# 1954 in Australia

"none" is preferred when the title alone is adequate; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
The following lists events that happened during 1954 in Australia.

## Incumbents

* Monarch – Elizabeth II
* Governor-General – Sir William Slim
* Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
* Chief Justice – Sir Owen Dixon

### State Premiers

* Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
* Premier of Queensland – Vince Gair

### State Governors

* Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
* Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
* Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
* Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet
* Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

## Events

* 3 February – Elizabeth II arrives in Sydney on her first visit as monarch
* 13 February – Mawson Station in the Australian Antarctic Territory is established
* During February, a cyclone hits the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, killing 26
* 1 March - Adelaide and large parts of southern South Australia are shaken by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, resulting in the injuries of 16 people, and a damage bill of £17 million (2017: $578 million).
* 3 April – Vladimir Petrov, a Soviet diplomat, defects to Australia, sparking the Petrov Affair
* Shirley Bliss wins the Miss Australia Quest
* On 31 October, the first Vickers Viscount aircraft delivered to Australia crashed at Mangalore Airport while on a training flight only days after its arrival in Australia, killing 3 of the 7 people on board.

## Science and technology

* The Australian Academy of Science is established.

## Arts and literature

* Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Rt Hon R G Menzies, PC, CH, QC, MP
* Charles Bannon wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work Judas Iscariot
* Overland literary magazine is founded, edited by Stephen Murray-Smith

## Sport

* Cricket
** New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
* Football
** Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Wests defeated Brothers 35-18
** New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Newtown 23-15
** South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
** Victorian Football League premiership: Footscray defeated Melbourne 102-51
* Golf
** Australian Open: won by Ossie Pickworth
** Australian PGA Championship: won by Kel Nagle
* Horse racing
** Rising Fast wins the Caulfield Cup
** Rising Fast wins the Cox Plate
** Rising Fast wins the Melbourne Cup
* Motor racing
** The Australian Grand Prix was held at Southport and won by Lex Davison driving a HWM Jaguar
* Tennis
** Australian Open men's singles: Mervyn Rose defeats Rex Hartwig 6-2 0–6 6-4 6-2
** Australian Open women's singles: Thelma Coyne Long defeats Jenny Staley Hoad 6-3 6-4
** Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 2–3 in the 1954 Davis Cup final
** Wimbledon: Rex Hartwig and Mervyn Rose win the Gentlemen's Pairs
** Wimbledon: Jaroslav Drobný defeats Ken Rosewall 13–11 4–6 6–2 9–7 in the Gentlemen's Singles
* Yachting
** Kurrewa IV takes line honours and Solveig IV wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

## Births

* 10 January – Greg Towns, footballer
* 25 January – Kay Cottee, sailor
* 26 January – Kim Hughes, cricketer
* 26 March - Clive Palmer, businessman and politician
* 13 April - Elizabeth Love, nurse, shoe collector,
* 27 April – Mark Holden, singer and media personality
* 1 May – Garry Who, actor and comedian
* 2 May – Don Cameron, water polo player and coach
* 19 May – Phil Rudd, musician
* 27 May – Pauline Hanson, politician
* 30 June – Wayne Swan, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
* 2 July – Scott W. Sloan, professor of civil engineering (died 2019)
* 11 July – Paul Blackwell, actor (died 2019)
* 11 August – Wally Carr, boxer (died 2019)
* 12 August – Rob Borbidge, Premier of Queensland
* 2 September – Gai Waterhouse, horse trainer
* 13 September – Steve Kilbey, musician
* 20 September – James Moloney, author
* 27 September – Ray Hadley, 2GB radio announcer
* 13 October – Banduk Marika, Indigenous artist and printmaker (died 2021)
* 15 October – Steve Bracks, 44th Premier of Victoria
* 24 October – Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia
* 12 November – Paul McNamee, tennis player
* 22 November – Carol Tomcala, sports shooter
* 26 November – Jacki MacDonald, media personality
* 28 November – John McMartin, Pastor, ACC State President NSW, National Executive
* 29 November – Steve Rogers (died 2006), Rugby league footballer

## Deaths

* 10 January – Chester Wilmot, war correspondent (b. 1911)
* 19 September – Miles Franklin, writer and feminist (b. 1879)
* 14 November – Inigo Owen Jones, meteorologist and farmer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1872)
* 22 November – Roy Rene, comedian (b. 1891)