1972 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
- Governor General – Sir Paul HasluckPaul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
- Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
– William McMahonWilliam McMahonSir William "Billy" McMahon, GCMG, CH , was an Australian Liberal politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Australia...
, then Gough WhitlamGough WhitlamEdward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
State premiers
- Premier of New South Wales – Sir Robert AskinRobert AskinSir Robert William Askin GCMG, was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971...
- Premier of South Australia – Don DunstanDon DunstanDonald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
- Premier of Queensland – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Premier of Tasmania – Angus Bethune, then Eric ReeceEric ReeceEric Elliott Reece, AC was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975.-Biography:...
- Premier of Western AustraliaPremier of Western AustraliaThe Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
– John TonkinJohn TonkinJohn Trezise Tonkin AC , popularly known as "Honest John", was the 20th Premier of Western Australia , taking power after the almost 12 year term of Liberal Sir David Brand.... - Premier of Victoria – Sir Henry BolteHenry BolteSir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician. He was the 38th and longest serving Premier of Victoria.- Early years :...
, then Rupert HamerRupert HamerSir Rupert James Hamer, AC, KCMG, ED , generally known until he was knighted in 1982 as Dick Hamer, Australian Liberal Party politician, was the 39th Premier of Victoria, serving from 1972 to 1981.-Early years:... - Chief Minister of the Northern TerritoryChief Minister of the Northern TerritoryThe Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the legislature of the territory...
– Marshall PerronMarshall PerronMarshall Bruce Perron is a former Australian politician, who was a Country Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory from the formation of the Assembly in 1974 until his resignation in 1995. From 1988 to 1995, Perron was the Chief Minister of the Northern...
Events
- 10 May – Law professor George DuncanMurder of George DuncanGeorge Duncan was a law lecturer at the University of Adelaide who drowned on 10 May 1972 after being thrown into the River Torrens by a group of men believed to be police officers...
is drowned in the Torrens River, AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. Police establish that his death was a homophobic-related murder. - 3 June – Douglas NichollsDouglas NichollsSir Douglas Ralph "Doug" Nicholls KCVO, OBE, was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering campaigner for reconciliation.Nicholls was the first Aboriginal person to...
becomes the first Indigenous Australian to be knighted. - 29 July – Kerry Anne WellsKerry Anne WellsKerry Anne Wells of Australia was the 1972 winner of the Miss Universe contest. She is from East Victoria Park, Western Australia.The 1972 pageant was the first to take place place outside the continental United States. That year, it was held in Dorado, Puerto Rico...
earned Australia's first Miss UniverseMiss Universe 1972Miss Universe 1972 was held at Cerromar Beach Hotel in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, on July 29, 1972. Kerry Anne Wells earned Australia's first Miss Universe crown. The outgoing Miss Universe, Georgina Rizk of Lebanon, was not allowed to crown her successor due to government restrictions because of...
crown, in Dorado, Puerto RicoDorado, Puerto RicoDorado is a small tourist town in the northern coast of Puerto Rico, west of San Juan and is located in the northern region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Toa Alta, east of Vega Alta, and west of Toa Baja. Dorado is spread over five barrios and Dorado Pueblo...
. - 6 October – Faraday School kidnappingFaraday School kidnappingThe Faraday School kidnapping occurred on 6 October 1972 at a one-teacher school in the village of Faraday in Victoria, Australia.- Incident :...
– six pupils and their teacher are kidnapped for $1 million ransom in Victoria. - 15 November – First aircraft hijackingAircraft hijackingAircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
in Australia. Ansett Airlines flight 232Ansett Airlines Flight 232Ansett Airlines Flight 232 was an attempted hijacking of a Fokker Friendship bound for Alice Springs from Adelaide on Wednesday, 15 November 1972. It was the first aircraft hijacking in Australia. The would-be hijacker died in the incident....
from AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
to Alice SpringsAlice Springs, Northern TerritoryAlice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
with 28 passengers and a crew of 4. Followed by gun battle at Alice Springs AirportAlice Springs AirportAlice Springs Airport is a small regional airport 14 kilometres south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.The airport has two runways, the largest of which can accommodate a Boeing 747 or 777 landing...
. - 1 December – Belinda GreenBelinda GreenBelinda Roma Green won the 1972 Miss World contest, representing Australia, at the age of 20.Growing up in Sydney, she became the second woman from her country to win the title; the first, Penelope Plummer, was crowned Miss World in 1968...
is crowned Miss WorldMiss World 1972The 22nd Annual Miss World pageant was held at the Royal Albert Hall on 1 December 1972 on BBC. 53 delegates vied for the crown won by Belinda Green of Australia...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, becoming the second Australian winner of this pageant. Australia won the two most important beauty contest in this year. - 2 December – Gough WhitlamGough WhitlamEdward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
becomes Prime Minister of AustraliaPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
. - Shane GouldShane GouldShane Elizabeth Gould, MBE is an Australian former swimmer who won three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics. It was the greatest performance by an Australian at a single Olympics.-Biography:...
is announced as Australian of the YearAustralian of the YearSince 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual... - The health warning, “Smoking is a Health Hazard” became compulsory on cigarette packets in Australia.
- Australia officially pulls out of the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
(needs revising) - On 14/12/72 was the last time to date that man was on the moon.
Arts and literature
- Thea AstleyThea AstleyThea Astley was an Australian novelist and short story writer. She was a prolific writer who was published for over 40 years from 1958. At the time of her death, she had won more Miles Franklin Awards, Australia's major literary award, than any other writer...
's novel The AcolyteThe AcolyteThe Acolyte was a science fiction fanzine edited by Francis Towner Laney from 1942-1946 , dedicated to articles about fantasy fiction, with particular emphasis on H. P. Lovecraft and his circle...
wins the Miles Franklin AwardMiles Franklin AwardThe Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
Television
- 13 March – Controversial soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Number 96Number 96 (TV series)Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
debuts on Network 0–10. - 16 November – The Aunty Jack ShowThe Aunty Jack ShowThe Aunty Jack Show was a Logie Award–winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day....
premieres on ABC-TV in Sydney.
Sport
- 16 September – Bernard Vine wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:28:21 in Richmond, AustraliaRichmond, New South WalesRichmond is a town in New South Wales, north-west of Sydney, in the Local Government Area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is located at a latitude of 33° 35' 54" South and a longitude of 150°45' 04" east, 19 metres above sea level on the alluvial Hawkesbury River flats, at the foot of the Blue...
. - 1972 NSWRFL season
- Piping LanePiping LanePiping Lane was a brown Australian Thoroughbred racehorse gelding by Lanesborough out of the mare Londonderry Air by Piping Time. Piping Lane came to prominence by winning the 1972 Melbourne Cup over 3,200 metres at odds of 40/1....
wins the Melbourne CupMelbourne CupThe Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races... - Western Australia wins the Sheffield ShieldPura CupThe Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
- American Eagle takes line and handicap honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht RaceSydney to Hobart Yacht RaceThe Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...
- Shane GouldShane GouldShane Elizabeth Gould, MBE is an Australian former swimmer who won three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics. It was the greatest performance by an Australian at a single Olympics.-Biography:...
wins 3 gold medals for swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics1972 Summer OlympicsThe 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... - Australia draws Ashes Cricket Test Series 2-2 with England
Births
- 5 February – Brad FittlerBrad FittlerBradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...
, rugby league footballer and coach - 6 February – Mark LadbrookMark LadbrookMark Daniel Ladbrook is an Australian track and field athlete who specialised in the 200m and the 400m....
, track and field sprinter - 11 March – Adam BandtAdam BandtAdam Paul Bandt is an Australian politician and former industrial lawyer. Bandt was elected to the Australian House of Representatives in the 2010 Australian federal election for the Division of Melbourne...
, politician - 25 March – Nina BonnerNina BonnerNina Bonner is a retired female field hockey goalkeeper from Australia. She made her debut for the Australian women's national team during the 1996 season...
, field hockey goalkeeper - 8 April – Katrina PowellKatrina PowellKatrina Maree Powell is a field hockey player from Australia, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, for her native country....
, field hockey player - 30 May – Renita FarrellRenita FarrellRenita Farrell-Garard is a former field hockey player from Australia, who was a member of the Australian Women’s Hockey Team, best known as the Hockeyroos, that won the gold medals at the 1996 and the 2000 Summer Olympics.She made her international debut in 1994, and co-captained the winning...
, field hockey player - 19 June – Poppy MontgomeryPoppy MontgomeryPoppy Montgomery , is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Samantha Spade on Without a Trace...
, actress - 24 June – Robbie McEwenRobbie McEwenRobbie McEwen is an Australian professional road bicycle racer, for on the UCI ProTour, specializing in sprint finishes...
, cyclist - 24 June – Ian RutledgeIan RutledgeIan Gregory Rutledge is a field hockey coach, who was born in Australia. He attended both primary and secondary schooling in Orange, New South Wales, being a student at The Canobolas High School from 1985-1990.Ian was responsible for qualifying the Black Sticks for the 2008 Beijing...
, field hockey coach - 30 June – Stuart RendellStuart RendellStuart Rendell is an Australian hammer thrower. He competed in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, but failed to qualify from his pool. His personal best throw is 79.29 metres, achieved in July 2002 in Varaždin. This is the current Oceanian record...
, hammer thrower - 12 August – Allison TranquilliAllison TranquilliAllison Petra Cook-Tranquilli is a retired female basketball player from Australia, who played for the Melbourne Tigers and PVSK Pecs in Hungary. A two-time Olympian she was a member of the national women's team that claimed the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta,...
, basketball player - 1 September – Louise DobsonLouise DobsonLouise Dobson OAM Leeds, West Yorkshire) is a former field hockey player from the United Kingdom, who earned a total number of 230 international caps for the Women's National Team, in which she scored 58 goals...
, field hockey player - 20 September – Jenny Morris, field hockey player
- 11 October – Claudia BlackClaudia BlackClaudia Lee Black is an Australian actress and voice actor, known for her portrayals of Aeryn Sun in the science fiction television series Farscape, Vala Mal Doran in the science fiction series Stargate SG-1, Chloe Frazer in the Uncharted series, the witch Morrigan in Dragon Age: Origins and...
, actress - 1 November – Toni ColletteToni ColletteAntonia "Toni" Collette is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television and film as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish....
, actress - 7 November – Melissa BellMelissa Bell (actress)Melissa Bell is an Australian actress and singer. She was the third actor to play Lucy Robinson in soap opera Neighbours....
, actress - 13 November – Samantha RileySamantha RileySamantha Linette Riley is an Australian breaststroke swimmer of Aboriginal descent of the 1990s who competed for Australia in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, winning three medals...
, swimmer - 22 December – Anthony EdwardsAnthony Edwards (rower)Anthony John Edwards is an Australian rower and triple Olympic medallist. He was born in Ballarat, Victoria but currently lives in Hobart, Tasmania....
, rower - 28 December – Patrick RafterPatrick RafterPatrick "Pat" Michael Rafter is an Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. He twice won the men's singles title at the US Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. He was known for his natural serve-and-volley style of...
, tennis player
Deaths
- 7 July – Owen DixonOwen DixonSir Owen Dixon, OM, GCMG, KC Australian judge and diplomat, was the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A justice of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-speaking world and is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever jurist.-Education:Dixon...
(b.1886), former Chief Justice of AustraliaChief Justice of AustraliaThe Chief Justice of Australia is the informal title for the presiding justice of the High Court of Australia and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Commonwealth of Australia... - 21 August – Ernestine HillErnestine HillErnestine Hill was an Australian journalist, travel writer and novelist.-Life:Born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Hill attended All Hallows' School in Brisbane, and then Stott & Hoare's Business College, Brisbane...
(b.1899), author