1961 in Australia

1961 in Australia
Monarchy	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Morrison, then William Sidney
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	10,548,267
Elections	Federal, VIC

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1961
in
Australia

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Decades:

1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s

Incumbents

Monarch – Elizabeth II
Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
Governor General – William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil (died in office 3 February), then William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle

State Premiers

Premier of New South Wales – Robert Heffron
Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
Premier of South Australia – Sir Thomas Playford
Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
Premier of Western Australia – David Brand
Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte

State Governors

Governor of New South Wales – Sir Eric Woodward
Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Abel Smith
Governor of South Australia – Sir Edric Bastyan (from 4 April)
Governor of Tasmania – Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan
Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner
Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks

Events

2 January – Oral contraceptives are first sold in Australia
20 January to early March – Disastrous bushfires affect Western Australia, completely destroying a number of towns.
25 February – Last electric tram service runs in Sydney
23 June – Australia signed the Antarctic Treaty
12 August – Richmond become the only team since 1922 to fail to score a goal in a VFL/AFL match.
31 October – Parkes radiotelescope officially opened by the Governor General
30 November – Ansett-ANA Flight 325, a Vickers Viscount aircraft, crashes into Botany Bay shortly after takeoff, killing all 15 on board

Arts and literature

Dame Joan Sutherland is announced as Australian of the Year
William Edwin Pidgeon wins the Archibald Prize
The novel Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence is banned from sale
Riders in the Chariot by Patrick White is awarded the Miles Franklin Literary Award

Television

19 August – Four Corners TV current affairs program first screened on ABC TV

Sport

Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
- The Ashes: Australia defeats England 2-1 and retains The Ashes
Football
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Norths defeated Valleys 29-5
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St. George defeated Western Suburbs 22-0
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by West Adelaide
- Victorian Football League premiership: Hawthorn defeated Footscray 94-51
Golf
- Australian Open: won by Frank Phillips
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Alan Murray (golfer)
Horse Racing
- Summer Fair wins the Caulfield Cup
- Dhaulagiri wins the Cox Plate
- Magic Night wins the Golden Slipper
- Lord Fury wins the Melbourne Cup
Motor Racing
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Mallala and won by Lex Davison driving a Cooper Climax
Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Roy Emerson defeats Rod Laver 1–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
- Australian Open women's singles: Margaret Court defeats Jan Lehane O'Neill 6-1, 6–4
- Davis Cup: Australia defeats Italy 5-0 in the 1961 Davis Cup final
- Wimbledon: Roy Emerson and Neale Fraser win the Men's Doubles
- Wimbledon: Rod Laver wins the Men's Singles
Yachting
- Astor takes line honours and Rival wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

1 January – Sam Backo, Indigenous Australian rugby league footballer
14 March – Garry Jack, rugby league footballer and coach
16 March – Brett Kenny, rugby league footballer
24 March – Dean Jones, cricketer
12 April
- Magda Szubanski, actor and comedian
- Lisa Gerrard, singer
16 May – Gina Riley, actor and comedian
31 May – Justin Madden, Australian rules footballer
16 June – Peter Sterling, rugby league footballer
6 July - Rick Price, singer
21 July – Morris Iemma, Premier of New South Wales
15 September – Terry Lamb, rugby league footballer and coach
8 October – Simon Burke, actor
19 October – Cliff Lyons, rugby league footballer
18 November – Anthony Warlow, entertainer
23 November – Merv Hughes, cricketer
17 December – Larry Anthony, politician
29 December – Mal Brough, politician

Deaths

3 February – William Morrison (born 1893), Governor General of Australia
20 February – Percy Grainger (born 1882), pianist and composer
22 May – Lionel Lindsay (born 1874), artist
27 September – Peter Dawson (born 1882), singer
3 December – Pat O'Hara Wood (born 1891), tennis player
20 December – Earle Page (born 1880), Prime Minister of Australia

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

1961 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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