1938 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1938 in Australia.

1938 in Australia
Monarchy	George VI
Governor-General	Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie
Prime minister	Joseph Lyons
Population	6,898,541
Elections	SA, NSW, QLD

← 1937 1936 1935 1938 in Australia → 1939 1940 1941
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	Other events of 1938 Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

Joseph Lyons

• Monarch – George VI
• Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie
• Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons
• Chief Justice – Sir John Latham

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Bertram Stevens
• Premier of Queensland – William Forgan Smith
• Premier of South Australia – Richard L. Butler (until 5 November), then Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Tasmania – Albert Ogilvie
• Premier of Victoria – Albert Dunstan
• Premier of Western Australia – John Willcock

State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Winston Dugan
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark
• Governor of Victoria – William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield
• Governor of Western Australia – none appointed

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

Main article: 1938 in Australian 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

• 12 January – Lewis Fiander, actor (died 2016)
• 12 January – Noel McNamara, crime victims supporter
• 13 January – Daevid Allen, musician (Soft Machine) (died 2015)
• 17 January – David Theile, backstroke swimmer
• 21 January – Steve Dunleavy, journalist (died 2019)
• 25 February – Herb Elliott, athlete
• 28 February – Dennis Olsen, pianist, actor and director
• 1 March – Henry Reynolds, historian
• 5 March – Mike Walsh, television presenter
• 19 March – John Winneke, judge (died 2019)
• 25 March – Anthony Carwardine, naval officer
• 20 April – Betty Cuthbert, athlete (died 2017)
• 5 June – Roy Higgins, jockey (died 2014)
• 18 June – Kevin Murray, Australian rules footballer (Fitzroy)
• 19 June – Ian Smith, actor and screenwriter
• 20 June – Joan Kirner, Premier of Victoria (1990–1992) (died 2015)
• 23 June – John Gerovich, Australian rules footballer[3]
• 25 June – Mick Allen, rower
• 27 June – Bob Baxt, lawyer (died 2018)
• 28 June – Sergio Silvagni, Australian rules footballer
• 8 July – Paul Cronin, television and film actor (died 2019)
• 13 July – Ian Macphee, politician, Minister for Immigration
• 16 July – Colin Rice, Australian rules footballer
• 23 July – Bert Newton, entertainer
• 28 July – Robert Hughes, art critic (died 2012)
• 9 August – Rodney Laver, tennis player
• 22 August – Roger Gyles, lawyer and judge
• 30 August – Murray Gleeson, High Court judge
• 6 September – Ernie Sigley, entertainer
• 8 October – Fred Stolle, tennis player
• 17 October – Les Murray, poet (died 2019)
• 30 October – Morris Lurie, writer (died 2014)
• 8 November – Bob Skilton, Australian rules footballer (South Melbourne)
• 26 November – Rodney Jory, physicist
• 4 December – Yvonne Minton, operatic soprano
• 11 December – Reg Livermore, actor, singer and television presenter
• 21 December – Frank Moorhouse, writer

Deaths

• 6 January – John Gavin (born 1875), film director
• 15 January – Paul Raphael Montford (born 1868), sculptor
• 21 January – Will Dyson (born 1880), cartoonist
• 31 January – John Barnes (born 1868), politician
• 16 February – Thomas Molloy (born 1852), WA politician
• 21 April – Sir Talbot Hobbs (born 1864), architect
• 11 May – Lawrence Wells (born 1860), explorer
• 17 May – Nora Clench (born 1867), Canadian violinist
• 17 June – Ranji Hordern (born 1883), cricketer
• 19 June – Jack Hides (born 1906), explorer
• 22 June – C. J. Dennis (born 1876), poet
• 29 June – Sir Colin Mackenzie (born 1877), anatomist and museum administrator
• 30 August – Evelyn Marsden (born 1883), survivor of the Titanic
• 11 September – Sir Philip Whistler Street (born 1863), NSW Supreme Court judge
• 12 October – Hugh Massie (born 1854), cricketer
• 25 October – Charles Hawker (born 1884), politician
• 29 November – John Sandes (born 1863), journalist and author

See also

• List of Australian films of the 1930s

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.