1971 in Australia explained
The following lists events that happened during 1971 in Australia.
Incumbents
State and territory leaders
Governors and administrators
Events
January
- 3 January -
- Sudden hailstorms lash the Sydney area causing widespread damage to houses and properties, as well as traffic chaos and nearly $150,000 worth of damage to fruit and vegetable crops at Cobbity.
- New South Wales Transport Minister announces that intensified police weekend patrols might become a regular part of the campaign to cut the road toll after 8,148 New South Wales motorists were arrested or charged over the New Year holiday weekend.
- 4 January -
- Federal Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam says in Port Moresby that Papuan leaders seem to accept completely the Australian Labor Party's timetable for independence of Papua New Guinea. The timetable provides for self-government as soon as a Labor government comes to power in Australia, and independence in 1976.
- Immigration Minister Phillip Lynch gives a ruling that three Asian doctors at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, who entered Australia under the private overseas student program, will be sent home, but may apply to return to Australia as migrants conditionally.
March
- 10 March - William McMahon replaces John Gorton as Prime Minister of Australia after a party room ballot on a motion of confidence in John Gorton as Prime Minister. The ballot was divided 33:33 until Mr. Gorton, as chairman, gave his casting vote against the motion, effectively voting himself out of office. He stood for and won the position of Deputy Party Leader, after William McMahon beat Billy Snedden for the leadership. Later, John Gorton publishes an article critical of Cabinet leaks.
July
October
- 13 October - Enrolment, but not voting, is made compulsory for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Queensland.
November
- 2 November -
- President Richard Nixon gives Prime Minister William McMahon an unqualified endorsement of the Anzus alliance, saying that the United States would honour its commitments under the alliance, which he described as one of America's fundamental pillars in the Pacific.
- Sonia McMahon, wife of Prime Minister William McMahon, captures international attention when she wears a daring full-length dress, with a long slit down the sides revealing her legs, to a White House reception. The dress was designed by South Yarra fashion designer Victoria Ciscijo of Valencia House. Sonia McMahon would be most remembered in years to come for this dress.[1]
December
Date unknown
Arts and literature
See main article: 1971 in Australian literature.
Film
Television
- 4 January – American children's educational TV series Sesame Street premieres on ABC.
- 28 July – Pick-A-Box, hosted by Bob and Dolly Dyer, airs for the final time. It had first been broadcast as a radio program in 1948.
Sport
Births
- 17 January – Peter Winter, track and field decathlete
- 25 January – Brett Aitken, track cyclist
- 26 January – Lee Naylor, track and field athlete
- 14 February – Lisa-Marie Vizaniari, discus thrower
- 19 February
- 20 March – Murray Bartlett, actor
- 26 March – Rennae Stubbs, tennis player
- 1 April – Lachy Hulme, actor and screenwriter
- 2 April – Todd Woodbridge, tennis player
- 20 April
- 1 May – Stuart Appleby, golfer
- 4 May – Miles Stewart, triathlete
- 7 May – Billy Moore, Australian rugby league player[3]
- 17 May
- 27 May – Wayne Carey, Australian rules footballer
- 3 June – Mary Grigson, cyclist[4]
- 10 June
- Kyle Sandilands, DJ, Australian Idol judge and TV presenter.
- 21 June
- 3 July - Julian Assange, activist[5]
- 12 July – Robert Allenby, golfer
- 28 August – Daniel Goddard, actor and model
- 2 September – Gregory Corbitt, field hockey striker
- 18 September
- 1 October – Andrew O'Keefe, highest-rating television personality
- 20 October – Dannii Minogue, singer, actress and television personality
- 29 October – Matthew Hayden, cricket player
- 10 November - Monique Allen, gymnast
- 14 November
- 19 November – Michelle Andrews, field hockey midfielder
- 6 December – Brendan Garard, field hockey player
- date unknown – Janine Deakin, geneticist
Deaths
- 9 February – Arthur Smith (b. 1893), public servant
- 27 May – Chips Rafferty (b. 1909), actor
- 30 June – Kenneth Slessor (b. 1901), poet
- 3 August – Beatrice Kerr (b. 1887), swimmer, diver, and aquatic performer
- 11 August – Sir John Burton Cleland (b. 1878), naturalist, microbiologist, mycologist and ornithologist
- 19 August – Jack Emanuel (b. 1918), George Cross recipient
- 16 October – Robin Boyd (b. 1919), architect
Notes and References
- News: Sonia stuns White House. Sydney Morning Herald. 4 November 1971. p.1.
- Architect Victoria RAIA VIC awards 2007, 54
- News: Ritchie. Dean. Not being from Queensland no bar to Cane Toad State of Origin selection. 6 April 2011. The Daily Telegraph. 6 April 2011. 7 July 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160707180117/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/maroons-in-a-state-of-denial/story-e6frexnr-1226034271134. live.
- Web site: Mary GRIGSON - Olympic Cycling Mountain Bike Australia . International Olympic Committee . 21 June 2019 . en . 17 June 2016 . 30 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200930155322/https://www.olympic.org/mary-grigson . live .
- Book: Chase's Calendar of Events. Chases Calendar of Events, 2012 Edition. 15 September 2011. McGraw Hill Professional. 978-0-07-176672-2. 344.
