1968 in Australia

1968 in Australia
Monarchy	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Richard Casey
Prime minister	John McEwen, then John Gorton
Population	11,799,078
Elections	WA, NSW, SA

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1968
in
Australia

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Decades:

1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s

Incumbents

Monarch – Elizabeth II
Governor General – The Lord Casey
Prime Minister – John McEwen (acting, until 10 January), John Gorton (from 10 January)

State premiers

Premier of New South Wales – Robert Askin
Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin (until 17 January), then Jack Pizzey (until 31 July), then Gordon Chalk (until 8 July), then Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan (until 17 April), then Steele Hall
Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
Premier of Western Australia – David Brand

State governors

Events

4 January – The search for the body of Prime Minister Harold Holt, who disappeared whilst swimming off Portsea, Victoria, is called off.
10 January – John Gorton is sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia after the disappearance of Harold Holt.
28 January – Members of English rock groups The Who and Small Faces are escorted by police from a plane at Melbourne's Essendon Airport, after the pilot diverts the flight citing the bands' behaviour.
1 April – American evangelist Billy Graham begins a tour of Australia.
17 April – A state election is held in South Australia. Steele Hall (Liberal and Country League) defeats Don Dunstan (ALP), and becomes Premier of South Australia.
8 April – Fluoridation of Sydney's water supply begins.
30 April – Jim Cairns unsuccessfully challenges Gough Whitlam for leadership of the Australian Labor Party.
1 May – The Duke of Edinburgh arrives in Australia for a ten-day visit.
5 May – Three Australian journalists are killed by the Viet Cong in Saigon.
21 May – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visits Australia.
14 June – Journalist Simon Townsend, future host of Simon Townsend's Wonder World, is granted exemption from military service after lodging a fifth appeal against his imprisonment and court martial for conscientious objection.
18 June – The first stage of the Warringah Freeway opens in Sydney.
24 June – British comedian Tony Hancock commits suicide in his Sydney hotel room.
2 July – Fifty students are arrested during an anti-Vietnam War protest in Martin Place, Sydney.
4 July – Forty five people are arrested during an anti-war protest outside the U.S. consulate in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.
31 July – The Premier of Queensland, Jack Pizzey, dies in office.
1 August – Jack Pizzey's deputy, Gordon Chalk, is sworn in as his successor until the appointment of Joh Bjelke-Petersen as Premier a week later.
3 August – The standard gauge rail line between Perth and Kalgoorlie is completed.
20 August – The National Gallery of Victoria is opened in Melbourne.
14 October – The town of Meckering, Western Australia, is badly damaged by an earthquake.
28 October – The Postmaster-General's Department decreases the number of mail deliveries per day from two to one.
31 October – Minister for the Army Phillip Lynch admits that Australian Army troops may have breached the Geneva Convention by using water torture during the interrogation of a female Viet Cong suspect.
1 November – The airline Ansett-ANA is renamed Ansett.
14 December – A referendum is held in Tasmania to allow the granting of Australia's first casino license to the Wrest Point Hotel. The referendum is passed.
31 December – MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 crashes south of Port Hedland, Western Australia, killing all 26 people on board.

Non-specific dates

Australia's population is estimated to have reached 12 million in 1968.

Arts and literature

17 January – The Seekers are named Australians of the Year for 1967.
19 January – Judy Cassab wins her second Archibald Prize for her portrait of Margo Lewers.
1 July – The Copyright Act 1968 replaces the existing 1911 copyright legislation.
Thomas Keneally's novel Three Cheers for the Paraclete wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

2 December – At the Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, Prime Minister John Gorton announces the creation of the Australian Film Development Corporation.

Television

25 May – An episode of the ABC series Bellbird stops the nation when the character of Charlie Cousins (played by Robin Ramsay) dies in a fall from a silo.

Sport

26 February – Boxer Lionel Rose beats Japan's Fighting Harada in Tokyo to become world bantamweight champion.
25 May – Derek Clayton wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:14:47.8 in Hobart.
26 May – Australia wins the 1968 Federation Cup in women's tennis, defeating the Netherlands (3–0).
10 June – Australia wins the 1968 Rugby League World Cup when it beats France (20–2) in the final at the SCG.
21 September – The South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
28 September – The Carlton Blues narrowly beat Essendon Bombers by 3 points (56–53) in the grand final of the 1968 VFL season, winning their first flag in 21 years.
12 – 27 October – Australia participates in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, coming ninth in the medal tally with 5 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals (17 in total).
15 October – Ralph Doubell equals Peter Snell's world record (2:04.3) in the men's 800 metres, clocking 1:44.3 at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
5 November – Rain Lover wins the Melbourne Cup.
26 December – Ondine II takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Koomooloo is the handicap winner

Unknown dates

Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield.

Births

7 February – Phillip Tahmindjis, ice speed skater
12 February – Nathan Rees, Premier of New South Wales (2008–2009)
7 April – Duncan Armstrong, swimmer
26 May – Rachael Sporn, basketball player
28 May – Kylie Minogue, entertainer
1 June – Jason Donovan, entertainer
4 June – Rachel Griffiths, actress
27 July – Julian McMahon, actor
9 August – Eric Bana, actor
30 September – Sharon Jaklofsky, track and field athlete
12 October – Hugh Jackman, actor

Deaths

14 January – Dorothea Mackellar (born 1885), poet
21 February – Howard Florey, Baron Florey (born 1898), Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist
24 June – Tony Hancock (born 1924), British comedian
31 July – Jack Pizzey (born 1911), Premier of Queensland
19 August – William McCall (born 1908), politician
28 September – Sir Norman Brookes (born 1877), tennis player
10 October – Gavin Long (born 1901), journalist and military historian
13 October – Dame Jean Macnamara (born 1899), medical scientist
27 October – James Hunter (born 1882), politician
20 December – John Jennings (born 1878), politician

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

1968 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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