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See also: 1957 in Australia, other events of 1958, 1959 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Sir William Slim
• Prime Minister – Robert Menzies

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Cahill
• Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove (until 26 August), then Eric Reece
• Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
• Premier of Western Australia – Albert Hawke

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Eric Woodward
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Abel Smith (from 18 March)
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet (until 4 June)
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner

Events

• January 14 – Qantas Airways introduces a round-the-world air service from Australia to London.
• January 20 – The Royal Australian Naval College is moved back to Jervis Bay Territory from Flinders Naval Depot in Victoria.
• January 28 to February 11 – Harold Macmillan visits Australia, the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to do so while in office.
• February 14 to March 7 – Elizabeth, the Queen Mother visits Australia for the second time.
• March 21 – John McEwen replaces Arthur Fadden as federal leader of the Country Party.
• March 24 – The Cahill Expressway in Sydney opens, the first true freeway in Australia.
• April 3 – A cyclone destroys most of the town of Bowen in Queensland.
• April 15 – Monash University is founded in Melbourne, Victoria.
• May 11 – Construction of Australia's largest man-made lake, Lake Eucumbene on the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains, is completed.
• May 31 – Henry Bolte's Liberal government is re-elected in Victoria.
• July 19 – The last tram service runs in Perth.
• August 26 – Robert Cosgrove retires as Premier of Tasmania, and is replaced by Eric Reece.
• September 30 – The ANZAC Day Act 1958 receives Royal Assent, making ANZAC Day (April 25) a national public holiday in Australia.
• October 26 – The wreckage of the Australian National Airways Avro 10 aircraft, VH-UMF Southern Cloud, is found. The aircraft had been missing since 1931
• November 22 – A federal election is held. The Liberal-Country coalition led by Robert Menzies defeats H. V. Evatt's Australian Labor Party with 74 seats to 45 in the House of Representatives, a majority unprecedented since Federation, gained from preferences from the Democratic Labor Party.

Unknown dates

• Johnny O'Keefe has his first hit with Wild One
• Radio station 2UE publishes the first Australian Top 40

Science and technology

• January 26 - The HIFAR nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights goes critical for the first time.

Unknown dates

• Australian engineer Dr. David Warren of Melbourne's Aeronautical Research Laboratories constructs the world's first flight recorder ("black box").

Arts and literature

• December 11 – The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) opens in Sydney.
• William Edwin Pidgeon wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of journalist Ray Walker
• Eric Smith wins the Blake Prize for Religious Art with his work The Moment Christ Died
• Randolph Stow wins the Miles Franklin Award for To the Islands
• Russel Ward releases The Australian Legend

Film

Television

• November 1 - The first episode of Bandstand goes to air on TCN-9, hosted by Brian Henderson.
• November 22 - The Australian federal election, 1958 is the first to be televised.

Sport

• Athletics
  • March 23 - John Russell wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:40:30 in Sydney
  • August 6 - Herb Elliott sets a world record for the one-mile dash (3:54.5) at Morton Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

• Cricket
  • New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield

• Football
  • Brisbane Rugby League premiership: Brothers defeated Valleys 22-7
  • New South Wales Rugby League premiership: St. George defeated Western Suburbs 20-9
  • South Australian National Football League premiership: won by Port Adelaide
  • Victorian Football League premiership: Collingwood defeated Melbourne 82-64

• Golf
  • Australian Open: won by Gary Player

• Horse Racing
  • Sir Blink wins the Caulfield Cup
  • Yeman wins the Cox Plate
  • Skyline wins the Golden Slipper
  • Baystone wins the Melbourne Cup

• Motor Racing
  • The Australian Grand Prix was held at Bathurst and won by Lex Davison driving a Ferrari

• Tennis
  • Australian Open men's singles: Ashley Cooper defeats Malcolm Anderson 7-5 6-3 6-4
  • Australian Open women's singles: Angela Mortimer defeats Lorraine Coghlan 6-3 6-4
  • Davis Cup: Australia is defeated by the United States 3-2 in the 1958 Davis Cup final

• Yachting
  • Solo takes line honours and Siandra wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Births

• February 6 — Simon Baker, race walker
• March 20 — Phil Anderson, cyclist
• April 12 — Glenn Patching, swimmer
• May 5 — Robert DiPierdomenico, footballer and media personality
• May 7 — Alan John, composer
• May 11 — Peter Antonie, rower
• May 11 — Phil Smyth, basketball player
• July 3 — Gary Buckenara, Australian Rules footballer
• July 6 — Gary Humphries, politician
• July 13 — Richard Glover, journalist, author and radio personality
• July 15 —Phil Gould, rugby league identity
• October 13 — Jim Krakouer, Australian Rules footballer
• December 31 — Geoff Marsh, cricketer

Deaths

• April 8 - Ethel Turner (b. 1872), writer
• September 13 - Russell Mockridge (b. 1928), cyclist
• October 14 - Douglas Mawson (b. 1882), polar explorer
• November 30 - Hubert Wilkins (b. 1888), polar explorer

See also

• 1958
• 1950s