The following lists events that happened during 1968 in Australia .
List of events
1968 Australia
Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s See also:
Incumbents Lord Casey State and territory leaders Governors and administrators Events 4 January – The search for the body of Prime Minister Harold Holt , who disappeared whilst swimming near 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 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 Film 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 Unknown dates Births 9 January – Mardi Lunn , golfer 7 February – Phillip Tahmindjis , ice speed skater 23 February – Angela Ash, Celebrity of Stylis Cove Western Australia 12 February – Nathan Rees , 41st Premier of New South Wales (2008–2009) 1 April – Mike Baird , 44th Premier of New South Wales (2014–2017) 7 April – Duncan Armstrong , swimmer 20 April – Julia Morris , actress, comedian, television presenter and producer 13 May – Scott Morrison , 30th Prime Minister of Australia 26 May – Rachael Sporn , basketball player 28 May – Kylie Minogue , entertainer 1 June – Jason Donovan , entertainer 4 June – Rachel Griffiths , actress 15 June – Hugh McDermott, politician 27 July – Julian McMahon , actor 3 August – Tom Long, actor (died 2020) 8 August – Craig Ruddy , artist (died 2022) 9 August – Eric Bana , actor 10 August – Cate Shortland , film and television writer and director 20 August – Sandy Brondello , basketball player and coach 13 September – Andrew Gee, politician 30 September – Sharon Jaklofsky , track and field athlete 8 October – Garry Hocking , footballer 12 October – Hugh Jackman , actor 15 October – Trent Zimmerman , politician 5 November – Penny Wong , politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs 13 November – Cherie Burton , politician 19 December – Kristina Keneally , 42nd Premier of New South Wales (2009–2011) Deaths 14 January – Dorothea Mackellar (born 1885), poet 21 February – Howard Florey (born 1898), Nobel Prize-winning pharmacologist 22 May – Arthur Bridges (born 1901), New South Wales Minister for Child and Social Welfare 24 June – Tony Hancock (born 1924), British comedian 31 July – Jack Pizzey (born 1911), Premier of Queensland 19 August – William McCall (born 1908), politician 25 August – Stan McCabe (born 1910), cricketer 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 14 December – Margaret Theadora Allan (born 1889), community worker 20 December – John Jennings (born 1878), politician See also References ^ "Winner: Archibald Prize 1968 – William Pidgeon". artgallery.nsw.gov.au . Art Gallery of NSW. Retrieved 19 August 2017 . 18th century 19th century 20th century 21st century
1968 in Oceania
Sovereign states Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Associated states
