1921 in Australia
Encyclopedia
See also:
1920 in Australia
,
other events of 1921,
1922 in Australia
and the
Timeline of Australian history
.
1920 in Australia
1920 in Australia
See also:1919 in Australia,other events of 1920,1921 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George V*Governor-General – Ronald Munro-Ferguson , then Henry Forster*Prime Minister – Billy Hughes...
,
other events of 1921,
1922 in Australia
1922 in Australia
See also:1921 in Australia,other events of 1922,1923 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George V*Governor-General – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster of Lepe*Prime Minister – Billy Hughes-State premiers:...
and the
Timeline of Australian history
Timeline of Australian history
This is a timeline of Australian history.-BC:*c. 68,000–40,000 BC: Aboriginal tribes are thought to have arrived in Australia.*c. 13,000 BC: Land bridges between mainland Australia and Tasmania are flooded. Tasmanian Aboriginal people become isolated for the next 12,000 – 13,000 years.*c...
.
Incumbents
- MonarchMonarchy in AustraliaThe Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
– King George VGeorge V of the United KingdomGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936.... - Governor-GeneralGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
– Henry Forster - Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
– Billy HughesBilly HughesWilliam Morris "Billy" Hughes, CH, KC, MHR , Australian politician, was the seventh Prime Minister of Australia from 1915 to 1923....
State premiers
- Premier of New South Wales – John StoreyJohn Storey (politician)John Storey was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales from 12 April 1920 until his sudden death in Sydney...
(until 5 October), then James DooleyJames Dooley (Australian politician)James Thomas Dooley served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s.-Early years:...
(from 10 October until 20 December), then George FullerGeorge Fuller (Australian politician)Sir George Warburton Fuller KCMG was Premier of New South Wales, Australia on two occasions during the 1920s. His first term of office lasted less than one day ; his second lasted from 13 April 1922 to 17 June 1925.-Early life:Fuller was born in Kiama, New South Wales and was educated at Kiama...
(for 7 hours on 20 December), then James DooleyJames Dooley (Australian politician)James Thomas Dooley served twice, briefly, as Premier of New South Wales during the early 1920s.-Early years:... - Premier of Queensland – Ted TheodoreTed TheodoreEdward Granville Theodore was an Australian politician. He was Premier of Queensland 1919–25, a federal politician representing a New South Wales seat 1927–31, and Federal Treasurer 1929–30.-Early life:...
- Premier of South Australia – Henry BarwellHenry BarwellSir Henry Newman Barwell KCMG was the 28th Premier of South Australia.Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Barwell was educated at St Peter's College and Adelaide University, graduating in law...
- Premier of Tasmania – Walter LeeWalter Lee (Australian politician)Sir Walter Henry Lee KCMG was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He was Premier of Tasmania on three occasions: from 15 April 1916 to 12 August 1922; from 14 August 1923 to 25 October 1923; and from 15 March 1934 to 22 June 1934.Lee was born in Longford in...
- Premier of Victoria – Harry LawsonHarry LawsonSir Harry Sutherland Wightman Lawson KCMG , Australian politician, was the 27th Premier of Victoria.Lawson was born in Dunolly, the son of a Presbyterian clergyman of Scottish descent. He was educated at a local school and then briefly Scotch College in Melbourne. He was a noted Australian rules...
- Premier of Western AustraliaPremier of Western AustraliaThe Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
– James MitchellJames Mitchell (Australian politician)Sir James Mitchell GCMG was the 13th Premier of Western Australia, serving on two occasions, the Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia for 15 years and the 22nd Governor of Western Australia....
State governors
- Governor of New South Wales – Sir Walter DavidsonWalter Edward DavidsonSir Walter Edward Davidson KCMG was a colonial Administrator and diplomat. He served periods as Governor of the Seychelles, Governor of Newfoundland and as Governor of New South Wales, in which he died in office....
- Governor of Queensland – Sir Matthew NathanMatthew NathanLieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan GCMG, PC was a British soldier and civil servant, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Queensland...
- Governor of South Australia – Sir William WeigallWilliam WeigallLieutenant Colonel Sir William Ernest George Archibald Weigall, 1st Baronet KCMG was a British Conservative politician who was Governor of South Australia from 9 June 1920 until 30 May 1922.-Family:...
- Governor of Tasmania – Sir William AllardyceWilliam Lamond AllardyceSir William Lamond Allardyce KCMG was a career British civil servant in the Colonial Office who served as governor of Fiji , the Falkland Islands , Bahamas , Tasmania , and Newfoundland .Allardyce was born near Bombay, India, the son of Georgina Dickson Abbott and Colonel James Allardyce...
- Governor of Victoria – George Rous, 3rd Earl of StradbrokeGeorge Rous, 3rd Earl of StradbrokeGeorge Edward John Mowbray Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke KCMG CB CVO CBE VD TD was a British noble and the 15th Governor of Victoria, Australia....
(from 21 February) - Governor of Western AustraliaGovernor of Western AustraliaThe Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
– Sir Francis NewdegateFrancis NewdegateSir Francis Alexander Newdigate Newdegate GCMG was Governor of Tasmania from 1917 to 1920, and Governor of Western Australia from 1920 to 1924....
Events
- 7 March – The Commonwealth Department of HealthDepartment of Health and Ageing (Australia)The Department of Health and Ageing is an Australian Government department. Its role is to oversee the running of Australia including supporting universal and affordable access to medical, pharmaceutical and hospital services, while helping people to stay healthy through health promotion and...
is formed. - 12 March – Edith CowanEdith CowanEdith Dircksey Cowan , MBE was an Australian politician, social campaigner and the first woman elected to an Australian parliament....
becomes the first female parliamentarian in Australia, when she is elected to the Western Australian Legislative CouncilWestern Australian Legislative CouncilThe Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of parliament in the Australian state of Western Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the Legislative Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state...
. - 22 March – New South Wales MPParliament of New South WalesThe Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...
Percy Brookfield is shot and killed when he tackles a crazed gunman at the train station in Riverton, South AustraliaRiverton, South AustraliaRiverton is a small town of distinctive character and interest to travellers in the Mid North of South Australia, in the Gilbert Valley. It is situated on the Gilbert River, from which the town derives its name...
. - 31 March – The Royal Australian Air ForceRoyal Australian Air ForceThe Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
is established. - 9 May – Australia assumes responsibility for administration of the Territory of New GuineaTerritory of New GuineaThe Territory of New Guinea was the Australia-controlled, League of Nations-mandated territory in the north eastern part of the island of New Guinea, and surrounding islands, between 1920 and 1949...
, following a League of NationsLeague of NationsThe League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
mandateLeague of Nations mandateA League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administering the territory on behalf of the League...
divesting GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
of its colonies as required by the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. - 30 August – A general election is held in VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Harry LawsonHarry LawsonSir Harry Sutherland Wightman Lawson KCMG , Australian politician, was the 27th Premier of Victoria.Lawson was born in Dunolly, the son of a Presbyterian clergyman of Scottish descent. He was educated at a local school and then briefly Scotch College in Melbourne. He was a noted Australian rules...
of the Nationalist PartyNationalist Party of AustraliaThe Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
is returned as premier, although in a minority government. - 26 October – The first group of Barnardo's BoysBarnardo'sBarnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
arrived in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. - 13 November – The cartoon character Ginger MeggsGinger MeggsGinger Meggs, a popular long-run Australian comic strip, was created in the early 1920s by Jimmy Bancks. The strip follows the escapades of a red-haired prepubescent mischief-maker who lives in an inner suburban working-class household....
makes his first appearance, in a Sunday Sun comic strip "Us Fellers" drawn by cartoonist Jimmy BancksJimmy BancksJames Charles Bancks or Jimmy Bancks was an Australian cartoonist best known for his comic strip Ginger Meggs....
. - 30 December – Twelve-year-old Alma Tirtschke is raped and murdered in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, in what becomes known as the Gun Alley MurderThe Gun Alley MurderThe Gun Alley Murder was the rape and murder of 12-year-old Alma Tirtschke in Melbourne, in 1921. She was a schoolgirl and had last been seen alive close to a drinking establishment, the Australian Wine Saloon; under these circumstances her murder caused a sensation...
. - 31 December – Walter Burley GriffinWalter Burley GriffinWalter Burley Griffin was an American architect and landscape architect, who is best known for his role in designing Canberra, Australia's capital city...
is removed as director of construction for CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
after disagreements over his supervisory role.
Arts and literature
- William McInnes wins the inaugural Archibald PrizeArchibald PrizeThe Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
for portraitPortraitthumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
ure
Sport
- Sister Olive wins the Melbourne CupMelbourne CupThe Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield ShieldPura CupThe Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
- In Test Cricket, Australia defeated England in The AshesThe AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
series - A Le Fevre wins the Australian Open ChampionshipAustralian Open (golf)The Australian Open is one of the principal annual golf tournaments on the PGA Tour of Australasia, and also the OneAsia Tour since its formation in 2009. The event was first played in 1904 and takes place toward the end of each year...
in golf
Births
- 3 January – Vasey HoughtonVasey HoughtonWilliam Vasey Houghton MLC , better known as Vasey Houghton, was an Australian politician, grazier, and conservationist. He was one of the longest-serving members of the Victorian State Parliament, spending eighteen years as a Member of the Legislative Council, nine of them on the front bench...
, politician and conservationist (d. 2001) - 9 January – Bunney BrookeBunney BrookeBunney Brooke was an Australian actress best known for her television acting roles including the long-running role of Flo Patterson in soap opera Number 96 in the 1970s, and Vi Patchett in E Street in 1990.Brooke was adopted at an early age and had an unhappy early life...
, actor (Number 96Number 96 (TV series)Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
) (d. 2000) - 16 February – Bill Knott, NSW politician
- 4 March – Walter Campbell, Governor of Queensland (d. 2004)
- 12 March – Norman Foster, politician (d. 2006)
- 29 March – Sam LoxtonSam LoxtonSamuel John Everett "Sam" Loxton OBE is a former Australian cricketer, footballer and politician. Among these three pursuits, his greatest achievements were attained on the cricket field; he played in 12 Tests for Australia from 1948 to 1951...
, cricketer - 1 April – Harold James FrithHarold James FrithHarold James Frith AO was an Australian administrator and ornithologist. He was born at Kyogle, New South Wales and studied Agricultural Science at Sydney University. He first joined the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry but later transferred to the Division of Wildlife and carried out extensive...
, ornithologist - 13 April – Max Harris, writer (Angry PenguinsAngry PenguinsAngry Penguins was an Australian literary and artistic avant-garde movement of the 1940s. The movement was stimulated by a modernist magazine of the same name published by the surrealist poet Max Harris, who founded the magazine in 1940, at the age of 18....
) (d. 1995) - 13 May – George PetersenGeorge Petersen (Australian politician)Wilfred George Petersen was an Australian politician, affiliated with the Australian Labor Party and elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly....
, Labor politician (d. 2000) - 28 May – Tom UrenTom UrenThomas Uren, AO was a Deputy Leader of the Australian Labor Party. He helped establish the heritage and conservation movement in Australia and, in particular, worked to preserve the heritage of inner Sydney.-Early life:...
, Labor politician - 3 June – Forbes CarlileForbes CarlileForbes Carlile MBE was Australia's first post-World War II Olympics swimming coach and later Australia's first competitor in the modern pentathlon at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He remains the only person to have coached and later competed at the Olympic Games.Born in Armadale, Victoria,...
, swimming coach and Olympic pentathlete - 19 June – Patricia WrightsonPatricia WrightsonPatricia Wrightson was an Australian author who wrote a number of highly regarded and influential children's books. Her reputation came to rest largely on her magic realist titles. Her books, including the widely praised The Nargun and The Stars , were among the first Australian books for children...
, children's author - 22 July – Ronald N. BracewellRonald N. BracewellRonald Newbold Bracewell AO was the Lewis M. Terman Professor of Electrical Engineering, Emeritus of the at Stanford University.- Education :...
, physicist and radio astronomer (d. 2007) - 31 July – John Makepeace BennettJohn Makepeace BennettEmeritus Professor John Makepeace Bennett AO, FTSE, was an early Australian computer scientist. He was Australia's first professor of computer science and the founding president of the Australian Computer Society...
, computer scientist - 20 August – Jack WilsonJack Wilson (cricketer)John William Wilson was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1956....
, cricketer (d. 1985) - 21 November – Betty WilsonBetty WilsonElizabeth Rebecca "Betty" Wilson was considered one of the greatest woman cricket players of all time. She represented Australia in Women's Test cricket between 1947–48 and 1957-58...
, cricketer - 24 November – Allan AshboltAllan AshboltAllan Campbell Ashbolt was an Australian journalist and television broadcaster.He was born in Melbourne and attended Caulfield Grammar School, and served with the Australian Imperial Force in World War II...
, journalist (d. 2005) - 26 December – Donald HorneDonald HorneProfessor Donald Horne was an Australian journalist, writer, social critic, and academic who became one of Australia's best known public intellectuals....
, journalist and writer (d. 2005)
Deaths
- 14 January – Edward HamersleyEdward Hamersley (Jnr)Edward Hamersley was a Western Australian pastoralist, and a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for nearly ten years....
(b. 1835 or 1836), WA politician - 27 January – Maurice Vincent BuckleyMaurice Vincent BuckleyMaurice Vincent Buckley VC, DCM was an Australian soldier serving under the pseudonym Gerald Sexton who was awarded the Victoria Cross during the First World War...
(b. 1891), soldier and Victoria Cross recipient - 14 March – Gustave BarnesGustave BarnesGustave Barnes was an Australian artist and modeller.Gustave Barnes was born in Islington, Middlesex, England, the eldest son of John William Barnes, a plasterer, and his wife Ann Eliza, née May. The family migrated to Adelaide when Gustave was a child; his father establishing Barnes & Neate, a...
(b. 1877), artist - 21 May – Oswald WattOswald WattWalter Oswald Watt OBE was an Australian aviator and businessman. The son of a Scottish-Australian merchant and politician, he was born in England and came to Sydney when he was a year old. He returned to Britain at the age of eleven for education at Bristol and Cambridge...
(b. 1878), aviator - 6 June – William Mark ForsterWilliam Mark ForsterWilliam Mark Forster was an Australian philanthropist, founder of the Gordon Institute for Boys and City Newsboys' Society.-Early life:...
(b. 1846), philanthropist - 18 June – G. H. GibsonG. H. GibsonGeorge Herbert Gibson was an Anglo-Australian writer of humorous ballads and verse. He is better known by his pen name, Ironbark.Gibson was born in Plymouth, England, where his father was a solicitor...
(b. 1846), writer and satirist - 2 July – Edwin EvansEdwin EvansEdwin Evans was an Australian cricketer who played in six Tests between 1881 and 1886.Born in Emu Plains, New South Wales and educated at Newington College , Evans was an off spinner with an ability to consistently land the ball wherever he wanted to and had some success in Australian first-class...
(b. 1849), cricketer - 12 July – Harry HawkerHarry HawkerHarry George Hawker MBE, AFC, was an Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft.-Early life:...
(b. 1889), aviation pioneer - 26 July – Howard VernonHoward Vernon (Australian actor)Howard Vernon was an Australian actor best known for his performances in comic roles of Gilbert and Sullivan operas.-Biography:...
(b. 1845), actor - 1 August – T. J. RyanT. J. RyanThomas Joseph "T.J." Ryan was Premier of Queensland, Australia from May 1915 until October 1919 when he resigned to enter Federal politics.-Early life:Thomas Joseph Ryan was born at Port Fairy, Victoria...
(b. 1876), Premier of Queensland (1915–1919) - 23 August – Frank HannFrank HannFrank Hugh Hann was an explorer in Western Australia, who in 1897 named Lake Disappointment. Hann was in the area exploring the east Pilbara, around Rudall River. He noticed creeks in the area flowed inland, and followed them expecting to find a large fresh water lake...
(b. 1846), explorer - 13 September – James HebblethwaiteJames HebblethwaiteJames Hebblethwaite was an English-born Australian poet, teacher and clergyman.Hebblethwaite was born in Preston, Lancashire, England, the son of William Hebblethwaite, a corn miller, and his wife Margaret, née Cundall...
(b. 1857), poet - 5 October – John StoreyJohn Storey (politician)John Storey was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales from 12 April 1920 until his sudden death in Sydney...
(b. 1869), Premier of New South Wales (1920–1921) - 30 October – James MurdochJames Murdoch (Scottish journalist)James Murdoch was a Scottish scholar and journalist, who worked as a teacher in the Empire of Japan and Australia. From 1903–1917, he wrote the three-volume A History of Japan, the first comprehensive history of Japan in the English language...
(b. 1856), Scottish journalist - 6 November – Robert Logan JackRobert Logan JackRobert Logan Jack was Queensland Government geologist for twenty years.-Early life:Jack was born at Irvine, in Ayrshire, Scotland the son of Robert Jack, a cabinet-maker, and his wife Margaret, née Logan...
(b. 1845), geologist - 17 November – John McLarenJohn McLaren (cricketer)John William McLaren was an Australian cricketer who played in 1 Test in 1912....
(b. 1886), cricketer - 24 December – William CurranWilliam CurranWilliam Gregory Curran was a cricket Test match umpire.He umpired two Test matches, making his debut in the match between Australia and South Africa, the first match between these nations in Australia, played at Sydney on 9 December to 14 December 1910...
, cricketer