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See also: 1971 in Australia, other events of 1972, 1973 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Queen of Australia - Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor General - Sir Paul Hasluck
• Prime Minister - William McMahon, then Gough Whitlam

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales - Sir Robert Askin
• Premier of South Australia - Don Dunstan
• Premier of Queensland - Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
• Premier of Tasmania - Angus Bethune, then Eric Reece
• Premier of Western Australia - John Tonkin
• Premier of Victoria - Sir Henry Bolte, then Rupert Hamer
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory - Marshall Perron

Events

• May 10 - Law professor George Duncan is drowned in the Torrens River, Adelaide. Police establish that his death was a homophobic-related murder.^[1]
• June 3 - Douglas Nicholls becomes the first Indigenous Australian to be knighted.
• October 6 - Faraday School kidnapping - six pupils and their teacher are kidnapped for $1 million ransom in Victoria.
• November 15 - First aircraft hijacking in Australia. Ansett Airlines flight 232 from Adelaide to Alice Springs with 28 passengers and a crew of 4. Followed by gun battle at Alice Springs Airport.
• December 2 - Gough Whitlam becomes Prime Minister of Australia.
• Shane Gould is announced as Australian of the Year
• The health warning, “Smoking is a Health Hazard” became compulsory on cigarette packets in Australia.
• Australia officially pulls out of the Vietnam War (needs revising)

Arts and literature

• Thea Astley's novel The Acolyte wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

• The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

Television

• March 13 - Controversial soap opera Number 96 debuts on Network 0-10.
• November 16 - The Aunty Jack Show premieres on ABC-TV in Sydney.

Sport

• September 16 - Bernard Vine wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:28:21 in Richmond, Australia.

• Piping Lane wins the Melbourne Cup
• Western Australia wins the Sheffield Shield
• American Eagle takes line and handicap honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
• Shane Gould wins 3 gold medals for swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich
• Australia draws Ashes Cricket Test Series 2-2 with England

Births

• February 5 - Brad Fittler, rugby league footballer and coach
• March 25 — Nina Bonner, field hockey goalkeeper
• April 8 Katrina Powell, field hockey player
• May 30 Renita Farrell, field hockey player
• June 19 Poppy Montgomery, actress
• June 24 Robbie McEwen, cyclist
• June 24 Ian Rutledge, field hockey coach
• June 30 Stuart Rendell, hammer thrower
• August 12 Allison Tranquilli, basketball player
• August 14 Deborah May Horsnell, numbers girl
• September 1 Louise Dobson, field hockey player
• September 20 Jenny Morris, field hockey player
• October 11 Claudia Black, actress
• November 1 Toni Collette, actress
• November 7 Melissa Bell, actress
• November 13 Samantha Riley, swimmer
• December 28 Patrick Rafter, tennis player

Deaths

• July 7 - Owen Dixon (b.1886), former Chief Justice of Australia
• August 21 - Ernestine Hill (b.1899), author

References