| Date | 6 December 1956 — 20:20 |
|---|---|
| Location | Olympic Park Swimming and Diving Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Pos | Lane | Competitors | NOC | Time | Split | Exchange | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Australia |  AUS | 4:17.1 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Dawn Fraser | – | 1:04.0 (1) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Faith Leech | – | 1:05.3 (=2) | 2:09.3 (1) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Sandra Morgan | – | 1:04.7 (2) | 3:14.0 (1) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Lorraine Crapp | – | 1:03.1 (1) | – (–) | ||||
| 2 | 3 | United States |  USA | 4:19.2 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Sylvia Ruuska | – | 1:06.3 (2) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Shelley Mann | – | 1:03.9 (1) | 2:10.2 (2) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Nancy Simons | – | 1:04.6 (1) | 3:14.8 (2) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Joan Rosazza | – | 1:04.4 (2) | – (–) | ||||
| 3 | 5 | South Africa |  RSA | 4:25.7 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Natalie Myburgh | – | 1:07.7 (5) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Susan Roberts | – | 1:05.3 (=2) | 2:13.0 (3) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Moira Abernethy | – | 1:08.0 (7) | 3:21.0 (4) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Jeanette Myburgh | – | 1:04.7 (3) | – (–) | ||||
| 4 | 6 | Unified Team of Germany |  GER | 4:26.1 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Ingrid Künzel | – | 1:06.6 (3) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Hertha Haase | – | 1:06.7 (=4) | 2:13.3 (4) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Kati Jansen | – | 1:05.7 (3) | 3:19.0 (3) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Birgit Klomp | – | 1:07.1 (6) | – (–) | ||||
| 5 | 7 | Canada |  CAN | 4:28.3 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Helen Stewart | – | 1:07.1 (4) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Gladys Priestley | – | 1:07.1 (6) | 2:14.2 (5) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Sara Barber | – | 1:07.5 (6) | 3:21.7 (5) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Virginia Grant | – | 1:06.6 (5) | – (–) | ||||
| 6 | 1 | Sweden |  SWE | 4:30.0 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Anita Hellström | – | 1:08.8 (=6) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Birgitta Wängberg | – | 1:07.7 (7) | 2:16.5 (6) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Karin Larsson | – | 1:07.4 (5) | 3:23.9 (7) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Kate Jobson | – | 1:06.1 (4) | – (–) | ||||
| 7 | 2 | Hungary |  HUN | 4:31.1 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Mária Littomeritzky | – | 1:09.9 (8) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Kató Szőke | – | 1:06.7 (=4) | 2:16.6 (7) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Judit Temes | – | 1:06.7 (4) | 3:23.3 (6) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Valéria Gyenge | – | 1:07.8 (7) | – (–) | ||||
| 8 | 8 | Great Britain |  GBR | 4:35.8 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-off | – | Frances Hogben | – | 1:08.8 (=6) | – (–) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | – | Judith Grinham | – | 1:09.0 (8) | 2:17.8 (8) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | – | Margaret Girvan | – | 1:09.4 (8) | 3:27.2 (8) | ||||
| Anchor | – | Fearne Ewart | – | 1:08.6 (8) | – (–) |
