The Malcolm Fraser Collection at the University of Melbourne

Timeline of the life of Malcolm Fraser

Printable version

1930s

 

 

21 May 1930

John Malcolm Fraser is born in Toorak, Melbourne

 

1940s

 

 

Feb 1940–Dec 1943

Attends Tudor House Anglican school in New South Wales

 

1943

The Fraser family moves from New South Wales to Nareen, a property near Coleraine in western Victoria

 

Feb 1944–Dec 1948

Attends Melbourne Grammar School

 

1949

Malcolm Fraser enrols at the University of Oxford to study Modern Greats (Politics, Philosophy and Economics)

 

1950s

 

 

1952

Graduates from the University of Oxford

 

11 Nov 1953

Wins pre-selection for the seat of Wannon in western Victoria

 

29 May 1954

Stands unsuccessfully for the seat of Wannon, but loses by only seventeen votes

 

10 Dec 1955

Wins the seat of Wannon by more than 7000 votes

 

22 Feb 1956

Maiden speech to Parliament

 

9 Dec 1956

Marries Tamara Beggs

 

27 Nov 1958   Federal election

1960s

 

 

9 Dec 1961

 

Federal election

1962

Neville Fraser, Malcolm Fraser’s father, dies

 

30 Nov 1963   Federal election

1964

Malcolm Fraser is co-recipient – with Gough Whitlam – of a United States Government Leader Grant to travel to the USA to study American policy development
Travels to South Vietnam

 

3 Mar 1964

Appointed Parliamentary Representative on the Council of the Australian National University (until 26 January 1966)

 

1965

Travels to Indonesia

 

26 Jan 1966–28 Feb 1968

Minister for the Army

 

10 Jun–10 Jul 1966

Visits Australian forces in Vietnam during first official visit to South-East Asia

 

 

Visits Philippines, Thailand, Laos and Malaysia

 

26 Nov 1966   Federal election

8 Feb 1967

 

Gough Whitlam becomes the new leader of the federal Labor Party

24 Jul–3 Aug 1967

Visits South Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore

 

22 Dec 1967

 

Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears while swimming at Cheviot Beach in Victoria

10 Jan 1968

 

John Gorton is sworn in as Prime Minister

28 Feb 1968–12 Nov 1969

Minister for Education and Science

 

Apr 1969

Leader, Australian Cultural Mission to Italy

 

Aug 1969

Represents the Australia Government at celebrations for Singapore’s 150th anniversary

 

25 Oct 1969   Federal election

12 Nov 1969

Appointed Minister for Defence

 

1970s

 

 

Jun 1970

Attends Five-Power Military Exercise in Singapore

 

Nov 1970

Visits New Zealand and USA

 

8 Mar 1971

Resigns as Minister for Defence

 

10 Mar 1971

 

William McMahon becomes leader of the Liberal Party (with John Gorton as his deputy)
Malcolm Fraser returns to the backbench

 

 

Deputy Liberal Leader John Gorton is sacked by William McMahon. Malcolm Fraser stands for – but does not win – the position of Deputy Leader

20 Aug 1971

Re-appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Education and Science (until 5 December 1972)

 

5 Dec 1972

 

Federal election. Australian Labor Party wins government

Dec 1972

Appointed shadow Minister for Primary Industry

 

3 Aug 1973

Appointed Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations

 

18 May 1974   Federal election

21 Mar 1975

Elected Parliamentary Leader of the Liberal Party

 

Sep 1975

Member, Australian Delegation to Papua New Guinea for Independence Day Celebrations

 

15 Oct 1975

Announces that the Opposition will block supply

 

11 Nov 1975

The Governor-General, John Kerr, dismisses Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and appoints Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister

 

13 Dec 1975

 

Federal election

6 Jan 1976

 

Family Court of Australia and Federal Court of Australia are established

mid-Jan 1976

Visits Malaysia for the funeral of Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak, and Singapore

 

25 Feb 1976

Appointed to the Privy Council

 

Mar 1976

Attends South Pacific Forum in Rotorua, New Zealand

 

30 Apr 1976

 

Parliament passes Social Services Amendment Act 1975

15–20 Jun 1976

Visits Japan

 

15–27 Jul 1976

Official visit to Japan and China

 

Jul–Aug 1976

Official visit to USA, for talks with President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Canada, to attend the Olympic Games in Montreal

 

7–10 Oct 1976

Official visit to Indonesia

 

9 Dec 1976

 

Parliament passes Federal Court of Australia Act 1976

13 Dec 1976

 

Parliament passes Ombudsman Act 1976

16 Dec 1976

 

Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 assented to

31 Dec 1976

 

Sand mining on Fraser Island ceases, following the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Fraser Island

26 Jan 1977

Awarded Order of the Companion of Honour

 

7–11 Feb 1977

Official visit to Papua New Guinea for talks with Prime Minister Michael Somare

 

28 May–23 Jun 1977

Official visits to Italy, UK, Belgium, France, Germany and the USA

 

8–15 Jun 1977

Attends Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London

Gleneagles Agreement on apartheid in sport

 

 

First Commonwealth Ombudsman takes office

29 Jul 1977

 

Constitution Alteration (Senate Casual Vacancies) Act 1977 assented to

19 Aug 1977

 

Parliament passes the Commonwealth Employees (Employment Provisions) Ac 1977

23 Aug 1977

 

The Federal Government announces that it will allow uranium to be mined and exported

31 Aug 1977

 

Government announces review of migrant services and programs (the ‘Galbally Report’)

8 Dec 1977

 

Sir Zelman Cowan is appointed Australia’s  nineteenth Governor-General

10 Dec 1977

 

Federal election

13–16 February 1978

Hosts Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting in Sydney

 

Apr 1978

Official visit to Japan for talks with Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda

 

24–27 Apr 1978

Official visit to the Northern Territory

 

22 Jun 1978

 

Parliament assents to Northern Territory (Self Government) Act 1978

Sep 1978

Attends South Pacific Forum in Niue

 

Oct 1978

Attends Papua New Guinea Gift Ceremony in Port Moresby

 

25 Jan–2 Feb 1979

Official visit to India for talks with the Indian Prime Minister, Moraji Desai

 

4 Apr 1979

Announces that the Government will ban whaling within the 200 mile Australian Fishing Zone and prohibit the import of whale products

 

5 Apr 1979

 

Proclamation of stage one of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory

29 Apr 1979

Launches trial of multicultural television

 

8–12 May 1979

Official visit to the Philippines, to address the Fifth Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and Indonesia, for discussions with President Soeharto

 

Jul 1979

 

Federal government establishes the Australian Refugee Advisory Council

26 Jul–11 Aug 1979

Official visit to Nigeria and Zambia

 

1–8 Aug 1979

Attends Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Lusaka, Zambia

 

1980s

 

 

26 Jan 1980

 

Australian Institute of Sport established

16 May 1980

 

Government passes the Aboriginal Development Commission Act 1980

6 Jun 1980

 

Government passes the Whale Protection Act 1980

30 Aug–10 Sep 1980

Official visit to the USA (Newport and Washington) and India
Awarded the President’s Gold Medal for Humanitarian Services by B’nai B’rith International

 

4–9 Sep 1980

Attends Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting in India

 

18 Oct 1980

 

Federal election. Liberal-National Party retains its majority in the House of Representatives, but loses control of the Senate to the Australian Democrats

24 Oct 1980

 

The multicultural television station Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) begins regular transmissions

4 Dec 1980

 

Parliament passes Crimes (Taxation Offences) Act 1980

14 Apr 1981

 

Australia’s Human Rights Commission is established by the Human Rights Commission Act 1981

23–26 Jun 1981

Official visit to Mexico

 

23 Jun–Jul 1981

Official visit to Washington, for talks with President Ronald Reagan, and Mexico

 

8 Jul 1981

Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Law by the University of South Carolina

 

29 Jul 1981

Attends the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer

 

30 Sep–7 Oct 1981

Hosts the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Melbourne

 

13 Jan 1982

 

Sir Ninian Stephen is appointed Australia’s twentieth Governor-General

9 Mar 1982

 

Parliament passes Freedom of Information Act 1982

15–25 May 1982

Official visits to USA, Japan and Republic of Korea

 

5–9 June 1982

Official visit to the Northern Territory

 

1–10 Aug 1982

Official visits to Malaysia, China and New Zealand. In New Zealand, Malcolm Fraser addresses the meeting of the 13th South Pacific Forum in Rotorua

 

13 Dec 1982

 

Parliament passes Taxation (Unpaid Company Tax) Assessment Act 1982

3 Feb 1983

Announces a double dissolution of Parliament and calls a general election

 

5 Mar 1983

Malcolm Fraser concedes defeat and resigns as leader of the Liberal Party

Federal election

11 Mar 1983

 

Andrew Peacock is elected leader of the Liberal Party

31 Mar 1983

Resigns from Parliament

 

1983

Appointed Distinguished International Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

Appointed Senior Adjunct Fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies

 

Sep 1985

Fellow of the Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University

 

Oct 1985

Appointed a member of the international Eminent Persons Group (EPG) seeking to end apartheid in South Africa

 

 

Chair, United Nations Panel of Eminent Persons on the Activities of Transnational Corporations in South Africa and Namibia

 

28 Feb–Mar 1986

Visits South Africa

 

1987

Founds CARE Australia

 

13 Jun 1988

Made a Companion of the Order of Australia ‘for service to government and politics and to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia’

 

Oct 1989

Awarded Honorary Doctorate by Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria

 

1990s

 

 

1990–1995

President of CARE International

 

24 Jan–3 Feb 1997

Leads a Commonwealth Observer Mission to Pakistan for the national elections on 3 February

 

19 Apr 1999

Appointed the government’s special envoy to Yugoslavia to seek the release of CARE Australia workers, Steve Pratt and Peter Wallace

 

2000s

 

 

Nov 2000

Awarded the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's 2000 Human Rights Medal

 

29 Apr 2002

Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Technology, Sydney

 

17 Sep 2002

Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Murdoch University, Western Australia

 

20 May 2003

Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of New South Wales

 

2006

Appointed Professorial Fellow at the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law, The University of Melbourne

 

Mar 2006

Establishes Australians All

 

25 Oct 2007

Presents inaugural professorial lecture at the University of Melbourne

 

 

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