1954 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1954 in Australia.

Incumbents

 * Monarch – Elizabeth II
 * Governor-General – Sir William Slim
 * Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
 * Chief Justice – Sir Owen Dixon

State Premiers

 * Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
 * Premier of Queensland – Vince Gair

State Governors

 * Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott
 * Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack
 * Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
 * Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet
 * Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

 * 3 February – Elizabeth II arrives in Sydney on her first visit as monarch
 * 13 February – Mawson Station in the Australian Antarctic Territory is established
 * During February, a cyclone hits the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales, killing 26
 * 1 March - Adelaide and large parts of southern South Australia are shaken by a 5.6 magnitude earthquake, resulting in the injuries of 16 people, and a damage bill of £17 million (2017: $578 million).
 * 3 April – Vladimir Petrov, a Soviet diplomat, defects to Australia, sparking the Petrov Affair
 * Shirley Bliss wins the Miss Australia Quest
 * On 31 October, the first Vickers Viscount aircraft delivered to Australia crashed at Mangalore Airport while on a training flight only days after its arrival in Australia, killing 3 of the 7 people on board.

Science and technology

 * The Australian Academy of Science is established.

Arts and literature

 * Ivor Hele wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Rt Hon R G Menzies, PC, CH, QC, MP
 * Charles Bannon wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work Judas Iscariot
 * Overland literary magazine is founded, edited by Stephen Murray-Smith

Sport

 * Cricket
 * New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
 * Football
 * Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Wests defeated Brothers 35-18
 * New South Wales Rugby League premiership: South Sydney defeated Newtown 23-15
 * South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
 * Victorian Football League premiership: Footscray defeated Melbourne 102-51
 * Golf
 * Australian Open: won by Ossie Pickworth
 * Australian PGA Championship: won by Kel Nagle
 * Horse racing
 * Rising Fast wins the Caulfield Cup
 * Rising Fast wins the Cox Plate
 * Rising Fast wins the Melbourne Cup
 * Motor racing
 * The Australian Grand Prix was held at Southport and won by Lex Davison driving a HWM Jaguar
 * Tennis
 * Australian Open men's singles: Mervyn Rose defeats Rex Hartwig 6-2 0–6 6-4 6-2
 * Australian Open women's singles: Thelma Coyne Long defeats Jenny Staley Hoad 6-3 6-4
 * Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 2–3 in the 1954 Davis Cup final
 * Wimbledon: Rex Hartwig and Mervyn Rose win the Gentlemen's Pairs
 * Wimbledon: Jaroslav Drobný defeats Ken Rosewall 13–11 4–6 6–2 9–7 in the Gentlemen's Singles
 * Yachting
 * Kurrewa IV takes line honours and Solveig IV wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

 * 10 January – Greg Towns, footballer
 * 25 January – Kay Cottee, sailor
 * 26 January – Kim Hughes, cricketer
 * 13 April - Elizabeth Love, nurse, shoe collector,
 * 27 April – Mark Holden, singer and media personality
 * 1 May – Garry Who, actor and comedian
 * 2 May – Don Cameron, water polo player and coach
 * 19 May – Phil Rudd, musician
 * 27 May – Pauline Hanson, politician
 * 30 June – Wayne Swan, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
 * 2 July – Scott W. Sloan, professor of civil engineering (died 2019)
 * 11 July – Paul Blackwell, actor (died 2019)
 * 11 August – Wally Carr, boxer (died 2019)
 * 12 August – Rob Borbidge, Premier of Queensland
 * 2 September – Gai Waterhouse, horse trainer
 * 13 September – Steve Kilbey, musician
 * 20 September – James Moloney, author
 * 27 September – Ray Hadley, 2GB radio announcer
 * 13 October – Banduk Marika, Indigenous artist and printmaker (died 2021)
 * 15 October – Steve Bracks, 44th Premier of Victoria
 * 24 October – Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia
 * 12 November – Paul McNamee, tennis player
 * 22 November – Carol Tomcala, sports shooter
 * 26 November – Jacki MacDonald, media personality
 * 28 November – John McMartin, Pastor, ACC State President NSW, National Executive
 * 29 November – Steve Rogers (died 2006), Rugby league footballer

Deaths

 * 10 January – Chester Wilmot, war correspondent (b. 1911)
 * 19 September – Miles Franklin, writer and feminist (b. 1879)
 * 14 November – Inigo Owen Jones, meteorologist and farmer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1872)
 * 22 November – Roy Rene, comedian (b. 1891)