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Australian Events

Posted in 1961

  • Mining huge iron-ore deposits in WAHuge iron-ore deposits found at Pilbara, WA and oil discovered at Moonie, Qld
  • Bankruptcies and unemployment reach 2%, the highest post-war level. This follows a fall in wool prices, drought, inflation and rising prices in 1960 when Treasurer Holt imposed a credit squeeze, raising loan interest rates and heavily increasing sales tax on motor vehicles.
  • Thalidomide is recognised as causing severe birth abnormalities in children whose mothers were given the drug in pregnancy.