The following lists events that happened during 1966 in Australia.

1966 in Australia
MonarchElizabeth II
Governor-GeneralLord Casey
Prime ministerSir Robert Menzies, then Harold Holt
Population11,599,498
Australian of the YearJack Brabham
ElectionsQLD, Federal

1966
in
Australia

Decades:
See also:

Incumbents

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Lord Casey

State and territory leaders

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Governors and administrators

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Events

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January

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February

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  • 1 February – Victoria's State Executive Council commutes the death sentence which had been handed to 32-year-old triple murderer John Desmond David who pled guilty in November 1965 to three murders.[15] Instead of being hanged, David's sentence is commuted to 40 years imprisonment making him the fourth convicted murderer whose death sentence is commuted since Robert Peters Tait in 1962.[16]
  • 4 February – Two men, aged 19 and 22, undergoing a 10-week basic training course at the Army Recruit Training Centre at Kapooka survive a lightning strike.[17]
  • 5 February – While playing in the sand on a beach at Windang near Wollongong, a 12-year-old boy discovers the body of 29-year-old Giorgina Radoicovich.[18] A Supreme Court jury later finds her 31-year-old husband Vittorio Radoicovich not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter and is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.[19]
  • 14 February – Decimalisation of the Australian currency; the Australian dollar replaces the Australian pound at the rate of ten shillings to the dollar.[20][21]
  • 18 February – US Vice-President Hubert Humphrey arrives in Australia to assure the Australian government that the war is being directed by Hanoi and Peking, and that it represents one of China's numerous offensives in Asia.[22][23]
  • 28 February –

March

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  • 10 March – On advice from Immigration Minister Hubert Opperman, federal cabinet reverses a decision of September 1964, agreeing that non-Europeans could be selected on an individual basis to enter as immigrants with permanent resident status and naturalisation on an equal basis with European applicants.[26]
  • 16 March – Widespread rain in New South Wales brings a slight reprieve for some areas affected by Australia's severe drought which has stricken large areas of the country since 1957, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland.[27]
  • 30 March – Ronald Joseph Ryan is found guilty of murdering warder George Henry Hodson at HM Prison Pentridge on 19 December 1965 and is sentenced to death.[28] Peter John Walker is found guilty of manslaughter and is sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.[28]

April

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  • 12 May – 21-year-old pilot Mary Fergusson on her final test flight to qualify for her full pilot's licence goes missing in Tasmania enroute from Cambridge to Flinders Island prompting a widespread search.[31] Her body and her crashed Cessna are discovered several days later, only 50 miles from the Cambridge Aerodrome where she took off.[32]

June

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  • 8 June – Ronald Joseph Ryan and Peter John Walker lose their appeals against their sentences relating to the murder of Pentridge warder George Henry Hodson on 19 December 1965.[33] After being convicted of Hodson's murder in March, Ryan was sentenced to death while Walker is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.[33]
  • 21 June – Federal ALP leader Arthur Calwell is injured in an assassination attempt by 19-year-old Peter Kocan.[34]

July

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August

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  • 10 August – 41-year-old Helen Byrie Bernadette Jeffrey is found guilty of murdering her de facto husband 39-year-old Colin Howard Jeffrey in Healesville, Victoria on 27 March 1964, and is sentenced to death.[39] Her death sentence is later commuted to 10 years imprisonment on 23 May 1967.[40]
  • 18 August – Australian forces engage in their first major battle in Vietnam at the Battle of Long Tan, inflicting heavy losses on NLF troops.[41]
  • 23 August – Two hundred Gurindji people walk off Wave Hill Station in the Northern Territory in protest at low wages and poor conditions.[42]

September

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  • 1 September – Holden becomes the first local car manufacturer to install seat belts as standard equipment in all its new vehicles, starting with the Holden HR.[43][44]
  • 17 September – 18-year-old David Michael Ewer is found guilty of murdering 51-year-old Kathleen McLean in the Melbourne suburb of Albert Park on 22 April 1966, and is sentenced to death.[45] His death sentence is later commuted to 30 years imprisonment on 15 March 1967.[46]
  • 22 September – Ansett-ANA Flight 149 crashes near Winton, Queensland, killing all 24 people on board.[47]
  • 24 September – Six people, including a 12-year-old boy, are killed when a Lockheed Hudson aircraft owned by Adastra Aerial Surveys crashes near the Tennant Creek Airport.[48]

October

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  • 13 October – 25-year-old Keith Ryrie is found guilty of the murder of 5-year-old Rhonda Margaret Irwin in Melbourne on 17 April 1966, and is sentenced to death.[49] His death sentence is later commuted to 50 years imprisonment on 29 May 1967.[50]
  • 20 October – US President Lyndon Johnson arrives for a 3-day visit of Australian east coast cities, sparking rowdy demonstrations by anti-war protesters.[51][52]
  • 26 October – 20-year-old Anthony Lynes Burton is found guilty of murdering his parents 49-year-old Joyce Carol Burton and 51-year-old Colin Richard Burton in the Melbourne suburb of Huntingdale on 13 April 1966, and is sentenced to death.[53] His death sentence is later commuted to 30 years imprisonment on 15 March 1967.[46]

November

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December

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  • 9 December – Australia negotiates an agreement for an American spy satellite base to be established at Pine Gap in the Northern Territory, with federal minister for external affairs Paul Hasluck signing a treaty with the United States chargé d'affaires.[58]
  • 12 December – Victoria's State Executive Council schedules Ronald Ryan's hanging for 9 January 1967.[59]
  • 22 December – The Federal government announces the formation of a military Task Force (including conscripts), increasing Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War to 4,500.[60]

Other events

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Science and technology

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  • Sydney industrial designer Harry Widmer wins the prestigious F.H. Edwards Laurel Award for his design for the Kriesler Mini 41–47 portable radio.[62] The 41-47's innovative polypropylene plastic casing is the first use of this material anywhere in the world in consumer electronics.[62]
  • 24 November – Australia's first satellite communications earth station opens at Carnarvon, Western Australia.[63]

Arts and literature

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Film

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Television

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Sport

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Births

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Deaths

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Helpmann as "Australian of the Year"". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 January 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  2. ^ Gaul, Jonathan (21 January 1966). "PM resigns: Holt to name cabinet Tueday". The Canberra Times. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Farewell to the people". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 January 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Sir Robert Menzies' farewell". The Age. 21 January 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  5. ^ "All-in search for three children". The Age. 28 January 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  6. ^ "£850 reward for missing Adelaide children". The Age. 29 January 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Lost children: £1050 reward". The Age. 31 January 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  8. ^ McLoughlin, Chris (19 April 2024). "Beaumont children mystery less likely to be solved as time goes on, Grant Stevens says". ABC News. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Kambalda - Its discovery and early development". Kambalda Nickel Operations. 27 September 1993. Retrieved 26 July 2024. The Company began diamond drilling in the area in December 1965, and at 10 a.m. on 28 January, 1966, a drill operating near the old Red Hill gold mine intersected a 9 ft. wide bank of iron and nickel sulphides assaying 8.3 per cent nickel.
  10. ^ "Savage murder: mutilated body under stairway". The Sun-Herald. 30 January 1966. p. 5. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Murder appeal to public". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 January 1966. p. 35. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  12. ^ Humphries, Glen (21 March 2017). "Unsolved Wollongong murder to feature in film". Illawarra Mercury. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  13. ^ Morri, Mark (13 November 2023). "Christopher Wilder may have killed unknown woman known as Ellery Jane Doe". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 July 2024. was also a suspect in the murders of Wollongong woman Wilhelmina Kruger in 1966...
  14. ^ "Prince Charles arrives with a smile". The Age. 31 January 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Killer of three will not hang". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1966. p. 5. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Death sentence commuted". The Age. 2 February 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Lightning strikes army recuits; escape with burns and shock". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 February 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Woman's body in sandhills grave". The Sun-Herald. 6 February 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  19. ^ "10 years for killing wife". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 April 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  20. ^ "In came the dollars, out went the pounds - and all with hardly a hitch". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 February 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  21. ^ "In came the $s with great common sense". The Age. 15 February 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Humphrey here for Vietnam talk". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 February 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Vice-President Humphrey here - he feels 'at home'". The Age. 19 February 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  24. ^ O'Hara, John (1 March 1966). "Utzon quits Opera House: Angry clash on fees reported". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Uneventful end to state's six o'clock swill". The Age. 1 February 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  26. ^ Gaul, Jonathan (11 March 1966). "New immigration policy will aid Japanese". The Canberra Times. p. 3. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Storms in wide areas of state bring heaviest rain for a year". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 March 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Ryan guilty of murder; death sentence". The Age. 31 March 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  29. ^ Suich, Max (5 June 1966). "The changing face of Sunday". The Sun-Herald. p. 45. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  30. ^ "First group of NS troops to fly to Vietnam". The Canberra Times. 20 April 2024. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Dawn search by planes for girl pilot". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 May 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  32. ^ "Lost aircraft often missed". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 May 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  33. ^ a b "Ryan and Walker lose appeals over shot warder". The Age. 9 June 1966. p. 6. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  34. ^ "Calwell wounded at rally". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 June 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  35. ^ "Biggest union votes to join ACTU". The Age. 6 July 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  36. ^ "Immediate $2 rise in basic wage - 'low-pay' workers to get extra". The Age. 9 July 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  37. ^ "Pomp and pageantry as Menzies takes post". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 July 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  38. ^ "Bishop Loane chosen as new archbishop". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 July 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 28 July 2024. He was elected by an absolute majority after midnight last night.
  39. ^ "Woman guilty of murder". The Age. 11 August 1966. p. 12. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  40. ^ "Ryrie decision Monday". The Age. 24 May 1967. p. 3. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  41. ^ "17 Australians dead; 26 wounded". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 August 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  42. ^ "200 Aborigines on strike in NT for $50 a week". The Age. 27 August 1966. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  43. ^ "Seat belts". FB-EK Holden Car Clubs of Australia. 17 May 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2024. The first factory-fitted seatbelts were not fitted as standard equipment until 1st Sept 1966, as part of the HR 'safety upgrade'. From then onwards they were fitted as standard equipment to all models.
  44. ^ "Holden HR". New Old Car Company. Retrieved 25 July 2024. In 1966, the Holden HR was introduced, including changes in the form of new front and rear styling and higher-capacity engines. The HR was the first Australian car fitted with standard front seat belts.
  45. ^ "Death sentence for youth, 18". The Age. 19 September 1966. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  46. ^ a b "Two men escape hanging". The Age. 16 March 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  47. ^ "24 killed in plane crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 September 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  48. ^ "Six dead: Another air crash". The Sun-Herald. 25 September 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  49. ^ "Death sentence for 'hideous crime'". The Age. 14 October 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  50. ^ "50-year-term for Ryrie". The Age. 30 May 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  51. ^ "The Johnson's go visiting". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 October 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  52. ^ "Triumphal tour for President in Canberra". The Age. 21 October 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  53. ^ "Bible cited before death order". The Age. 27 October 1966. p. 7. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  54. ^ "Preferences threat to Liberals". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 November 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  55. ^ "William White joins the army - five days late". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 November 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  56. ^ "Clash as police take objector". The Age. 23 November 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  57. ^ "Holt sweeps back". The Sun-Herald. 27 November 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  58. ^ "Space plant a 'Russian target'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 December 1968. p. 3. Retrieved 24 July 2024. ...the Pine Gap facility, brought into existence when the Minister for External Affairs Mr P M C Hasluck signed a treaty with the US Charge d'Affaires on December 9, 1966
  59. ^ "Hanging of Ryan set for Jan 9". The Age. 13 December 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  60. ^ "1,700 men for Vietnam from three services". The Canberra Times. 23 December 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  61. ^ Williams, Ian (11 October 2016). "The second wave of Japanese investment in Australia". ANZ Bluenotes. Retrieved 25 July 2024. Japan became Australia's leading export destination in 1966 and remained so until 2010.
  62. ^ a b "Many lives squeezed into one". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 26 July 2024. ...Edwards Laurel Award for 1966 for designing the Kreisler Mini 41-47
  63. ^ "WA sees first Aust-UK television link". The Age. 25 November 1966. p. 15. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  64. ^ a b "Clifton Pugh wins Archibald Prize". The Age. 22 January 1966. p. 5. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  65. ^ "Top talent flies in for shows here". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 February 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  66. ^ Best, Betty (2 February 1966). "The Seekers: "All for one, and one for all"". The Australian Women's Weekly. pp. 3, 7. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  67. ^ "Seekers heard bells again". The Age. 8 February 1966. p. 5. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  68. ^ "'Seeker' bride draws crowd". The Age. 7 February 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  69. ^ "A mandala at Sarsparilla". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 February 1966. p. 6. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  70. ^ "Go-Set: Australian pop music magazine". World Radio History. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  71. ^ "Rolling Stones return to Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 February 1966. p. 8. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  72. ^ "Sad old-timers at Tiv finale". The Sun-Herald. 27 March 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  73. ^ "Melbourne's Tivoli closes its doors". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 April 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  74. ^ McGregor, Craig (9 April 1966). "Pop scene". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 12. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  75. ^ McGregor, Craig (14 April 1966). "Dylan sings Dylan". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 11. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  76. ^ "Programme of discovery". The Age. 14 April 1966. p. 31. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  77. ^ "Award to Sydney novelist". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  78. ^ "Play house for the north side". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 May 1966. p. 93. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  79. ^ "Plenty of theatre jobs". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 March 1968. p. 94. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  80. ^ "Theatre for the masses". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 March 1968. p. 7. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  81. ^ a b "Bomb hoax: 100 taken off plane; spirited dash to farewell pop group". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 July 1966. p. 8. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  82. ^ Veitch, Allan (13 November 1966). ""Good things" are happening - now the Easybeats are poised for the big time..." The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 103. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  83. ^ Byrne, Bob (2 October 2014). "Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds". Adelaide: Remember When. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  84. ^ "Singer's fans ejected". The Age. 18 July 1966. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  85. ^ "The Tyranny of Distance". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 October 1966. p. 18. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  86. ^ Crowley, Frank (10 December 1966). "How taming of distance has unified nation". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 16. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  87. ^ a b "Portrait of friend wins prize". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 January 1967. p. 5. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  88. ^ "Mathers novel wins". The Age. 19 April 1967. p. 9. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  89. ^ Bayley, Andrew (6 May 2016). "TV Week Logie Awards: 50 years ago". Television.AU. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  90. ^ Marshall, Valda (24 July 1966). "Series for the kids". The Sun-Herald. p. 80. Retrieved 24 July 2024. ...Play School with Dianne Dorgan and Alister Smart began last Monday on ABN-2
  91. ^ "Australian Championship Marathon 1966". AusRunning. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  92. ^ Goodman, Tom (18 September 1966). "Saints coast, win 23-4; plucky Tigers badly mauled". The Sun-Herald. p. 53. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  93. ^ "St. Kilda wins by a point in Rules". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 September 1966. p. 61. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  94. ^ "Jockey who battled all the way". The Age. 2 November 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  95. ^ "Fidelis wins race line honours". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 December 1966. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  96. ^ "Cadence wins Hobart race". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 January 1967. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  97. ^ "Leader dies". The Sun-Herald. 23 January 1966. p. 28. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  98. ^ B. K. De Garis (2000). John Ritchie (ed.). Paltridge, Sir Shane Dunne (1910–1966). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 15. Melbourne University Press. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  99. ^ "Bill Cahill". Australian Football. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  100. ^ "Former head of Army dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 May 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  101. ^ McDonald, Lorna (1993). "William Beak (1878 - 1966)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  102. ^ "Harold Patrick Breen (1893–1966)". Archived from the original on 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  103. ^ "Death of Mr J S Cockle, Liberal MP". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 August 1966. p. 5. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  104. ^ O'Hara, John (23 September 1966). "Witty Ray Maher was a man of contrasts". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 10. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
  105. ^ "Adamson, May Mabel (1891–1966) headmistress". Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  106. ^ "Boyd, Esna (Esna Flora Boyd)". Tennis Forum. 9 March 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2024.