The following lists events that happened during 1952 in Australia. Incumbents Monarch – George VI (until 6 February), then Elizabeth II Governor-General – Sir William McKell Prime Minister – Robert Menzies Chief Justice – Sir John Latham (until 7 April) then Sir Owen Dixon State Premiers Premier of New South Wales – James McGirr (until 2 April), then Joseph Cahill Premier of Queensland – Ned Hanlon (until 17 January), then Vince Gair Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove Premier of Victoria – John McDonald (until 28 October), then Thomas Hollway (until 31 October), then John McDonald (until 17 December), then John Cain I Premier of Western Australia – Ross McLarty State Governors Governor of New South Wales – Sir John Northcott Governor of Queensland – Sir John Lavarack Governor of South Australia – Sir Charles Norrie (until 19 June) Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Baronet Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner Events 20 January – The first express trains run between Melbourne and Adelaide, following the completion of a railway between the two cities. 6 February – King George VI dies, and is succeeded as Queen of Australia by his daughter, Elizabeth II. 18 April – Owen Dixon becomes Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. 29 April – The ANZUS Treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States comes into force. 14–18 June – Disastrous floods in the southeast corner leave 600 homeless and render a major rail line near Moss Vale unusable throughout the winter The winter season is especially wet in the southeast of the continent, being the wettest on record in Melbourne and the fifth wettest on record in Sydney 1 September – Qantas Empire Airways commences the first air service between Australia and South Africa. 28 October – Premier of Victoria John McDonald resigns after the Victorian Legislative Council refuses supply. Thomas Hollway forms a short-lived ministry which lasts four days. 30 November – Lang Hancock discovers the world's largest deposit of iron ore in the Hamersley Range of Western Australia's Pilbara region. 6 December – A state election is held in Victoria. Science and technology 3 October – The first British nuclear test in Australia, Operation Hurricane, commences on the Monte Bello Islands with the detonation of an atomic bomb of 25