1975 in Australia
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
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| 1975 in Australia | |
|---|---|
| Monarchy | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General | John Kerr |
| Prime minister | Gough Whitlam, then Malcolm Fraser |
| Population | 13,722,571 |
| Elections | Federal, SA |
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| Decades: | |||||
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| See also: | |||||
Contents
Incumbents
- Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
- Governor General – Sir John Kerr
- Prime Minister – Gough Whitlam (until 11 November), then Malcolm Fraser
- Premier of New South Wales – Sir Robert Askin (until 3 January), then Tom Lewis
- Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan
- Premier of Queensland – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece (until 31 March), then Bill Neilson
- Premier of Western Australia – Charles Court
- Premier of Victoria – Rupert Hamer
Events
- 5 January – Tasman Bridge disaster: The Tasman Bridge in Hobart is struck by the ore carrier MV Lake Illawarra. The bridge partially collapses onto the vessel, which sinks. Seven crew and five motorists are killed
- 19 January – 2JJ, the predecessor of youth radio Triple J, commences broadcasting in Sydney.
- 21 March – Malcolm Fraser replaces Billy Snedden as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
- 25 April – The Australian Embassy in South Vietnam is closed and staff evacuated prior to the Fall of Saigon.
- 1 July – Medibank is introduced, Australia Post and Telecom are formed from the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG).
- 16 September – Papua New Guinea gains its independence from Australia.
- 20 September – Thirteen miners are killed in an underground coal mine explosion at the Kianga Mine at Moura, Queensland.
- 16 October – The Balibo Five are killed by Indonesian troops in Portuguese Timor.
- 11 November – 1975 Australian constitutional crisis: The Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, dismisses the government of Gough Whitlam. Malcolm Fraser is installed as caretaker Prime Minister.
- 25 December – Fifteen persons are killed in an arson attack at the Savoy Hotel in Kings Cross, New South Wales.
- Scientist John Cornforth is announced as Australian of the Year.
Science and technology
- John Cornforth shares the Nobel Prize for Chemistry
Arts and literature
- Kevin Connor wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of The Hon Sir Frank Kitto, KBE
- Xavier Herbert's novel Poor Fellow My Country wins the Miles Franklin Award
Film
- Picnic at Hanging Rock, directed by Peter Weir, is released
Television
- 1 March – "C-Day." Full-time colour broadcasting is launched.
- April – Graham Kennedy said the crow call "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" during a live ad on The Graham Kennedy Show. The studio operators complied, and the show immediately pulled the plug and went to a black screen saying the network had "technical difficulties". In Sydney, the show went to a commercial break and Kennedy never came back, with Bert Newton remaining during the air time. The same happened in Adelaide, with the exception that it was succeeded by Don Lane starting the host his variety show with Newton. Kennedy was immediately fired and banned for life from GTV-9.
Sport
- 16 March – Australia is represented by twelve long-distance runners (eight men, four women) at the third IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Rabat, Morocco. Bill Scott is Australia's best finisher, claiming the 22nd spot (36:28.0) in the race over 12 kilometres.
- 9 August – John Farrington wins his fourth men’s national marathon title, clocking 2:17:20 in Point Cook.
- 23 August:
- Glenelg kick the all-time record score for a major Australian football competition, kicking 49.23 (317) to Central District’s 11.13 (79). Fred Phillis kicked eighteen goals and Peter Carey eight.
- Eastern Suburbs set a record NSWRL/ARL/NRL winning streak of their last nineteen home-and-away games before losing the major semi final.
- 20 September – Eastern Suburbs set a record NSWRL Grand Final winning margin, beating St. George 38 points to nil.
- 27 September – North Melbourne become the last of the then-extant VFL clubs to win a premiership, beating Hawthorn 19.8 (122) to 9.13 (67) in the 1975 VFL Grand Final.
- Think Big wins the Melbourne Cup Jockey Harry White.
- Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
- Kialoa takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Rampage is the handicap winner
- Czechoslovakia defeats Australia 3-0 in the Federation Cup
Births
- 19 January – Natalie Cook, beach volleyball player
- 4 February – Natalie Imbruglia, singer and actor
- 19 April – Jason Gillespie, cricketer
- 21 May – Anthony Mundine, rugby league footballer and boxer
- 27 May – Michael Hussey, cricketer
- 7 June – Leigh Colbert, footballer
- 9 June – Andrew Symonds, cricketer
- 23 June – Jane Jamieson, track and field athlete
- 2 July – Daniel Kowalski, swimmer
- 7 July – Michael Voss, Australian footballer and coach
- 17 July – Loretta Harrop, triathlete
- 28 July - Ian Moorhead, Australian contortionist (world record holding)
- 7 August
- David Matthew Hicks, prisoner at Guantánamo Bay, convicted of "providing material support for terrorism"
- Megan Gale, model
- 12 August – Taryn Woods, water polo player
- 21 August – Simon Katich, cricketer
- 25 August – Petria Thomas, swimmer
- 1 September – Natalie Bassingthwaighte, singer and actor
- 18 September – Don Hany, actor
- 25 September – Scott Westcott, long-distance runner
- 28 September – Stuart Clark, cricketer
- 9 October – Mark Viduka, football (soccer) player
- 18 October - Jacqui Walker, singer
- 31 October
- Carla Boyd, basketball player
- Jagan Hames, track and field athlete
Deaths
- 27 September – Jack Lang (born 1876), Premier of New South Wales
- 5 November – Annette Kellerman (born 1887), swimmer and film star
