1949 in Australia

List of events

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1949
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Decades:

Incumbents

Ben Chifley

Robert Menzies

26 January – The Nationality and Citizenship Act is passed. Rather than being identified as subjects of Britain, the Act established Australian citizenship for people who met eligibility requirements.
2 March - A cyclone crosses the Central Queensland coast impacting Gladstone and Rockhampton.
10 March – A Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar crashes near Coolangatta, Queensland, killing all 21 on board.
16 March – Australia's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) is established, by order of the Directive for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Security Service.
16 March – Indigenous Australians who are eligible to vote in state elections in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania are also given the right to vote in federal elections.
27 June – A seven-week coal strike begins, involving 23,000 miners and broken by the sending in of troops.
2 July - A MacRobertson Miller Aviation DC-3 aircraft crashes on take-off from Perth Airport, killing all 18 on board.
17 October – Construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme begins.
10 December – A federal election is held. The incumbent Australian Labor Party led by Ben Chifley is defeated by Robert Menzies' Liberal Party.
18 December – Prime Minister-elect Robert Menzies announces his cabinet, including Dame Enid Lyons as Australia's first female cabinet minister.

November – Australia's first digital computer, CSIRAC, runs its first test programs.

Athletics
- 17 September - Robert Prentice wins his first men's national marathon title, clocking 2:43:46 in Perth
Cricket
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
Football
- Bledisloe Cup: won by the Wallabies
- Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Souths defeated Easts 22-8
- New South Wales Rugby League premiership: Western Suburbs defeated Balmain 8-5
- South Australian National Football League premiership: won by North Adelaide
- Victorian Football League premiership: Essendon defeated Carlton 125-52
Golf
- Australian Open: won by Eric Cremin
- Australian PGA Championship: won by Kel Nagle
Horse racing
- Persist wins the AJC Oaks
- Lincoln wins the Caulfield Cup
- Delta wins the Cox Plate
- Foxzami wins the Melbourne Cup
Motor racing
- The Australian Grand Prix was held at Leyburn, and was won by John Crouch driving a Delahaye
Tennis
- Australian Open men's singles: Frank Sedgman defeats John Bromwich 6-3 6-2 6-2
- Australian Open women's singles: Doris Hart defeats Nancye Wynne Bolton 6-3 6-4
- Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 1–4 in the 1949 Davis Cup final
- US Open: John Bromwich and Bill Sidwell win the Men's Doubles
Yachting
- Waltzing Matilda takes line honours and Trade Winds wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

11 January – Daryl Braithwaite, singer^[1]
14 January – Paul Chubb, actor (died 2002)
26 February – Simon Crean, trade union leader and politician (died 2023)
7 March – Rex Hunt, media personality
13 June – Red Symons, musician and TV personality
24 June
- Billy Moeller, professional feather/super feather/light/light welter/welterweight boxer
- Agenor Muniz, Brazilian-born Australian footballer
- Hector Thompson, professional light/light welter/welter/light middleweight boxer (died 2020)
28 June – Kevin McLeod, Australian rules footballer
30 June – John Kobelke, Western Australian politician (died 2019)
1 July – John Farnham, singer and entertainer
16 July – Robert Proctor, field hockey player
18 July – Dennis Lillee, cricketer
28 July – Peter Doyle, singer and guitarist (died 2001)
18 August – Byron Kennedy, film producer (died 1983)
23 August – Rick Springfield, singer
22 September – Jim McGinty, politician
14 October – Fraser Anning, politician
6 November – Malcolm Poole, field hockey player
12 November – Deb Foskey, Australian Capital Territory politician (died 2020)
24 November – Shane Bourne, comedian and actor
5 December – Wendy Craik, scientist, public policy adviser and company director^[2]

8 January – Mary Miller, singer (b. 1926)
3 February – Kate Dwyer, educator, suffragist and labour activist (b. 1861)
7 April – Richard Crouch, Victorian politician (b. 1868)
26 April – Norman Brookman, South Australian politician (b. 1884)
14 August – Henry Ernest Boote, editor, journalist, and poet (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1865)
15 August – Vida Goldstein, suffragette and social reformer (b. 1869)
16 August – John Lemmone, flautist, composer and manager (b. 1861)
27 August – Theodora Cowan, sculptor (b. 1868)
2 September – Jack Beasley, New South Wales politician (b. 1895)
9 September – Sir John Kirwan, Western Australian politician (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1869)
16 November – Margaret Battye, barrister and jurist (b. 1909)
21 November – Philip Lytton, actor and theatre entrepreneur (b. unknown)
18 December – Florence Anderson, trade union secretary (b. 1871)
Unknown – Eric Muspratt, travel writer (b. 1899)
Unknown – Alfred Wheeler, minister and composer (b. 1865)

^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 315/6. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
^ "Craik, Wendy". Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation. Retrieved 1 March 2022.

Years in Australia (1788–present)

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