1969 in Australia - Events

Events

  • 7 February – The Violet Town railway disaster: the passenger train Southern Aurora collides head-on with a freight train on the new Melbourne to Sydney train line. Nine people are killed.
  • 30 April – Sir Paul Hasluck becomes Governor-General of Australia after the retirement of Lord Casey.
  • 10 May – The 1969 Tasmanian election is held, resulting in a hung parliament with the ALP and Liberals winning 17 seats each. The deadlock is broken when Kevin Lyons of the Centre Party forms a coalition government with the Liberals and becomes Deputy Premier under Angus Bethune.
  • 12 May – The Age newspaper in Melbourne begins the process of moving from Collins Street to Spencer Street. The move is completed on 6 October.
  • 3 June – Melbourne-Evans collision – The Royal Australian Navy aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in the South China Sea. Frank E. Evans is cut in half and sinks, killing 74 crew.
  • 19 June – The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission rules that equal pay for women doing the same work as men must be phased in by 1972.
  • 26 September – The Poseidon bubble begins when the small mining company Poseidon NL discovers a large nickel deposit in Laverton, Western Australia.
  • 25 October – A federal election is held. The incumbent Coalition government led by John Gorton defeats the Australian Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam.
  • 29 November – The rebuilding of the Indian Pacific rail line between Sydney and Perth to standard gauge is completed.
  • 16 December – Prime Minister John Gorton announces that a withdrawal of Australian Army troops from the Vietnam War would begin in 1970.

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