The following lists events that happened during 1961 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

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Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

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Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

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William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil William Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, (10 August 1893 – 3 February 1961), was a British politician. He was a long-serving cabinet minister before serving as Speaker of the House of Commons from 1951 to 1959. He was then appoint ...

(died in office 3 February), then William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle * Chief Justice – Sir Owen Dixon

State Premiers

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatur ...

– Robert Heffron *

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

–

Frank Nicklin Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, (6 August 1895 – 29 January 1978) was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non- Labor Party premier since 1932.Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

– Sir Thomas Playford *

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

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Eric Reece Eric Elliott Reece, AC (6 July 190923 October 1999) was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, On ...

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

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David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Prem ...

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

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Henry Bolte Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG (20 May 1908 – 4 January 1990) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of Victoria. To date he is the longest-serving Victorian premier, having been in office for over 17 consecutive years. ...

State Governors

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...

– Sir Eric Woodward *

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

– Sir Henry Abel Smith *

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

– Sir Edric Bastyan (from 4 April) *

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

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Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan Thomas Godfrey Polson Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan, (19 December 1895 – 30 November 1977), had a distinguished military career in the British Army and was Governor of Tasmania from 1959 to 1963. The Boy Scouts Association appointed him as its ...

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutiona ...

– Sir Charles Gairdner *

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and t ...

– Sir Dallas Brooks

Events

* 2 January – Oral contraceptives are first sold in Australia * 20 January to early March – Disastrous

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

affect

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

, completely destroying a number of towns. * 25 February – Last electric

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

service runs in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

* 23 June – Australia signed the

Antarctic Treaty russian: link=no, Договор об Антарктике es, link=no, Tratado Antártico , name = Antarctic Treaty System , image = Flag of the Antarctic Treaty.svgborder , image_width = 180px , caption ...

* 12 August –

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

become the only team since

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

to fail to score a goal in a

VFL/AFL The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

match. * 31 October – Parkes radiotelescope officially opened by the Governor General * 30 November – Ansett-ANA Flight 325, a

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...

aircraft, crashes into

Botany Bay Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

shortly after takeoff, killing all 15 on board

Arts and literature

* Dame Joan Sutherland is announced as

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territ ...

William Edwin Pidgeon William Edwin Pidgeon, aka Bill Pidgeon and Wep, (1909–1981) was an Australian painter who won the Archibald Prize three times. After his death, cartoonist and journalist Les Tanner described him: "He was everything from serious draftsman, ...

wins the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

* The novel

Lady Chatterley's Lover ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' is the last novel by English author D. H. Lawrence, which was first published privately in 1928, in Italy, and in 1929, in France. An unexpurgated edition was not published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960, wh ...

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

is banned from sale * ''

Riders in the Chariot ''Riders in the Chariot'' is the sixth novel by Australian author Patrick White. It was published in 1961 and won the Miles Franklin Award that year. It also won the 1965 Gold Medal of the Australian Literature Society. The novel is the story of ...

'' by

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987. White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...

is awarded the

Miles Franklin Literary Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–19 ...

Television

* 19 August – ''

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

'' TV current affairs program first screened on ABC TV *1 December - The first regional television station is launched in Traralgon, Victoria, as GLV-10 Gippsland and Latrobe Valley (Television) Victoria.

Sport

* Cricket **

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

wins the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Sh ...

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

defeats

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

2-1 and retains The Ashes * Football ** Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Norths defeated

Valleys A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

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 Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

defeated Footscray 94-51 * Golf ** Australian Open: won by Frank Phillips **

Australian PGA Championship The Australian PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is the home tournament of the Australian PGA. Since 2000 it has been held in the South East Queensland region. The tournament was part of the OneAsia Tour fro ...

: won by Alan Murray (golfer) * Horse Racing ** ''Summer Fair'' wins the

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

** ''Dhaulagiri'' wins the

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racing Club at Moo ...

** ''Magic Night'' wins the

Golden Slipper The Golden Slipper Stakes is an Australian Turf Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses run over 1,200 metres on turf at set weights conditions, held at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier two y ...

** ''Lord Fury'' wins the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

* Motor Racing ** The Australian Grand Prix was held at Mallala and won by

Lex Davison Alexander Nicholas Davison (12 February 1923 – 20 February 1965) was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 and 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1957. He drove HWM-Jaguar, Ferrari, As ...

driving a Cooper Climax * Tennis ** Australian Open men's singles:

Roy Emerson Roy Stanley Emerson (born 3 November 1936) is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, for a total of 28 Grand Slam titles. He is the only male player to have completed a caree ...

defeats Rod Laver 1–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 ** Australian Open women's singles:

Margaret Court Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian retired former world No. 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, her 24 maj ...

defeats

Jan Lehane O'Neill Janice Patricia "Jan" Lehane O'Neill OAM (née Lehane; born 9 July 1941) is a former Australian female tennis player. She was the first leading female player with a double-handed backhand. She won the singles title at the New South Wales Champ ...

6–1, 6–4 ** Davis Cup: Australia defeats

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

5–0 in the

1961 Davis Cup The 1961 Davis Cup was the 50th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 28 teams entered the Europe Zone, 7 teams entered the Americas Zone, and 7 teams entered the Eastern Zone. Ecuador, In ...

final **

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

and

Neale Fraser Neale Andrew Fraser (born 3 October 1933) is a former number one amateur male tennis-player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. Fraser is the last man to have completed the triple crown, i.e. having won ...

win the Men's Doubles **

: 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 Sam Backo (born 1 January 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s and 1990s. Named as one of the greatest Aboriginal players of the 20th century, he represented Australia and Queensland ...

, Indigenous Australian rugby league footballer * 7 January – Andrew Thomson, lawyer and politician * 9 February – Alison Megarrity, politician * 12 February – Di Farmer, politician * 25 February –

Trevor Strong Trevor Leonard Strong (born 26 February 1961) is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2001 to 2004, representing the seat of Burnett. Strong was a qualified carpenter before enter ...

, politician * 4 March –

Bart Bassett Bart Edward Bassett (born 4 March 1961) is an Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2015, representing the electorate of Londonderry. He was elected as a member of the Liberal Party, bu ...

, politician * 14 March –

Garry Jack Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a for the Tigers during the late 1980s, and ea ...

, rugby league footballer and coach * 16 March –

Brett Kenny Brett "Bert" Edward Kenny (born 16 March 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a and for the Australian national team and New South Wales Blues representative sides, and ...

, rugby league footballer * 24 March – Dean Jones, cricketer, coach and commentator (died 2020) * 26 March –

Richard Torbay George Richard Torbay (born 26 March 1961), an Australian politician, was an independent member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Northern Tablelands from 1999 to 2013. Torbay was the 30th Speaker of the New South Wales L ...

, politician * 12 April **

Magda Szubanski Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate. She performed in ''Fast Forward'', '' Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films ''Babe'' (1995) and ' ...

, actor and comedian **

Lisa Gerrard Lisa Germaine Gerrard (; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique ( ...

, singer * 20 April –

Frances Adamson Frances Jennifer Adamson, (born 20 April 1961) is an Australian public servant and diplomat who is the 36th Governor of South Australia, in office since 7 October 2021. Early life and education Adamson was born in Adelaide, South Australia, th ...

, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to China * 16 May –

Gina Riley Gina Riley (born 6 May 1961) is an Australian actress, writer, singer and comedian, known for portraying Kim Craig in the television series ''Kath & Kim'', and for her work in musical theatre. Television and film Riley became a popular televis ...

, actor and comedian * 31 May –

Justin Madden Justin Mark Madden (born 31 May 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer and state politician. He played for the Essendon Football Club and the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After his retirement in 1997, ...

, Australian rules footballer * 16 June – Peter Sterling, rugby league footballer * 6 July - Rick Price, singer * 21 July –

Morris Iemma Morris Iemma (; born 21 July 1961) is a former Australian politician who was the 40th Premier of New South Wales. He served from 3 August 2005 to 5 September 2008. From Sydney, Iemma attended the University of Sydney and the University of Techno ...

, 40th Premier of New South Wales * 8 August –

Tim Mander Timothy Leonard Mander (born 9 August 1961) is an Australian politician and a former leading Australian rugby league referee. He is a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Mander was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Leade ...

, politician and rugby league referee * 12 August –

Peter Dowling Peter James Dowling (born 12 August 1961) is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2009 to 2015, representing the electorate of Redlands. Dowling was born in Leiceste ...

, politician * 19 August –

Frank Terenzini Francesco (Frank) Terenzini is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 until 2011, representing the electorate of Maitland. He was a lawyer and teacher before entering ...

, politician * 15 September **

Terry Lamb Terence John Lamb (born 15 September 1961), also nicknamed "Baa", is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played 350 games, with the Western Suburbs (1980–1983) and Canterbury (1984–1996). Lamb was known for his su ...

, rugby league footballer and coach ** Joan Pease, politician * 8 October –

Simon Burke Simon Gareth Burke (born 8 October 1961) is an Australian actor, active in films, television and theatre. Biography Simon Burke began his career at the age of 12, starring in Michael Cove's ''Kookaburra''; a painful look at a dysfunctional wo ...

, actor * 19 October –

Cliff Lyons Cliff Lyons (born 19 October 1961) is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Clive Churchill Medalllist and two-time Dally M Medallist, he made 309 first-grade appearances wit ...

, rugby league footballer * 18 November – Anthony Warlow, entertainer * 23 November – Merv Hughes, cricketer * 4 December –

Sonia Hornery Sonia Kathleen Hornery (born 4 December 1961) is an Australian politician representing the seat of Wallsend in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Labor Party. She has been in Parliament since 24 March 2007 and was elected as Depu ...

, politician * 17 December –

Larry Anthony Lawrence James Anthony (born 17 December 1961) is an Australian former politician. He was a National Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Richmond, New South Wales, from the March 1 ...

, politician * 29 December –

Mal Brough Malcolm Thomas Brough ( ; born 29 December 1961) is a former Australian politician. He represented the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives (1996–2007, 2013–2016) and held ministerial office in the Howard and Turnbull Governments. ...

, politician

Deaths

* 3 January –

Auvergne Doherty Auvergne Mary Doherty, M.A., B.A. (3 October 1896 – 3 January 1961) was an Australian businesswoman, working in her family's cattle business. She was one of the first nine women called to the bar in England; Doherty was the first Western Aust ...

, Australian businesswoman (born 1896) * 3 February – William Morrison (born 1893), Governor General of Australia * 20 February –

Percy Grainger Percy Aldridge Grainger (born George Percy Grainger; 8 July 188220 February 1961) was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who lived in the United States from 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918. In the course of a long an ...

(born 1882), pianist and composer * 22 May –

Lionel Lindsay Sir Lionel Arthur Lindsay (17 October 187422 May 1961) was an Australian artist, known for his paintings and etchings. Early life Lindsay was born in the Victorian town of Creswick, into a creative family – he was the brother of artist No ...

(born 1874), artist * 27 September – Peter Dawson (born 1882), singer * 3 December –

Pat O'Hara Wood Hector "Pat" O'Hara Wood (30 April 1891 – 3 December 1961) was an Australian tennis player. O'Hara Wood was born in St Kilda, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. He is best known for his two victories at the Australasian Championships (now the ...

(born 1891), tennis player * 20 December –

Earle Page Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian surgeon and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Australia, holding office for 19 days after the death of Joseph Lyons in 1939. He was the leade ...

(born 1880), Prime Minister of Australia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1961 in Australia Australia Years of the 20th century in Australia