1945 in Australia

1945 in Australia
Monarchy	George VI
Governor-General	Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, then Duke of Gloucester
Prime minister	John Curtin, Frank Forde, Ben Chifley
Population	7,391,692
Elections	VIC

← 1944 1943 1942 1945 in Australia → 1946 1947 1948
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
See also:	Other events of 1945 Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

• Monarch – King George VI
• Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie (until 30 January), then the Duke of Gloucester
• Prime Minister – John Curtin (died in office 5 July), then Frank Forde (until 13 July), then Ben Chifley

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – William McKell
• Premier of Queensland – Frank Cooper
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
• Premier of Victoria – Albert Dunstan (until 2 October), then Ian MacFarlan (until 21 November), then John Cain
• Premier of Western Australia – John Willcock (until 31 July), then Frank Wise

State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst (until 6 June)
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Charles Norrie
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark (until 4 August), then Sir Hugh Binney (from 24 December)
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Winston Dugan
• Governor of Western Australia – none appointed

Events

• 30 January – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester becomes Australia's first royal Governor-General.
• 31 January - A Stinson aircraft crashes in Victoria, killing all 10 on board.
• 9 May – Germany surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe.
• 26 June – Dr H. V. Evatt signs the United Nations Charter on behalf of Australia.
• 8 to 30 June – Perth receives 476.1 millimetres (18.74 in) of rain in twenty-three days, easily its heaviest monthly rainfall on record and unlikely to be approached due to anthropogenic global warming.
• 5 July – Prime Minister John Curtin dies in office from heart problems at The Lodge in Canberra.
• 6 July – Frank Forde is sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia, following the death of John Curtin. He will serve Australia's shortest term as Prime Minister, being replaced by Ben Chifley a week later.
• 7 July – The Australian 7th Division commences operations in the Battle of Balikpapan. Operations are completed by 21 July.
• 13 July – Ben Chifley is elected as leader of the Australian Labor Party, becoming the 16th Prime Minister of Australia.
• 15 August – Japan surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II. The day is known as V-P Day (Victory in the Pacific).
• 10 November – A general election is held in Victoria.

Science and technology

• 12 December – Howard Florey shares the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.

Arts and literature

Main article: 1945 in Australian literature

• William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Edmund Herring
• Russell Drysdale painted The Drover's Wife

Film

• 1 May – The Australian National Film Board is established.

Sport

• 1 September – Eastern Suburbs defeats Balmain 22–18 in the final of the 1945 New South Wales Rugby Football League season.
• 29 September – The 1945 VFL Grand Final is held, and becomes known as the "Bloodbath" due to the wet, muddy conditions and frequent violence between players and amongst the spectators. Carlton defeats South Melbourne 15.13 (103) to 10.15 (75).
• 6 November – Rainbird wins the Melbourne Cup.
• 26 December – The first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begins. The British yacht Rani wins both line honours and the handicap, arriving in Hobart on 3 January.

Births

• 1 January – Peter Duncan, politician
• 2 January – Diane Fahey, poet
• 2 January – Byron Lamont, botanist
• 8 January – Jeannie Lewis, musician
• 10 January – John Fahey, Premier of New South Wales (1992–1995)
• 15 January – John Peard, rugby league player and coach
• 19 January – Judith Clingan, composer and musician
• 22 January – Arthur Beetson, rugby league player and coach
• 22 January – Ken Ticehurst, politician
• 26 January – John Coates, mathematician
• 11 February – Ralph Doubell, Olympic athlete
• 23 February – Robert Gray, poet
• 26 February – Peter Brock, racing driver (died 2006)
• 3 March – George Miller, film director and producer
• 16 March – Michael Cobb, politician
• 10 April – Kevin Berry, butterfly swimmer (died 2006)
• 13 April – Judy Nunn, actress, author
• 8 May – Janine Haines, politician (died 2004)
• 17 May – Tony Roche, tennis player
• 22 May – Bob Katter, politician
• 29 May – Chris Barrie, Chief of the Defence Force
• 2 June – Michael Leunig, cartoonist.
• 5 July – Johnny Famechon, boxer
• 8 July – Graeme Blundell, actor
• 13 July – Ashley Mallett, cricketer
• 17 July – Athena Starwoman, astrologer
• 18 July – Max Tolson, soccer player
• 21 July – Geoff Dymock, cricketer
• 1 August – Ken Aldred, politician
• 2 August – Alex Jesaulenko, Australian rules football player
• 7 August – Graham Ramshaw, Australian rules football player
• 12 August – Mal Washer, politician
• 18 August – Gillian Bouras, writer
• 27 August – Kerry O'Brien, television journalist
• 25 October – Peter Ledger, illustrator (died 1994)
• 26 October – John Romeril, playwright
• 1 November – John Williamson, singer
• 15 November – Roger Donaldson, New Zealand film director
• 19 November – Barry Haase, politician
• 26 November – Roger Price, politician
• 28 November – John Hargreaves, actor
• 5 December – Joanne Burns, poet
• 15 December – Thaao Penghlis, actor
• 22 December – Sam Newman, Australian rules football player and media personality
• 31 December – Vernon Wells, actor

Deaths

• 28 January – Samuel Dennis (born 1870), politician
• 4 March – Harry Chauvel (born 1865), soldier
• 5 March – Rupert Downes (born 1885), soldier
• 15 April – Tom Collins (born 1884), politician
• 5 June – Albert Piddington (born 1862), High Court judge
• 5 July – John Curtin (born 1885), Prime Minister of Australia (1941–1945)
• 29 July – Henry Burrell (born 1873), naturalist
• 20 August – Sir Macpherson Robertson (born 1859), confectioner
• 6 December – Sir Edmund Dwyer-Gray (born 1870), Premier of Tasmania (1939)