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1966

In 1966 Peakhurst High School could now boast 3 forms enrolled at the school. Some of the students in 3rd Form would choose to sit for the Intermediate Certificate at the end of the year. Because the education system was undergoing a transition to the Wyndham Scheme, the Intermediate Certificate was optional. Most students who chose to go on and do the new School Certificate did not sit for the Intermediate.

 

Our leaders in 1966

  • Prime Minister – Robert Menzies until 26 January then Harold Holt

  • Governor General – The Lord Casey

  • Premier of New South Wales – Jack Renshaw (until 1 May), then Robert Askin

  • Premier of South Australia – Frank Walsh

  • Premier of Queensland – Sir Francis Nicklin

  • Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece

  • Premier of Western Australia – David Brand

  • Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte

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Major Events in 1966

January

  • Formula One racing driver, Jack Brabham, is named Australian of the Year

  • Robert Menzies, Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister, retires and is succeeded by Harold Holt.

  • The Beaumont children are abducted during a visit to Glenelg beach in Adelaide and are never seen again.

February

  • The introduction of decimal currency into Australia, replacing pounds, shillings and pence with dollars and cents

  • The TV series Mister Ed airs its final episode (ran 1961-66)

March

  • Soviet space probe Venera 3 crashes on Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface

April

  • New South Wales repeals the Sunday Observance Act, allowing theatres and cinemas to open, sporting events to charge admission and clubs to sell alcohol on Sundays.

May

  • The legendary album Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is released

  • Bob Dylan's seminal album, Blonde on Blonde is released in the U.S.

June

  • Japan replaces Great Britain as Australia's largest trading partner

  • Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.

July

  • General Motors Holden becomes the first local car manufacturer to instal seat belts as standard equipment in all its new vehicles.

August

  • Victoria extends hotel trading hours from 6pm to 10pm, ending the infamous "Six O'Clock Swill". Driving with a blood alcohol level over 0.05% becomes a criminal offence

  • Groundbreaking takes place for the World Trade Center

  • Martin Luther King Jr. leads a civil rights march in Chicago, during which he is struck by a rock thrown from an angry white mob

  • The Caesars Palace hotel and casino opens in Las Vegas

  • The Beatles' Revolver LP is released in the United Kingdom

  • The Beatles hold a press conference in Chicago, during which John Lennon apologises for his "more popular than Jesus" remark, saying, "I didn't mean it as a lousy anti-religious thing."

September

  • Star Trek, the science fiction television series, debuts on NBC-TV in the United States with its first episode, titled "The Man Trap".

November

  • Actor Ronald Reagan is elected Governor of California

  • John Lennon meets Yoko Ono at the Indica Gallery

  • The Beatles begin recording sessions for their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band L.P.

December

  • Walt Disney dies while producing The Jungle Book, the last animated feature under his personal supervision

 

 

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