Australian Events
May: The House is informed that Germany had surrendered on May 7. VE Day ("Victory in Europe") is celebrated on May 8.- July 5: Prime Minister Curtin dies suddenly, one month before the end of World War II.
- Forde Government, July 6: (see Australian Prime Ministers) Deputy Prime Minister Frank Forde is sworn in as interim Prime Minister for only six days.
- Chifley Government, July 12: (see Australian Prime Ministers) Ben Chifley is elected to the Labor leadership and becomes Prime Minister.
- August: Jubilation erupts when Australians learn of Japan's surrender. Workers across Australia leave their offices to dance and sing in the streets.
- Australia has a major role in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan.
Australia, led by External Affairs Minister Dr Herbert Evatt, plays a leading role in the founding of the United Nations organisation.- Sir Howard Florey shares with Sir Alexander Fleming and Ernst Chain the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases". Howard Florey, born 1898 in Adelaide, graduated at Adelaide University, won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford leading to a BSc and MA, and later a PhD from Cambridge.
The first Sydney to Hobart yacht race is won by Rani in 6 days 14 hours.
