1949 in Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

←

Flag of Australia.svg
 1949
in
Australia

→

Decades:
  • 1920s
  • 1930s
  • 1940s
  • 1950s
  • 1960s
See also:

The following lists events that happened during 1949 in Australia.

Incumbents[]

Ben Chifley
Robert Menzies
  • Monarch – George VI
  • Governor-General – William McKell
  • Prime Minister – Ben Chifley (until 19 December), then Robert Menzies
  • Chief Justice – Sir John Latham

State Governors[]

  • Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
  • Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
  • Governor of South Australia – Sir Charles Norrie
  • Governor of Tasmania – Sir Hugh Binney
  • Governor of Victoria – Sir Winston Dugan (until 20 February), then Sir Dallas Brooks (from 18 October)
  • Governor of Western Australia – Sir James Mitchell

Events[]

  • 26 January – The Nationality and Citizenship Act is passed. Rather than being identified as subjects of Britain, the Act established Australian citizenship for people who met eligibility requirements.
  • 2 March - A cyclone crosses the Central Queensland coast impacting Gladstone and Rockhampton.
  • 10 March – A Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar crashes near Coolangatta, Queensland, killing all 21 on board.
  • 16 March – Australia's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is established, by order of the Directive for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service.
  • 16 March – Indigenous Australians who are eligible to vote in state elections in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are also given the right to vote in federal elections.
  • 27 June – A seven-week coal strike begins, involving 23,000 miners and broken by the sending in of troops.
  • 2 July - A MacRobertson Miller Aviation DC-3 aircraft crashes on take-off from Perth Airport, killing all 18 on board.
  • 17 October – Construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme begins.
  • 10 December – A federal election is held. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Ben Chifley is defeated by Robert Menzies' Liberal Party.
  • 18 December – Prime Minister-elect Robert Menzies announces his cabinet, including Dame Enid Lyons as Australia's first female cabinet minister.

Science and technology[]

  • November – Australia's first digital computer, CSIRAC, runs its first test programs.

Arts and literature[]

Main article: 1949 in Australian literature
  • 21 January – William Dobell wins the Archibald Prize and the Wynne Prize.

Sport[]

  • Athletics
    • 17 September - Robert Prentice wins his first men's national marathon title, clocking 2:43:46 in Perth
  • Cricket
  • Football
    • Bledisloe Cup: won by the Wallabies
    • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Souths defeated Easts 22-8
    • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: Western Suburbs defeated Balmain 8-5
    • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by North Adelaide
    • Victorian Football League premiership: Essendon defeated Carlton 125-52
  • Golf
  • Horse Racing
    • Persist wins the AJC Oaks
    • Lincoln wins the Caulfield Cup
    • Delta wins the Cox Plate
    • Foxzami wins the Melbourne Cup
  • Motor Racing
    • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Leyburn, and was won by John Crouch driving a Delahaye
  • Tennis
  • Yachting
    • Waltzing Matilda takes line honours and Trade Winds wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births[]

  • 11 January – Daryl Braithwaite, singer
  • 14 January – Paul Chubb (died 2002), actor
  • 26 February – Simon Crean, trade union leader and politician
  • 7 March – Rex Hunt, media personality
  • 13 June – Red Symons, musician and TV personality
  • 30 June – John Kobelke (died 2019), Western Australian politician
  • 1 July – John Farnham, singer and entertainer
  • 16 July – Robert Proctor, field hockey player
  • 18 July – Dennis Lillee, cricketer
  • 28 July – Peter Doyle, singer and guitarist (died 2001)
  • 18 August – Byron Kennedy (died 1983), film producer
  • 23 August – Rick Springfield, singer
  • 22 September – Jim McGinty, politician
  • 6 November – Malcolm Poole, field hockey player
  • 12 November – Deb Foskey (died 2020), Australian Capital Territory politician
  • 24 November – Shane Bourne, comedian and actor

Deaths[]

  • 8 January – Mary Miller, singer (b. 1926)
  • 3 February – Kate Dwyer, educator, suffragist and labour activist (b. 1861)
  • 7 April – Richard Crouch, Victorian politician (b. 1868)
  • 26 April – Norman Brookman, South Australian politician (b. 1884)
  • 14 August – Henry Ernest Boote, editor, journalist, and poet (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1865)
  • 15 August – Vida Goldstein, suffragette and social reformer (b. 1869)
  • 16 August – John Lemmone, flautist, composer and manager (b. 1861)
  • 27 August – Theodora Cowan, sculptor (b. 1868)
  • 2 September – Jack Beasley, New South Wales politician (b. 1895)
  • 9 September – Sir John Kirwan, Western Australian politician (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1869)
  • 16 November – Margaret Battye, barrister and jurist (b. 1909)
  • 21 November – Philip Lytton, actor and theatre entrepreneur (b. unknown)
  • 18 December – Florence Anderson, trade union secretary (b. 1871)
  • Unknown – Eric Muspratt, travel writer (b. 1899)
  • Unknown – Alfred Wheeler, minister and composer (b. 1865)

See also[]

References[]

Retrieved from ""