United States presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand United States presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand Several United States presidents have made presidential visits to Australia and New Zealand. The first visit by an incumbent to these Australasian nations was made in 1966 by Lyndon B. Johnson. His three-day five-city visit to Australia was intended as a show of gratitude to the Australian nation for its then emphatic support for the Vietnam War. Four presidents have traveled there since. Prior to arriving in Australia, Johnson visited New Zealand. He went primarily to shore up support for the war in Vietnam. Only one sitting president has visited since.
Ngo Dinh Diem presidential visit to Australia with the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne Daniel Mannix, who was well known for his political power and advocacy in Australia. The next morning, before departing for Sydney, Diem inspected a textile factory in the inner-northern suburb of Carlton and visited several large-scale public housing estates. At the time, Australia was undergoing a post-World War II population boom and was dealing with housing pressures, an issue that was also confronting South Vietnam following the large influx of northern refugees after the partition in 1954. The guard of honour and a 21-gun salute that Diem received at Parliament House was repeated in