1952 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch – George VI, then Elizabeth II
Governor-General – Sir William McKell
Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
Chief Justice – Sir John Latham then Sir Owen Dixon

State Premiers

Premier of New South Wales – James McGirr, then Joseph Cahill
Premier of Queensland – Ned Hanlon, then Vince Gair
Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
Premier of Victoria – John McDonald, then Thomas Hollway, then John McDonald, then John Cain I
Premier of Western Australia – Ross McLarty

State Governors

Events

20 January – The first express trains run between Melbourne and Adelaide, following the completion of a railway between the two cities.
6 February – King George VI dies, and is succeeded as Queen of Australia by his daughter, Elizabeth II.
18 April – Owen Dixon becomes Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.
29 April – The ANZUS Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States comes into force.
14–18 June – Disastrous floods in the southeast corner leave 600 homeless and render a major rail line near Moss Vale unusable throughout the winter
*The winter season is especially wet in the southeast of the continent, being the wettest on record in Melbourne and the fifth wettest on record in Sydney
1 September – Qantas Empire Airways commences the first air service between Australia and South Africa.
19 September – Betty Shanks is murdered in Brisbane. The case ultimately becomes Queensland's oldest unsolved murder.
28 October – Premier of Victoria John McDonald resigns after the Victorian Legislative Council refuses supply. Thomas Hollway forms a short-lived ministry which lasts four days.
30 November – Lang Hancock discovers the world's largest deposit of iron ore in the Hamersley Range of Western Australia's Pilbara region.
6 December – A state election is held in Victoria.

Science and technology

3 October – The first British nuclear test in Australia, Operation Hurricane, commences on the Monte Bello Islands with the detonation of an atomic bomb of 25 kilotons yield.

Arts and literature

28 April – Joan Sutherland makes her debut at Covent Garden
William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Essington Lewis
Frank Hinder wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work ''Flight into Egypt''

Sport

Athletics

* 16 February – Robert Prentice wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 3:19:26 in Melbourne.
* Olympics: Marjorie Jackson wins gold medals in the Women's 100m and 200m
* Olympics: Shirley Strickland wins the gold medal in the 80m HurdlesCricket
* New South Wales wins the Sheffield ShieldCycling
* Olympics: Russell Mockridge wins the gold medal in the Men's 1000m Time Trial
* Olympics: Lionel Cox and Russell Mockridge win the gold medal in the Men's 2000m tandemFootball
* 14 and 16 June – for the only time in its history, the VFL plays matches for premiership points in country centres. Three other games are the first played interstate for premiership points since 1904 but flooding rains affect attendances and cause one game to be postponed and played under lights.
* Victorian Football League premiership: Geelong defeated Collingwood 86-40
* South Australian National Football League premiership: won by North AdelaideRugby
* Bledisloe Cup: retained by the All Blacks
* Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Wests defeated Brothers 15-14
* New South Wales Rugby League premiership: Wests defeated South Sydney 22-12Golf
* Australian Open: won by Norman Von Nida
* Australian PGA Championship: won by William C HolderHorse racing
* Peshawar wins the Caulfield Cup
* Hydrogen wins the Cox Plate
* Dalray wins the Melbourne CupMotor racing
* The Australian Grand Prix was held at Bathurst and won by Doug Whiteford driving a Talbot-LagoSwimming
* Olympics: John Davies wins the gold medal in the Men's 200m breaststrokeTennis
* Australian Open men's singles: Ken McGregor defeats Frank Sedgman 7-5 12-10 2–6 6-2
* Australian Open women's singles: Thelma Coyne Long defeats Helen Angwin 6-2 6-3
* Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 4–1 in the 1952 Davis Cup final
* Wimbledon: Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman win the Men's Doubles
* Wimbledon: Frank Sedgman wins the Men's SinglesYachting
* Nocturne takes line honours and Ingrid wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

2 January – Graeme Strachan, singer
20 January – Patrick Smith, sports journalist
6 February – Ric Charlesworth, sportsman
1 March – Leigh Matthews, Australian Rules football player and coach
6 March – Ian Cooke, field hockey player
2 May
* Chris Anderson, rugby league footballer and coach
* Campbell McComas, impersonator and broadcaster
6 June – Ross Stretton, ballet dancer
11 June – Tony Barnett, basketball player
15 June – Clare Martin, Chief Minister of the Northern Territory
25 June – Peter Farmer, hammer thrower
28 June – Ken Gillespie, Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Chief of Army
28 July – Glenn A. Baker, music historian
5 August – John Jarratt, actor
7 October – Graham Yallop, cricketer
2 September – Pru Goward, politician
4 September – Tom Maher, basketball coach
12 October – Trevor Chappell, cricketer
22 October – John Howard (Australian actor), stage and screen actor
18 November – Peter Beattie, Premier of Queensland
18 December – Frank Holden, entertainer
19 December – Andrew Fraser, politician
– Bethany Lee, actress

Deaths

26 March – J.P. McGowan, actor and director
28 March– Rose Hanigan, Australian Sister of Mercy, hospital founder and administrator
12 June – Sir Harry Lawson, 27th Premier of Victoria
24 June – Sir George Pearce, Western Australian politician
22 July – James Vinton Smith, Victorian politician
27 July – Roland Pope, cricketer, ophthalmologist and philanthropist
6 August – Betty Allan, statistician and biometrician
14 September – Sir John McPhee, 27th Premier of Tasmania
4 October – Sir Keith Murdoch, journalist, businessman and news proprietor
12 October – Madge Connor, police officer
28 October – Billy Hughes, 7th Prime Minister of Australia
30 November – Elizabeth Kenny, nurse
14 December – Colin William Wright, cattle breeder, grazier, local government councillor and local government head