1938 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1938 in Australia.

1938 in Australia
MonarchyGeorge VI
Governor-GeneralAlexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie
Prime ministerJoseph Lyons
Population6,898,541
ElectionsSA, NSW, QLD

1938
in
Australia

Decades:
  • 1910s
  • 1920s
  • 1930s
  • 1940s
  • 1950s
See also:

Incumbents

State Premiers

State Governors

Events

Wangaratta Courthouse, built in 1938
"Tea, Australia's national drink" (float) from Sesquicentenary Manufacturers Parade, Sydney, 1938
  • 26 January – Australia officially celebrates its sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of European settlement. Unofficially, it is a Day of Mourning for Indigenous Australians.
  • 6 February – Three hundred beachgoers are dragged out to sea when three freak waves strike Bondi Beach in Sydney in an event known as "Black Sunday". A team of eighty surf lifesavers manage to rescue all but five people.[1][2]
  • 13 February – Nineteen people die when Sydney ferry the Rodney, carrying 150 passengers, capsizes in Sydney Harbour while farewelling US Navy cruiser USS Louisville.
  • 1 April – New monthly newspaper Abo Call begins publication in Sydney, focusing on issues of Aboriginal rights and edited by activist Jack Patten.
  • 11 May – Two jockeys are killed and two are injured in a horse racing accident at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, South Australia.
  • 25 October – Eighteen people die in Australia's worst air disaster when the Douglas DC-2 Kyeema crashes in the Dandenong Ranges in thick fog.
  • 15 November – Waterside workers at Port Kembla, New South Wales refuse to load a consignment of scrap iron destined for Japan, arguing that it would be used for munitions. Attorney-General Robert Menzies attempts to force the loading of the cargo, earning himself the nickname "Pig Iron Bob".
  • 21 December – A direct radio-telephone link is established between Canberra and Washington D.C.
  • 28 December – The Sydney Mail ceases publication.

Arts and literature

  • 31 March – Xavier Herbert wins the Commonwealth 150th anniversary literary award for his novel Capricornia.
  • 30 December – The Passing of the Aborigines by Daisy Bates is published.

Sport

  • 5 to 12 February – The 1938 British Empire Games are held in Sydney. Australia leads the medal tally at the games, winning 25 gold medals, 19 silver and 22 bronze.
  • 2 September – Canterbury Bulldogs defeat Eastern Suburbs 19 to 6 in the grand final, becoming premiers of the 1938 NSWRL season.
  • 1 November – Catalogue wins the Melbourne Cup.

Births

Deaths

See also

References

  1. "Black Sunday: Three waves of death at Bondi". www.dailytelegraph.com.au. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  2. Spicer, David (4 February 2018). "Last-known survivor recalls 'horror' of Bondi Black Sunday drownings". ABC News. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  3. "Family Notices". The West Australian. 54 (16, 219). Western Australia. 24 June 1938. p. 1. Retrieved 8 March 2017 via National Library of Australia.
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