1955 in Australia

Australia-related events during the year of 1955

The following lists events that happened during 1955 in Australia.

1955 in Australia
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	William Slim
Prime minister	Robert Menzies
Population	9,199,729
Elections	Federal, TAS, VIC

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Decades:

1930s
1940s
1950s
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Incumbents

State Premiers

Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
Premier of Queensland – Vince Gair
Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
Premier of Victoria – John Cain I (until 7 June), then Henry Bolte
Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke

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 Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

19 February – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established at a meeting in Bangkok.^[1]
22–28 February – 1955 Hunter Valley floods: Enormous flooding of the Hunter River and adjacent areas of the Murray–Darling basin causes loss of life and set many rainfall and streamflow records.
19 April – Australian Labor Party split of 1955. Expelled members form the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist), predecessor of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP).
28 May – A state election is held in Victoria. John Cain's Labor government is defeated by the Liberal and Country Party, led by Henry Bolte.
August – Widespread floods and exceedingly persistent rainfall effect the southern fringe of the continent.
12 August – The aircraft carrier HMAS Vengeance is returned to the British Royal Navy.^[2]
21 August – The Consolidated Zinc Corporation announced it has discovered bauxite at Weipa, Queensland.^[3]
28 October – The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne is commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy.^[2]
6 November – The 1955 Queensland Road Racing Championship is held at Southport.^[4]
16 November – The Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth, South Australia is established.
23 November – The Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean are transferred from British to Australian control.
10 December – Federal election: The incumbent Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Robert Menzies with coalition partner the Country Party led by Arthur Fadden defeat the Labor Party led by H. V. Evatt. Malcolm Fraser first enters Parliament as Liberal member for Wannon.

Science and technology

The Guthega power station becomes the first to generate electricity in the Snowy Mountains Scheme

Arts and literature

28 November – Ray Lawler's Summer of the Seventeenth Doll receives its stage premiere by the Union Theatre Repertory Company in Melbourne with the playwright in a leading role; this is influential as the first authentically naturalistic modern drama in the theatre of Australia^[5]
19 December – Dame Edna Everage makes her first stage appearance, in Melbourne
John Brack paints The Car and Collins St., 5 pm in Oakleigh, Victoria
Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Robert Campbell Esq.
Donald Friend wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work St John and Scenes from the Apocalypse
Patrick White's novel The Tree of Man is published
Alan Marshall's childhood autobiography I Can Jump Puddles is published

Film

Jedda, a film by Charles Chauvel, is released

Sport and recreation

Board games
19 January – Australian debut of Scrabble
Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
- England defeats Australia 3–1 in The Ashes
Football
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
- Victorian Football League premiership: Melbourne defeated Collingwood 64–36
Rugby
- Bledisloe Cup: won by the All Blacks
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Valleys defeat Brothers 17–7
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeat Newtown 12–11
Golf
- Australian Open: won by Bobby Locke
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Ossie Pickworth
Horse racing
- Rising Fast wins the Caulfield Cup
- Kingster wins the Cox Plate
- Toparoa wins the Melbourne Cup
Motor racing
- The Australian Grand Prix is held at Port Wakefield and won by Jack Brabham driving a Cooper Bristol
Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Ken Rosewall defeats Lew Hoad 9–7 6–4 6–4
- Australian Open women's singles: Beryl Penrose Collier defeats Thelma Coyne Long 6–4 6–3
- Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 5–0 in the 1955 Davis Cup final
- Wimbledon: Rex Hartwig and Lew Hoad win the Gentlemen's Doubles
Yachting
- Even takes line honours and Moonbi wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

1 January – Mario Andreacchio, film director
6 January – Graham Murray (died 2013), rugby league footballer and coach
13 January – Paul Kelly, rock musician
10 February – Greg Norman, golfer
4 March – Tim Costello, Baptist minister and CEO of World Vision
6 April - Ray Blacklock (died 2020), rugby league footballer
23 April – Judy Davis, actress
3 May – David Hookes (died 2004), cricketer
31 May – Tommy Emmanuel, guitarist
23 June – Alan J. Gow, motorsport executive
5 July – Peter McNamara, tennis player
24 July – David Smith, race walker
26 July – Ron Peno (died 2023), rock singer/songwriter
27 July – Allan Border, cricketer
5 August – Robert Flower (died 2014), footballer
19 August – Mary-Anne Fahey, actress and comedian
18 September - Jim Saleam, far right activist
5 October – Wilbur Wilde, saxophonist
8 October – Paul Lennon, Premier of Tasmania
24 October – Katherine Knight, murderer
30 November – Deborra-Lee Furness, actress and producer
11 December – David Atkins, actor and dancer
19 December– Lincoln Hall (died 2012), mountain climber

Deaths

10 May – John Radecki, stained-glass artist (born in Poland) (b. 1865)
6 June – Max Meldrum, artist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1875)
1 August – Charles Shaw, journalist and novelist (b. 1900)
26 August – P.C. Anderson, golfer and educator (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1871)
5 September – Haydn Bunton Sr., Australian rules footballer (Fitzroy) (b. 1911)
11 November – Harry Cobby, military aviator (b. 1894)
19 December – Sir Keith Smith, aviator (b. 1890)

References

^ "Casey Signs SEATO Pact". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 10 September 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Our new carrier 'Most modern afloat'". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 6 April 1955. p. 5. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
^ "Great Promise in Bauxite Deposits". The Central Queensland Herald. Rockhampton: National Library of Australia. 23 August 1956. p. 19. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
^ Alf Cummings, Grand Prix win at 22, Modern Motor (magazine), January 1956, pages 22, 23 & 84
^ Fitzpatrick, Peter (1979). After The Doll: Australian Drama Since 1955. Studies in Australian culture. Melbourne: Edward Arnold Australia. p. vii. ISBN 0726720402.

Years in Australia (1788–present)

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Timeline of Australian history

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Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue