1929 in Australia

See also: 1928 in Australia, other events of 1929, 1930 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch – King George V
• Governor-General – John Baird, Baronet of Stonehaven
• Prime Minister – Stanley Bruce (until 12 October), then James Scullin

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Thomas Bavin
• Premier of Queensland – William McCormack (until 21 May), then Arthur Edward Moore
• Premier of South Australia – Richard Layton Butler
• Premier of Tasmania – John McPhee
• Premier of Victoria – William Murray McPherson (until 12 December), then Edmond Hogan
• Premier of Western Australia – Philip Collier

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Dudley de Chair
• Governor of Queensland – Sir John Goodwin
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir James O'Grady
• Governor of Victoria – Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir William Campion

Events

• Centenary of Western Australia
• 4 April – 1929 Tasmanian floods: A dam on the Cascade River in Tasmania collapses. The subsequent torrent floods the town of Derby, killing fourteen people.^[1]
• 3 June – Fremantle, Western Australia is proclaimed a city.^[2]
• 12 October – A federal election is held. James Scullin leads the Australian Labor Party to victory over the incumbent government of Stanley Bruce. Bruce becomes the first Prime Minister to lose his seat in an election.
• 30 November – A state election is held in Victoria.
• 12 December – Premier of Victoria William Murray McPherson refuses to resign after the election, but is defeated by a no confidence motion in the first meeting of parliament. He retires, with Edmond Hogan assuming the premiership.
• 16 December – Rothbury Riot in which police shoot at locked out miners, killing Norman Brown.

Arts and literature

Japanese vaudeville performer, singer and comedian Kono San (or Konosan) onboard SS SIERRA, Sydney 1929.

• 18 January – Sir John Longstaff wins the 1928 Archibald Prize for his portrait of Alexander Leeper.^[3]

Sport

• 3 January – Don Bradman makes 112 for Australia v England in the third Test match at Melbourne, his first Test Century.
• 5 November – Nightmarch wins the Melbourne Cup.
• The Australia national rugby league team embarked on the 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain.
• New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
• England defeats Australia 4-1 in The Ashes series
• South Sydney win the 1929 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.
• Collingwood football club win their third consecutive AFL Priemiership flag, after an undefeated home and away season. (They go on to win the flag again in 1930 and remain to date [2012] the only team to win 4 flags in a row).

Births

• 5 January — Veronica Brady (died 2015), religious sister and academic
• 7 January – Robert Juniper, artist
• 28 January – Claes Oldenburg, artist
• 27 February – Jack Arthur Gibson (died 2008), rugby league footballer and coach
• 31 January – John Stone, politician
• 1 February – R. A. Simpson, poet (died 2002)
• 7 February – John Sullivan, politician
• 16 February – Peter Porter, poet
• 29 April – Peter Sculthorpe, composer (died 2014)
• 7 May – Len Fitzgerald, Australian rules footballer
• 15 May – Kevin Cairns, politician (died 1984)
• 24 May – Brian Wenzel, actor
• 26 May – Ernie Carroll, television personality
• 10 June – Ian Sinclair, politician and former leader of the National Party
• 12 June – Roy Bull (died 2004), rugby league footballer and coach
• 23 June – Herb Barker, athlete (died 2006)
• 26 June – June Bronhill, opera singer (died 2005)
• 5 July – Jimmy Carruthers, boxer (died 1990)
• 8 July – Bruce Gyngell, television executive (died 2000)
• 20 July – David Tonkin, Premier of South Australia (1979–1982)
• 5 August – Reg Lindsay, country music singer (died 2008)
• 9 August – John Wheeldon, politician
• 23 August – Peter Thomson, golfer
• 25 August – Ron Lord, soccer player
• 25 September – Jack Rutherford, cricketer
• 1 October – Ken Arthurson, rugby league footballer, coach and administrator.
• 31 October – Eddie Charlton, snooker and billiards player (died 2004)
• 15 November – Eric Robinson, politician
• 9 December – Bob Hawke, trade union leader and Prime Minister of Australia (1983–1991)
• 31 December – Doug Anthony, politician

Deaths

• 14 July – Walter Baldwin Spencer (born 1860), anthropologist
• 26 November – John Cockburn (born 1850), Premier of South Australia

References