The following lists events that happened during 1954 in Australia.

Incumbents

  • Monarch – Elizabeth II
  • Governor-General – Sir William Slim
  • Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
  • Chief Justice – Sir Owen Dixon

State Premiers

  • Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
  • Premier of Queensland – Vince Gair

State Governors

  • Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
  • Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
  • Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
  • Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet
  • Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

  • 3 February – Elizabeth II arrives in Sydney on her first visit as monarch
  • 13 February – Mawson Station in the Australian Antarctic Territory is established
  • During February, a cyclone hits the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, killing 26
  • 1 March - Adelaide and large parts of southern South Australia are shaken by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, resulting in the injuries of 16 people, and a damage bill of £17 million (2017: $578 million).
  • 3 April – Vladimir Petrov, a Soviet diplomat, defects to Australia, sparking the Petrov Affair
  • Shirley Bliss wins the Miss Australia Quest
  • On 31 October, the first Vickers Viscount aircraft delivered to Australia crashed at Mangalore Airport while on a training flight only days after its arrival in Australia, killing 3 of the 7 people on board.

Science and technology

  • The Australian Academy of Science is established.

Arts and literature

  • Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Rt Hon R G Menzies, PC, CH, QC, MP
  • Charles Bannon wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work Judas Iscariot
  • Overland literary magazine is founded, edited by Stephen Murray-Smith

Sport

  • Cricket
    • New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
  • Football
    • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Wests defeated Brothers 35-18
    • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Newtown 23-15
    • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
    • Victorian Football League premiership: Footscray defeated Melbourne 102-51
  • Golf
    • Australian Open: won by Ossie Pickworth
    • Australian PGA Championship: won by Kel Nagle
  • Horse racing
    • Rising Fast wins the Caulfield Cup
    • Rising Fast wins the Cox Plate
    • Rising Fast wins the Melbourne Cup
  • Motor racing
    • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Southport and won by Lex Davison driving a HWM Jaguar
  • Tennis
    • Australian Open men's singles: Mervyn Rose defeats Rex Hartwig 6-2 0–6 6-4 6-2
    • Australian Open women's singles: Thelma Coyne Long defeats Jenny Staley Hoad 6-3 6-4
    • Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 2–3 in the 1954 Davis Cup final
    • Wimbledon: Rex Hartwig and Mervyn Rose win the Gentlemen's Pairs
    • Wimbledon: Jaroslav Drobný defeats Ken Rosewall 13–11 4–6 6–2 9–7 in the Gentlemen's Singles
  • Yachting
    • Kurrewa IV takes line honours and Solveig IV wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

  • 10 January – Greg Towns, footballer
  • 25 January – Kay Cottee, sailor
  • 26 January – Kim Hughes, cricketer
  • 26 March - Clive Palmer, businessman and politician
  • 13 April - Elizabeth Love, nurse, shoe collector,
  • 27 April – Mark Holden, singer and media personality
  • 1 May – Garry Who, actor and comedian
  • 2 May – Don Cameron, water polo player and coach
  • 19 May – Phil Rudd, musician
  • 27 May – Pauline Hanson, politician
  • 17 June – Kerry Greenwood, novelist and lawyer (died 2025)
  • 30 June – Wayne Swan, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
  • 2 July – Scott W. Sloan, professor of civil engineering (died 2019)
  • 11 July – Paul Blackwell, actor (died 2019)
  • 11 August – Wally Carr, boxer (died 2019)
  • 12 August – Rob Borbidge, Premier of Queensland
  • 2 September – Gai Waterhouse, horse trainer
  • 13 September – Steve Kilbey, musician
  • 20 September – James Moloney, author
  • 27 September – Ray Hadley, 2GB radio announcer
  • 13 October – Banduk Marika, Indigenous artist and printmaker (died 2021)
  • 15 October – Steve Bracks, 44th Premier of Victoria
  • 24 October – Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia
  • 12 November – Paul McNamee, tennis player
  • 22 November – Carol Tomcala, sports shooter
  • 26 November – Jacki MacDonald, media personality
  • 28 November – John McMartin, Pastor, ACC State President NSW, National Executive
  • 29 November – Steve Rogers (died 2006), Rugby league footballer

Deaths

  • 10 January – Chester Wilmot, war correspondent (b. 1911)
  • 19 September – Miles Franklin, writer and feminist (b. 1879)
  • 14 November – Inigo Owen Jones, meteorologist and farmer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1872)
  • 22 November – Roy Rene, comedian (b. 1891)

See also

  • List of Australian films of the 1950s

References


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1954 Events & Facts