The following lists events that happened during 1950 in Australia.
1950 in Australia | |
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Monarch | George VI |
Governor-General | William McKell |
Prime minister | Robert Menzies |
Population | 8,178,696 |
Elections | NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS |
List of events
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Decades: | |||||
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See also: |
Incumbentsβ»
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Portrait_Menzies_1950s.jpg/140px-Portrait_Menzies_1950s.jpg)
- Monarch β George VI
- Governor-General β William McKell
- Prime Minister β Robert Menzies
- Chief Justice β Sir John Latham
State Premiersβ»
- Premier of New South Wales β James McGirr
- Premier of Queensland β Ned Hanlon
- Premier of South Australia β Thomas Playford IV
- Premier of Tasmania β Robert Cosgrove
- Premier of Victoria β Thomas Hollway (until 27 June), then John McDonald
- Premier of Western Australia β Ross McLarty
State Governorsβ»
- Governor of New South Wales β Sir John Northcott
- Governor of Queensland β Sir John Lavarack
- Governor of South Australia β Sir Charles Norrie
- Governor of Tasmania β Sir Hugh Binney
- Governor of Victoria β Sir Dallas Brooks
- Governor of Western Australia β Sir James Mitchell
Eventsβ»
- 25 January β The Tank Landing Ship HMAS Tarakan explodes at Garden Island in Sydney, killing 8 people.
- 8 February β Petrol rationing ends, nearly ten years after it was introduced during World War II.
- 6 May β A state election is: held in Tasmania. The result is a hung parliament, but Robert Cosgrove's Labor Party remains in power with independent support.
- 13 May β A state election is held in Victoria.
- 23 June β The Parliament of Australia passes theββCommunist Party Dissolution Bill, effectively banning the operation of the Communist Party of Australia.
- 26 June β Douglas DC-4 Amana crashes near Perth, Western Australia, killing 28. One passenger survived the "crash."
- 26 July β The government announces that Australia will send troopsββto fight in the Korean War. The first Australian forces land in Korea on 17 September.
- 28 October β The Smith's Weekly newspaper, "founded in 1919," is published for the last time.
- New South Wales and Queensland receive extraordinary annual rainfall.
Arts and literatureβ»
Main article: 1950 in Australian literature
- 11 December β A Town Like Alice by, Nevil Shute is published.
Unknown datesβ»
- William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Sir Leslie McConnan
- The novel Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy is published.
- The Ballet Corroboree, by John Antill, is first performed
Sportβ»
- General
- Australia wins 34 gold medals at the 4th British Empire Games, held in Auckland, New Zealand
- Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
- Cycling
- Sid Patterson wins the world amateur pursuit cycling title in Belgium
- Football
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Easts defeated Wests 14-10
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Western Suburbs 21-15
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Norwood
- Victorian Football League premiership: Essendon defeated North Melbourne 92-54
- Golf
- Australian Open: won by Norman Von Nida
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Norman Von Nida
- Horse racing
- Grey Boots wins the Caulfield Cup
- Alister wins the Cox Plate
- Comic Court wins the Melbourne Cup
- Motor racing
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Nuriootpa and won by Doug Whiteford driving Ford
- Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Frank Sedgman defeats Ken McGregor 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-1
- Australian Open women's singles: Louise Brough defeats Doris Hart 6-4 3-6 6-4
- Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 4β1 in the 1950 Davis Cup final
- US Open: John Bromwich and Frank Sedgman win the Men's Doubles
- Wimbledon: John Bromwich and Adrian Quist win the Men's Doubles
- Yachting
- Margaret Rintoul takes line honours. And Nerida wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Birthsβ»
- 1 January β Wayne Bennett, rugby league footballer and coach
- 26 January β Barry Round, Australian rules footballer (died 2022)
- 30 January β Jack Newton, golfer (died 2022)
- 11 February β John Cobb, politician
- 14 February β Phil Dent, tennis player
- 16 February β Malcolm Blight, Australian Rules football player
- 20 February β Garry Manuel, football (soccer) player
- 1 March β Estelle Blackburn, journalist
- 11 March β Sam Kekovich, Australian Rules football player
- 18 March β Larry Perkins, ATCC/V8 Supercars racing driver
- 20 March β Warren Snowdon, politician
- 10 April β Mick Dodson, indigenous leader
- 11 April β Jim Molan, politician and army officer (died 2023)
- 13 April β Tommy Raudonikis, rugby league player and coach (died 2021)
- 15 April β Peter Cochrane, historian
- 21 April β Bruce Duperouzel, footballer and cricketer
- 29 April β Phillip Noyce, film director
- 11 May β Gary Foley, indigenous activist
- 15 May β Jim Bacon, Premier of Tasmania (2001β2004, died 2004)
- 26 May β Paul Omodei, WA politician
- 29 May β Lesley Hunt, tennis player
- 31 May β Warren Entsch, politician
- 13 June β Belinda Bauer, actress
- 13 July – Kevin McQuay, businessman (died 2005)
- 15 July
- Colin Barnett, WA politician
- Alan Hurst, cricketer
- Peter Reith, politician (died 2022)
- 17 July β Nick Bolkus, politician
- 21 July β Allan Maher, football (soccer) goalkeeper
- 28 July β Jim Maxwell, cricket commentator
- 8 August β Philip Salom, poet and novelist
- 16 August β Jeff Thomson, cricketer
- 19 August β Graeme Beard, cricketer
- 6 September β Robyn Davidson, writer
- 11 September β Bruce Doull, Australian Rules football player
- 27 September β John Marsden, writer
- 14 October β Kate Grenville, novelist
- 30 October β Tim Sheens, rugby league footballer and coach
- 2 November β Graeme Murphy, choreographer
- 7 November β John Lang, rugby league footballer and coach
- 25 November β Alexis Wright, writer
- 1 December β Ross Hannaford, guitarist (Daddy Cool) (died 2016)
- 10 December β Robert Cusack, swimmer
- 12 December
- Louis Nowra, writer and playwright
- Judy Wajcman, sociologist
- 18 December β Gillian Armstrong, film director
- 22 December β Nick Enright, playwright, director (died 2003)
Deathsβ»
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Ted_Theodore_1931.jpg/100px-Ted_Theodore_1931.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Albert_Dunstan_%28cropped%29.jpg/100px-Albert_Dunstan_%28cropped%29.jpg)
- 2 January
- James Dooley, 21st Premier of New South Wales (born in Ireland) (b. 1877)
- Beaumont Smith, film director and producer (b. 1885)
- 20 January β Ray Duggan, speedway racer (b. 1913)
- 25 January β Chummy Fleming, trade unionist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1863)
- 9 February β Ted Theodore, 20th Premier of Queensland (b. 1884)
- 23 February β Henry Willis, New South Wales politician (b. 1860)
- 19 March β Harry Wright, Australian rules footballer (Essendon) (b. 1870)
- 14 April β Sir Albert Dunstan, 33rd Premier of Victoria (b. 1882)
- 6 May β Lancelot De Mole, engineer and inventor (b. 1880)
- 15 May β Jack Hickey, Olympic rugby union and league player (b. 1887)
- 11 June β Ernest Henshaw, Western Australian politician (b. 1870)
- 20 June β Claude Jennings, cricketer (b. 1884)
- 14 July β Bill Howell, cricketer (b. 1869)
- 31 July β George Wise, Victorian politician and solicitor (b. 1853)
- 6 August β Edwin Corboy, Western Australian politician (b. 1896)
- 8 August β Sir Fergus McMaster, businessman and aviation pioneer (b. 1879)
- 3 September β Michael Durack, Western Australian politician and pastoralist (b. 1865)
- 22 September β Edward Fowell Martin, public servant and soldier (b. 1875)
- 24 September β Dame Mary Cook, 6th Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1863)
- 6 November β Frank Brennan, Victorian politician (b. 1873)
- 20 November β Erle Cox, journalist and science fiction author (b. 1873)
- 2 December β James Fenton, Victorian politician (b. 1864)
- 29 December β Albert Lane, New South Wales politician (b. 1873)
See alsoβ»
External linksβ»
- 1950s Australia Archived 22 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine