1971_in_Australia

1971 in Australia

1971 in Australia

List of events

The following lists events that happened during 1971 in Australia.

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Incumbents

Sir Paul Hasluck
John Gorton
William McMahon

State and territory leaders

Governors and administrators

Events

January

  • 3 January -
    • Sudden hailstorms lash the Sydney area causing widespread damage to houses and properties, as well as traffic chaos and nearly $150,000 worth of damage to fruit and vegetable crops at Cobbity.
    • New South Wales Transport Minister announces that intensified police weekend patrols might become a regular part of the campaign to cut the road toll after 8,148 New South Wales motorists were arrested or charged over the New Year holiday weekend.
  • 4 January -
    • Federal Opposition Leader Gough Whitlam says in Port Moresby that Papuan leaders seem to accept completely the Australian Labor Party's timetable for independence of Papua New Guinea. The timetable provides for self-government as soon as a Labor government comes to power in Australia, and independence in 1976.
    • Immigration Minister Phillip Lynch gives a ruling that three Asian doctors at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, who entered Australia under the private overseas student program, will be sent home, but may apply to return to Australia as migrants conditionally.

March

  • 10 March - William McMahon replaces John Gorton as Prime Minister of Australia after a party room ballot on a motion of confidence in John Gorton as Prime Minister. The ballot was divided 33:33 until Mr. Gorton, as chairman, gave his casting vote against the motion, effectively voting himself out of office. He stood for and won the position of Deputy Party Leader, after William McMahon beat Billy Snedden for the leadership. Later, John Gorton publishes an article critical of Cabinet leaks.

July

October

  • 13 October - Enrolment, but not voting, is made compulsory for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Queensland.

November

  • 2 November -
    • President Richard Nixon gives Prime Minister William McMahon an unqualified endorsement of the Anzus alliance, saying that the United States would honour its commitments under the alliance, which he described as one of America's fundamental pillars in the Pacific.
    • Sonia McMahon, wife of Prime Minister William McMahon, captures international attention when she wears a daring full-length dress, with a long slit down the sides revealing her legs, to a White House reception. The dress was designed by South Yarra fashion designer Victoria Ciscijo of Valencia House. Sonia McMahon would be most remembered in years to come for this dress.[1]

December

Date unknown

Arts and literature

Main article: 1971 in Australian literature

Film

Television

  • 4 January – American children's educational TV series Sesame Street premieres on ABC.
  • 28 July – Pick-A-Box, hosted by Bob and Dolly Dyer, airs for the final time. It had first been broadcast as a radio program in 1948.

Sport

Births

Deaths

References

  1. [1]
    "Sonia stuns White House". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 November 1971.
  2. [2]
    Architect Victoria RAIA VIC awards 2007, 54
  3. [3]
    Ritchie, Dean (6 April 2011). "Not being from Queensland no bar to Cane Toad State of Origin selection". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  4. [4]
    "Mary GRIGSON - Olympic Cycling Mountain Bike | Australia". International Olympic Committee. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  5. [5]
    Chase's Calendar of Events (15 September 2011). Chases Calendar of Events, 2012 Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-07-176672-2.
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