubert Wilkins (born 1888), polar explorer

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

1958 in Oceania

Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Indonesia 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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