1958 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1958 in Australia.

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

List of events

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1958
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1959
1960
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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.
1 April – William John O'Meally becomes The last person flogged in Australia in Melbourne's Pentridge Prison.
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

Aquila Shoes, a shoe manufacturing company, founded.
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

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 1958 Australian federal election 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
- WAFL East Perth defeated East Fremantle 65 - 63
- 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

3 January – Kerry Armstrong, actress
5 January – Penny Whetton, climatologist (died 2019)
6 February – Simon Baker, race walker
10 February – Phil Weightman, politician
12 February – Grant McLennan, singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2006)^[1]
14 February – Grant Thomas, Australian rules footballer
15 February – Steve Bredhauer, politician
22 February – Bill Feldman, politician
28 February – Neil Bennett, politician
16 March – Phillip Wilcher, pianist and composer
20 March – Phil Anderson, cyclist
29 March – Geoff Provest, politician
11 April – Mark Furner, politician
12 April
- Glenn Patching, swimmer
- Jim Madden, politician
19 April – Bill Byrne, politician
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
12 August – Grace Grace, politician
22 August – Jo-Ann Miller, politician
30 September – Rod Welford, politician
October - Garry Pankhurst, former child actor
13 October – Jim Krakouer, Australian Rules footballer
22 October – Jan Jarratt, politician
3 November – Ted Radke, politician
15 November – Lewis Fitz-Gerald, actor and director
24 November – Alex Douglas, politician
26 November – Terry Rogers, politician
27 November – Linda Lavarch, politician
12 December – Monica Attard, journalist
31 December – Geoff Marsh, cricketer

Deaths

24 January – William Roy Hodgson, public servant (b. 1892)
8 March – Brian Swift, Australian cricketer, car accident (b. 1937)
8 April – Ethel Turner, writer (b. 1872)
15 May – Sir John Northmore, Western Australian Supreme Court Chief Justice (b. 1865)
4 August – Ethel Anderson, poet, author, and painter (b. 1883)
13 September – Russell Mockridge (b. 1928), cyclist
14 October – Douglas Mawson, polar explorer (b. 1882)
30 November – Hubert Wilkins, polar explorer (b. 1888)

References

^ Garth Cartwright (10 May 2006). "Grant McLennan". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

Years in Australia (1788–present)

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Timeline of Australian history

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Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue