Incumbents

• Monarch
  Monarchy in Australia
  The 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 V
  George V of the United Kingdom
  George 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-General
  Governor-General of Australia
  The 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...
  
   – John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven
  John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven
  John Lawrence Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, GCMG, DSO, PC, JP, DL , known as Sir John Baird, Bt, between 1920 and 1925 and as The Lord Stonehaven between 1925 and 1928, was a British Conservative politician, who served as a Member of Parliament, government minister, and was later the eighth...
  
   (until 21 January), then Sir Isaac Isaacs
  Isaac Isaacs
  Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
  
  
• Prime Minister
  Prime Minister of Australia
  The 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...
  
   – James Scullin
  James Scullin
  James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
  
  

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Jack Lang
  Jack Lang (Australian politician)
  John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
  
  
• Premier of Queensland – Arthur Edward Moore
  Arthur Edward Moore
  Arthur Edward Moore, CMG was an Australian politician. He was the Country and Progressive National Party Premier of Queensland, from 1929 to 1932. He was the only Queensland Premier not to come from the ranks of the Labor Party between 1915 and 1957...
  
  
• Premier of South Australia – Lionel Hill
  Lionel Hill
  Lionel Laughton Hill was the thirtieth Premier of South Australia.Born in Adelaide, South Australia but raised on a farm near Maitland, Hill left school aged 12 to work on the South Australian government railways, where he first became involved in the labour movement...
  
  
• Premier of Tasmania – John McPhee
  John McPhee (Australian politician)
  Sir John Cameron McPhee, KCMG was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He was Premier of Tasmania from 15 June 1928 to 15 March 1934.-Early life:...
  
  
• Premier of Victoria – Edmond Hogan
  Edmond Hogan
  Edmond John "Ned" Hogan , Australian politician, 30th Premier of Victoria, was born in Wallace, Victoria, where his Irish-born parents were small farmers...
  
  
• Premier of Western Australia
  Premier of Western Australia
  The 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 Mitchell
  James 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 Philip Game
  Philip Game
  Air Vice-Marshal Sir Philip Woolcott Game GCB, GCVO, GBE, KCMG, DSO was a British Royal Air Force commander, who later served as Governor of New South Wales and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis...
  
  
• Governor of Queensland – Sir John Goodwin
  John Goodwin (governor)
  Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Herbert John Chapman Goodwin KCB, KCMG, DSO , known as Sir John Goodwin, was a British soldier and medical practitioner, who served as the Governor of the Australian state of Queensland between 1927 and 1932.Goodwin was born in 1871 in Kandy, Ceylon to a British Army...
  
  
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven
  Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
  Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC was a British soldier and colonial governor and the tenth Governor-General of Australia. Serving for 9 years and 7 days, he is the longest serving Governor-General in Australia's history...
  
  
• Governor of Tasmania – none appointed
• Governor of Victoria – Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers
  Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers
  Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Herbert Tennyson Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers, KCMG, DSO, MC , son of Herbert Haldane Somers-Cocks by Blanche Margaret Standish Clogstoun...
  
   (until 23 June)
• Governor of Western Australia
  Governor of Western Australia
  The 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 William Campion
  William Campion
  Colonel Sir William Robert Campion KCMG, DSO, TD, DL was a British politician and Governor of Western Australia from 1924 to 1931....
  
   (until 9 June)

Events

• 7 January – Guy Menzies
  Guy Menzies
  Guy Lambton Menzies was the Australian aviator who flew the first solo trans-Tasman flight, from Sydney, Australia to the West Coast of New Zealand, on 7 January 1931....
  
   flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman
  Trans-Tasman
  Trans-Tasman is an adjective used primarily in Australia and New Zealand, which signifies an interrelationship between both countries. Its name originates from the Tasman Sea which lies between the two countries...
  
   flight (from Australia
  Australia
  Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
  
   to New Zealand
  New Zealand
  New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
  
  ) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's west coast
  Westland District
  Westland District is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island. Its population is - Government :The Westland District is governed by an elected Council, headed by an elected Mayor. The Mayor is elected at large. The current Mayor is Maureen Pugh. Councillors are...
  
  .
• 10 January – The Beef Riot takes place in Adelaide
  Adelaide
  Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
  
  . Seventeen people are injured when unemployed men clash with police while protesting the decision to remove beef
  Beef
  Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
  
   from the dole ration.
• 21 January – Isaac Isaacs
  Isaac Isaacs
  Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
  
   becomes the first Australian-born Governor-General
  Governor-General of Australia
  The 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...
  
  .
• 22 January – The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
  Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration
  The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is a defunct Australian court, which had jurisdiction to arbitrate interstate industrial disputes....
  
   announces a 10% reduction in the basic wage
  Living wage
  In public policy, a living wage is the minimum hourly income necessary for a worker to meet basic needs . These needs include shelter and other incidentals such as clothing and nutrition...
  
  , in addition to reductions made in accordance with the fall in the cost of living index, effective from 1 February.
• 4 February – Joseph Lyons
  Joseph Lyons
  Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
  
   resigns from the federal cabinet of James Scullin
  James Scullin
  James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
  
  , after Scullin re-appoints Ted Theodore
  Ted Theodore
  Edward 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:...
  
   as Treasurer
  Treasurer of Australia
  The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
  
  .
• 18 February – The Royal Australian Navy
  Royal Australian Navy
  The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
  
   light cruiser
  Light cruiser
  A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
  
   HMAS Pioneer
  HMAS Pioneer
  HMAS Pioneer was a Pelorus class light cruiser built for the Royal Navy at the end of the 19th century. She was transferred to the fledgling Royal Australian Navy in 1912...
  
   is scuttled off Sydney Heads
  Sydney Heads
  Sydney Heads , is the entrance to Port Jackson in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north, South Head and Dunbar Head are to the south. Middle Head, Georges Head and Chowder Head are to the west and within the bay...
  
  .
• 4 March – Holden's Motor Body Builders is purchased by General Motors, and is renamed General Motors–Holden's Ltd
  Holden
  GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
  
  .
• 10 March – The first Apex Club
  Apex Clubs of Australia
  The Association of Apex Clubs of Australia is the collective name given to the 330 individual Apex Clubs throughout Australia. An Apex club is a community service club, neither sectarian nor party political, that provides young civic minded people the opportunity to volunteer within the community...
  
   is formed in Geelong, Victoria
  Geelong, Victoria
  Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
  
  .
• 21 March – The Australian National Airways
  Australian National Airways (1930)
  Australian National Airways was a short-lived Australian airline, founded in 1929 by Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.The airline began operations in January 1930 with five Avro 618 Tens, similar aircraft to Kingsford Smith's famous Southern Cross...
  
   aircraft Southern Cloud, carrying 8 persons, disappears on a flight between Sydney
  Sydney
  Sydney 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...
  
   and Melbourne
  Melbourne
  Melbourne 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...
  
  . The wreckage is not located until 1958.
• 7 May – Joseph Lyons
  Joseph Lyons
  Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
  
   forms the United Australia Party
  United Australia Party
  The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
  
  , through the amalgamation of ALP defectors, Nationalists
  Nationalist Party of Australia
  The 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...
  
   and anti-Labor citizens' groups.
• 9 May – A general election
  Tasmanian state election, 1931
  A general election for the House of Assembly was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on 9 May 1931.-Background:The Nationalist Party had defeated Labor by one seat at the 1928 election, and John McPhee had been Premier of Tasmania since then...
  
   is held in Tasmania
  Tasmania
  Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
  
  , which implements compulsory voting
  Compulsory voting
  Compulsory voting is a system in which electors are obliged to vote in elections or attend a polling place on voting day. If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as fines, community service, or perhaps imprisonment if fines are unpaid...
  
   clauses of the Electoral Act for the first time. The Nationalist Party
  Nationalist Party of Australia
  The 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...
  
   led by John McPhee
  John McPhee (Australian politician)
  Sir John Cameron McPhee, KCMG was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He was Premier of Tasmania from 15 June 1928 to 15 March 1934.-Early life:...
  
   defeats the Australian Labor Party
  Australian Labor Party
  The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
  
  , and substantially increasing its majority.
• 15 August – The two ends of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
  Sydney Harbour Bridge
  The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
  
   are joined in the middle.
• 25 November – The Lang Labor
  Lang Labor
  Lang Labor was the name commonly used to describe three successive break-away sections of the Australian Labor Party, all led by the New South Wales Labor leader Jack Lang premier of NSW .-Initial opposition to Lang's leadership:...
  
   group led by Jack Lang
  Jack Lang (Australian politician)
  John Thomas Lang , usually referred to as J.T. Lang during his career, and familiarly known as "Jack" and nicknamed "The Big Fella" was an Australian politician who was Premier of New South Wales for two terms...
  
   votes with the Opposition on a motion of no confidence
  Motion of no confidence
  A motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
  
   against James Scullin
  James Scullin
  James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
  
  's government, triggering an early election.
• 19 December – A federal election
  Australian federal election, 1931
  Federal elections were held in Australia on 19 December 1931. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
  
   is held. The incumbent Australian Labor Party
  Australian Labor Party
  The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
  
   led by James Scullin
  James Scullin
  James Henry Scullin , Australian Labor politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Two days after he was sworn in as Prime Minister, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred, marking the beginning of the Great Depression and subsequent Great Depression in Australia.-Early life:Scullin was...
  
   is defeated by former Labor MP Joseph Lyons
  Joseph Lyons
  Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...
  
   and the United Australia Party
  United Australia Party
  The United Australia Party was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. It was the political successor to the Nationalist Party of Australia and predecessor to the Liberal Party of Australia...
  
  .

Arts and literature

• John Longstaff
  John Longstaff
  Sir John Campbell Longstaff was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize. He was a cousin of Will Longstaff, also a painter....
  
   wins the Archibald Prize
  Archibald Prize
  The 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...
  
   with his portrait of Sir John Sulman
  John Sulman
  Sir John Sulman was an Australian architect. Born in Greenwich, England, he emigrated to Sydney, Australia in 1885. From 1921 to 1924 he was chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee and influenced the development of Canberra.-Early life:Sulman was born in was born at Greenwich, England...
  
  

Sport

• 9 May - Richmond
  Richmond Football Club
  The Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
  
   set a record VFL
  Australian Football League
  The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
  
   score of 30.19 (199) against North Melbourne
  North Melbourne Football Club
  The North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
  
  . This record stands until 1969
  1969 VFL season
  -Premiership season:In 1969, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...
  
  . Doug Strang
  Doug Strang
  Doug Strang was an Australian rules footballer who played in the VFL between 1931 and 1935 for the Richmond Football Club.Whilst several injuries restricted his VFL career to just 64 games...
  
  , with fourteen goals, and Jack Titus
  Jack Titus
  Jack "Skinny" Titus was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League between 1926 and 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. In the golden era of the 1930s, Titus was one of the great forwards who regularly thrilled the crowds with spectacular goalkicking feats...
  
  , with eight, combine for 22 goals - a total equalled by Templeton
  Kelvin Templeton
  Kelvin Templeton is a former Australian rules footballer. At sixteen years of age Templeton kicked 100 goals for Traralgon in the 1973 Latrobe Valley FL season...
  
   and Dunstan
  Ian Dunstan
  Ian Dunstan is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League ....
  
   in 1978
  1978 VFL season
  Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1978.-Grand final:Hawthorn defeated North Melbourne 18.13 to 15.13 , in front of a crowd of 101704 people...
  
   but never beaten
• 12 September - South Sydney 12 defeat Eastern Suburbs 7 for their tenth NSWRL
  National Rugby League
  The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
  
   premiership
• 10 October - Geelong
  Geelong Football Club
  The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
  
   9.14 (68) beats Richmond 6.12 (48) for its second premiership
• White Nose wins the Melbourne Cup
  Melbourne Cup
  The 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...
  
  
• Victoria wins the Sheffield Shield
  Pura Cup
  The 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...
  
  

Births

• 11 March – Rupert Murdoch
  Rupert Murdoch
  Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
  
  , businessman
• 26 April – John Cain
  John Cain II
  John Cain , Australian Labor Party politician, was the 41st Premier of Victoria, holding office from 1982 to 1990.-Biography:...
  
  , Premier of Victoria
• 21 November – Malcolm Williamson
  Malcolm Williamson
  Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO , CBE was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death.-Biography:...
  
   (d.2003), composer

Deaths

• 23 February – Nellie Melba
  Nellie Melba
  Dame Nellie Melba GBE , born Helen "Nellie" Porter Mitchell, was an Australian operatic soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian Era and the early 20th century...
  
   (b.1861), opera singer
• 14 September – Tom Roberts
  Tom Roberts
  Thomas William Roberts , usually known simply as Tom, was a prominent Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School.-Life:...
  
  (b.1856, artist