Australia was the host nation for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. However, due to Australian quarantine restrictions the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden. 294 competitors, 250 men and 44 women, took part in 140 events in 18 sports.
Medalists
Gold
- Betty Cuthbert – athletics, women's 100 metres
- Betty Cuthbert – athletics, women's 200 metres
- Shirley Strickland – athletics, women's 80 m Hurdles
- Norma Croker, Betty Cuthbert, Fleur Wenham, and Shirley Strickland – athletics, women's 4 × 100 m Relay
- Joey Browne and Anthony Marchant — Cycling, men's 2000 m Tandem
- Jon Henricks — Swimming, men's 100 m Freestyle
- Murray Rose — Swimming, men's 400 m Freestyle
- Murray Rose — Swimming, men's 1500 m Freestyle
- David Theile — Swimming, men's 100 m Backstroke
- John Devitt, Jon Henricks, Kevin O'Halloran, and Murray Rose — Swimming, men's 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay
- Dawn Fraser — Swimming, women's 100 m Freestyle
- Lorraine Crapp — Swimming, women's 400 m Freestyle
- Lorraine Crapp, Dawn Fraser, Faith Leech, and Sandra Morgan — Swimming, women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay
Silver
- Graham Gipson, Kevan Gosper, Leon Gregory, and David Lean – athletics, men's 4 × 400 m Relay
- Chilla Porter – athletics, men's High Jump
- Stuart Mackenzie – rowing, men's Single Sculls
- John Devitt — Swimming, men's 100 m Freestyle
- John Monckton — Swimming, men's 100 m Backstroke
- Lorraine Crapp — Swimming, women's 100 m Freestyle
- Dawn Fraser — Swimming, women's 400 m Freestyle
- John Scott and Roland Tasker — Sailing, men's Sharpie 12 m²
Bronze
- Hector Hogan – athletics, men's 100 metres
- John Landy – athletics, men's 1500 metres
- Allan Lawrence – athletics, men's 10.000 metres
- Norma Thrower – athletics, women's 80 m Hurdles
- Marlene Mathews – athletics, women's 100 metres
- Marlene Mathews – athletics, women's 200 metres
- Kevin Hogarth — Boxing, men's Welterweight
- Walter Brown and Dennis Green – canoeing, men's K2 10,000 m Kayak Pairs
- Dick Ploog — Cycling, men's 1000 m Sprint (Scratch)
- Murray Riley and Mervyn Wood – rowing, men's Double Sculls
- Michael Aikman, Angus Benfield, David Boykett, Bryan Doyle, Harold Hewitt, Jim Howden, Walter Howell, Garth Manton, and Adrian Monger – rowing, men's Eights
- Gary Chapman — Swimming, men's 100 m Freestyle
- Faith Leech — Swimming, women's 100 m Freestyle
- Douglas Buxton, Devereaux Mytton, Ernest Wagstaff and Jock Sturrock — Sailing, men's 5½ Meter Class
Athletics
- Men
- Track & road events
- Field events
- Combined events – Decathlon
- Women
- Track & road events
- Field events
Basketball
- Men's Team Competition
Preliminary round
Group D
Classification 9–15
Group 1
Classification matches
Team Roster
- Peter Demos
- Geoff Heskett
- Peter Bumbers
- Stan Dargis
- Inga Freidenfelds
- Colin Burdett
- George Dancis
- Peter Sutton
- Algis Ignatavicius
- Merv Moy
- Ken Finch
- Bruce Flick
- Head coach: Ken Watson
Boxing
- Men
Canoeing
Sprint
- Men
- Women
Cycling
- Road
Track
- 1000m time trial
- Sprint
- Tandem
- Pursuit
Diving
- Men
- Women
Fencing
21 fencers, 18 men and 3 women, represented Australia in 1956.
- Men
Ranks given are within the pool.
- Women
Ranks given are within the pool.
Football
First round
Quarter-finals
Men's team squads
Head coach: Richard Telfer
Gymnastics
Hockey
Preliminary round
Pool B
Play–off match
- At the conclusion of the pool stage, Australia and Great Britain finished equal on points, resulting in a play–off match to determine number one position in the pool.
Men's Team Competition
- Team Roster
- Alan Barblett
- Geoffrey Bennett
- Brian Booth
- Kevin Carton
- Kenneth Clarke
- Ian Dick
- John Dwyer
- Maurice Foley
- Louis Hailey
- Glen Jobson
- Dennis Kemp
- Keith Leeson
- Donald Mecklem
- Eric Pearce
- Gordon Pearce
- Melville Pearce
- Kenneth Reid
- Raymond Whiteside
Modern pentathlon
Three male pentathletes represented Australia in 1956.
- Individual
- Neville Sayers
- Sven Coomer
- George Nicoll
- Team
- Neville Sayers
- Sven Coomer
- George Nicoll
Rowing
Australia had 26 male rowers participate in all seven rowing events in 1956.
- Men
Sailing
- Open
Shooting
Twelve shooters represented Australia in 1956.
- Men
Swimming
- Men
- Women
Water polo
Preliminary round
The preliminary round consisted of a round-robin tournament held in three groups. Each team played the other teams in its group once.
Group A
28 November
- 14:00 - Romania def. Australia, 4-2
29 November
- 22:15 - Yugoslavia def. Australia, 9-1
30 November
- 16:00 - Soviet Union def. Australia, 3-0
Consolation
- Great Britain def. Australia, 5-2
- Australia def. Singapore, 3-2
- Romania def. Australia, 4-2
Weightlifting
- Men
Wrestling
References
