Wanderlust World Wanderlust World * 1 January - The Australian dollar is introduced, replacing the Australian pound.
* 18 January - The Beatles arrive in Australia for their first tour of the country.
* 26 January - Australia Day celebrations are held across the country.
February
* 2 February - The Chifley Royal Commission of Inquiry into espionage is established.
* 12 February - The Great Barrier Reef is declared a marine park.
* 27 February - The first Australian-made Holden EJ sedan is produced.
March
* 1 March - The Australian Ballet is formed.
* 11 March - The first direct telephone link between Australia and the United States is established.
* 25 March - The Blacktown Migrant Hostel fire kills four children.
April
* 1 April - The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) begins operating its own television network.
* 15 April - The University of New England is established in Armidale, New South Wales.
* 25 April - The ANZUS Treaty is signed between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
May
* 1 May - The first Australian-made computer, the SILLIAC, is completed at the University of Sydney.
* 12 May - The High Court of Australia rules that the Communist Party of Australia is a legal organisation.
* 15 May - The National Aboriginal Conference is held in Canberra.
June
* 1 June - The Australian National Gallery opens in Canberra.
* 10 June - The Sydney Harbour Bridge is closed to traffic for the first time in its 35-year history.
* 15 June - The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) begins operations in Vietnam.
July
* 1 July - The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme is completed.
* 20 July - The first Australian-built satellite, WRESAT-1, is launched into orbit.
* 30 July - The Voyager 1 spacecraft is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to Jupiter and Saturn.
August
* 1 August - The Australian Capital Territory is established.
* 20 August - The first Australian-built nuclear reactor, HIFAR, goes critical at Lucas Heights, New South Wales.
* 25 August - The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is held in the United States.
September
* 1 September - The Australian War Memorial is opened in Canberra.
* 15 September - The first Australian-built aircraft, the CT-4 Airtrainer, is rolled out at Fishermans Bend, Victoria.
* 30 September - The Malayan Emergency ends.
October
* 1 October - The University of Western Australia is established in Perth.
* 22 October - The Chifley Royal Commission of Inquiry into espionage makes its final report.
* 30 October - The Cuban Missile Crisis begins.
November
* 1 November - The Menai Suspension Bridge opens in Sydney.
* 22 November - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
* 24 November - Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected assassin of President Kennedy, is shot dead by Jack Ruby in Dallas.
December
* 1 December - The Australian High Commission in London is bombed.
* 25 December - Christmas Day celebrations are held across the country.
* 31 December - The year ends with Australia in a state of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.