1951 in Australia
Monarch	George VI
Governor-General	William McKell
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Population	8,421,775
Elections	Federal

See also: 1950 in Australia, other events of 1951, 1952 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• King - HM King George VI
• Governor General - William McKell
• Prime Minister - Robert Menzies
• Premier of New South Wales - James McGirr
• Premier of South Australia - Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Queensland - Ned Hanlon
• Premier of Tasmania - Robert Cosgrove
• Premier of Western Australia - Ross McLarty
• Premier of Victoria - John McDonald

Events

• January 1 - The 50th anniversary of Australian federation is celebrated.
• September 1 - The Anzus Treaty, between Australia, New Zealand and the United States, is signed
• The Chiko Roll is invented by Francis McEncroe
• The Bank of Australasia merges with the Union Bank of Australia to form the ANZ Bank
• The Australian Financial Review is first published

Science & Technology

Arts and literature

• Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Laurie Thomas
• Justin O'Brien wins the inaugural Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Virgin Enthroned

Film

Sport

• Athletics
  • March 5 - Gordon Stanley wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:59:44.6 in Hobart.

• Cricket
  • Victoria wins the Sheffield Shield
  • Australia defeats England 4-1 in The Ashes

• Football
  • Bledisloe Cup: won by the All Blacks
  • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Souths defeated Easts 20-10
  • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Manly-Warringah 42-14
  • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
  • Victorian Football League premiership: Geelong defeated Essendon 81-70

• Golf
  • Australian Open: won by Peter Thomson
  • Australian PGA Championship: won by Norman Von Nida

• Horse Racing
  • Basha Felika wins the Caulfield Cup
  • Bronton wins the Cox Plate
  • Delta wins the Melbourne Cup

• Motor Racing
  • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Narrogin and won by Warwick Pratley driving a George Reed Special

• Tennis
  • Australian Open men's singles: Dick Savitt defeats Ken McGregor 6-3 2-6 6-3 6-1
  • Australian Open women's singles: Nancye Wynne Bolton defeats Thelma Coyne Long 6-1 7-5
  • Davis Cup: Australia defeats the United States 3-2 in the 1951 Davis Cup final
  • US Open: Frank Sedgman wins the Men's Singles
  • Wimbledon: Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman win the Men's Doubles

• Yachting
  • Margaret Rintoul takes line honours and Struen Marie wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

• January 19 - Charles Blunt, politician
• January 20 - Clyde Sefton, road cyclist
• February 26 - Wayne Goss, Premier of Queensland
• April 29 - Jon Stanhope, Chief Minister of the ACT
• July 4 - John Alexander, tennis player
• July 6 - Geoffrey Rush, actor
• July 31 - Evonne Goolagong Cawley, tennis player
• August 5 - John Jarratt, actor
• August 6 - Daryl Somers, television personality
• August 30 - Daniel Clark, track cyclist and road bicycle racer
• September 9 - Alexander Downer, politician
• September 27 - Geoff Gallop, Premier of Western Australia
• December 1 - Doug Mulray, radio personality
• December 18 - Andy Thomas, astronaut
• December 22 - Jan Stephenson, professional golfer

Deaths

• January 29 - Frank Tarrant (b. 1880), cricketer
• April 18 - Daisy Bates (b. 1863), journalist and social worker
• May 27 - Thomas Blamey (b. 1884), soldier
• June 13 - Ben Chifley (b. 1885), Prime Minister of Australia

See also

• 1951
• 1950s