1968 in Australia

1968 in Australia
Monarchy	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Richard Casey
Prime minister	Harold Holt, then John Gorton
Population	11,799,078
Elections	WA, NSW, SA

← 1967 1966 1965 1968 in Australia → 1969 1970 1971
Decades:	1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s
See also:	Other events of 1968 Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor General – The Lord Casey
• Prime Minister – John McEwen (acting, until 10 January), John Gorton (from 10 January)

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Robert Askin
• Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin (until 17 January), then Jack Pizzey (until 31 July), then Gordon Chalk (until 8 July), then Joh Bjelke-Petersen
• Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan (until 17 April), then Steele Hall
• Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
• Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
• Premier of Western Australia – David Brand

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Roden Cutler
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Alan Mansfield
• Governor of South Australia – Major-General Sir James William Harrison
• Governor of Tasmania – Lieutenant General Sir Edric Bastyan
• Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe
• Governor of Western Australia – Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew

Events

• 4 January – The search for the body of Prime Minister Harold Holt, who disappeared whilst swimming off Portsea, Victoria, is called off.
• 10 January – John Gorton is sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia after the disappearance of Harold Holt.
• 28 January – Members of English rock groups The Who and Small Faces are escorted by police from a plane at Melbourne's Essendon Airport, after the pilot diverts the flight citing the bands' behaviour.
• 1 April – American evangelist Billy Graham begins a tour of Australia.
• 17 April – A state election is held in South Australia. Steele Hall (Liberal and Country League) defeats Don Dunstan (ALP), and becomes Premier of South Australia.
• 8 April – Fluoridation of Sydney's water supply begins.
• 30 April – Jim Cairns unsuccessfully challenges Gough Whitlam for leadership of the Australian Labor Party.
• 1 May – The Duke of Edinburgh arrives in Australia for a ten-day visit.
• 5 May – Three Australian journalists are killed by the Viet Cong in Saigon.
• 21 May – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visits Australia.
• 14 June – Journalist Simon Townsend, future host of Simon Townsend's Wonder World, is granted exemption from military service after lodging a fifth appeal against his imprisonment and court martial for conscientious objection.
• 18 June – The first stage of the Warringah Freeway opens in Sydney.
• 24 June – British comedian Tony Hancock commits suicide in his Sydney hotel room.
• 2 July – Fifty students are arrested during an anti-Vietnam War protest in Martin Place, Sydney.
• 4 July – Forty five people are arrested during an anti-war protest outside the U.S. consulate in St Kilda Road, Melbourne.
• 31 July – The Premier of Queensland, Jack Pizzey, dies in office.
• 1 August – Jack Pizzey's deputy, Gordon Chalk, is sworn in as his successor until the appointment of Joh Bjelke-Petersen as Premier a week later.
• 3 August – The standard gauge rail line between Perth and Kalgoorlie is completed.
• 20 August – The National Gallery of Victoria is opened in Melbourne.
• 14 October – The town of Meckering, Western Australia, is badly damaged by an earthquake.
• 28 October – The Postmaster-General's Department decreases the number of mail deliveries per day from two to one.
• 31 October – Minister for the Army Phillip Lynch admits that Australian Army troops may have breached the Geneva Convention by using water torture during the interrogation of a female Viet Cong suspect.
• 1 November – The airline Ansett-ANA is renamed Ansett.
• 14 December – A referendum is held in Tasmania to allow the granting of Australia's first casino license to the Wrest Point Hotel. The referendum is passed.
• 31 December – MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 crashes south of Port Hedland, Western Australia, killing all 26 people on board.

Non-specific dates

• Australia's population is estimated to have reached 12 million in 1968.

Arts and literature

• 17 January – The Seekers are named Australians of the Year for 1967.
• 19 January – Judy Cassab wins her second Archibald Prize for her portrait of Margo Lewers.
• 1 July – The Copyright Act 1968 replaces the existing 1911 copyright legislation.
• Thomas Keneally's novel Three Cheers for the Paraclete wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

• 2 December – At the Australian Film Institute Awards ceremony, Prime Minister John Gorton announces the creation of the Australian Film Development Corporation.

Television

• 25 May – An episode of the ABC series Bellbird stops the nation when the character of Charlie Cousins (played by Robin Ramsay) dies in a fall from a silo.

Sport

• 26 February – Boxer Lionel Rose beats Japan's Fighting Harada in Tokyo to become world bantamweight champion.
• 25 May – Derek Clayton wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:14:47.8 in Hobart.
• 26 May – Australia wins the 1968 Federation Cup in women's tennis, defeating the Netherlands (3–0).
• 10 June – Australia wins the 1968 Rugby League World Cup when it beats France (20–2) in the final at the SCG.
• 21 September – The South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
• 28 September – The Carlton Blues narrowly beat Essendon Bombers by 3 points (56–53) in the grand final of the 1968 VFL season, winning their first flag in 21 years.
• 12 – 27 October – Australia participates in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, coming ninth in the medal tally with 5 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals (17 in total).
• 15 October – Ralph Doubell equals Peter Snell's world record (2:04.3) in the men's 800 metres, clocking 1:44.3 at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
• 5 November – Rain Lover wins the Melbourne Cup.
• 26 December – Ondine II takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Koomooloo is the handicap winner

Unknown dates

• Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield.

Births

• 7 February – Phillip Tahmindjis, ice speed skater
• 12 February – Nathan Rees, Premier of New South Wales (2008–2009)
• 7 April – Duncan Armstrong, swimmer
• 26 May – Rachael Sporn, basketball player
• 28 May – Kylie Minogue, entertainer
• 1 June – Jason Donovan, entertainer
• 4 June – Rachel Griffiths, actress
• 27 July – Julian McMahon, actor
• 9 August – Eric Bana, actor
• 30 September – Sharon Jaklofsky, track and field athlete
• 12 October – Hugh Jackman, actor

Deaths

• 14 January – Dorothea Mackellar (born 1885), poet
• 21 February – Howard Florey, Baron Florey (born 1898), Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist
• 24 June – Tony Hancock (born 1924), British comedian
• 31 July – Jack Pizzey (born 1911), Premier of Queensland
• 19 August – William McCall (born 1908), politician
• 28 September – Sir Norman Brookes (born 1877), tennis player
• 10 October – Gavin Long (born 1901), journalist and military historian
• 13 October – Dame Jean Macnamara (born 1899), medical scientist
• 27 October – James Hunter (born 1882), politician
• 20 December – John Jennings (born 1878), politician