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Period: to
The 1960s
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Compulsury Serive Ends
Compulsory national service training for men ends. -
All Commercial to be Made in Australia
Federal Government directs all future TV commercials to be made in Australia -
Australia to Sell Wheat to China
Australia to sell wheat to Communist China -
First Aborigine Votes
Philip Magalnir becomes the first Australian Aborigine to vote under the new Commonwealth electoral laws granting voting rights to Aborigines -
Australia Endorses Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Australia becomes the first nation to endorse the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty -
Menzies on TV
Menzies becomes the first Party leader to make his policy speech on TV -
First Woman Bank Teller Appointed
Judy Hanrahan becomes the first woman teller appointed by the Bank of NSW since the war. This was a big step in closing the gap between the rightd of men and women. -
No Equal Pay
Canberra: Federal Government fails to ratify the ILO convention on equal pay for women. This is a major blow for qomen who were fighting for equality -
Australia in Vietnam
Prime Minister Robert Menzies commits Australian troop to help fight the war in Vietnam. This was done in support of the U.S. and other countries fight Communism. -
Change in Leadership
The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies resigns after 16 straight years in office. Harold Holt succeeds him. -
New Money
On the 14th of February 1966 Australia officially converted to decimal currency from the pounds and shillings system. -
Ethnic Mayor
In Darwin, Harry Chan elected first ethnic Chinese mayor. This is a major step in the abolishment of White Australia. -
Last Hanging
Ronald Ryan is the last man to hang in Australia for the murder of a prison warder while escaping from Melbourne's Pentridge Jail. His execution would result in the abolition of the death penalty. -
Including the Aboringal
90% of white Australians vote in referendum for proposal to count aborigines in the census and to allow the federal government to make special laws for them -
Death of a P.M.
Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears while swimming in heavy surf south of Melbourne. His body is never found. This was terrible accident that shocked the nation and brought tears to the eyes of millions of Australians -
The New Guy
John Grey Gorton sworn in as Australia's 19th Prime Minister after Harold's Holt's disappearance -
One Small Step for Man
After a decade of racing the U.S.S.R., the U.S. finnally puts the first man on the moon. "One small step for man, one giant leap for man kind."
