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1928 in Australia
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April 24, 2025
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See also:
1928 in Australian literature
Other events of 1928
Federal election
Timeline of Australian history
The following lists events that happened during
1928 in Australia
.
Contents
Incumbents
State premiers
State governors
Events
Arts and literature
Film
Sport
Births
Deaths
See also
References
1928 in Australia
Monarch
George V
Governor-General
John Baird
Prime minister
Stanley Bruce
Population
6,302,210
Elections
Federal
,
Tasmania
Incumbents
Stanley Bruce
Monarch
–
George V
Governor-General
–
John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven
Prime Minister
–
Stanley Bruce
Chief Justice
–
Adrian Knox
State premiers
Premier of New South Wales
–
Thomas Bavin
Premier of Queensland
–
William McCormack
Premier of South Australia
–
Richard Layton Butler
Premier of Tasmania
–
Joseph Lyons
(until 15 June), then
John McPhee
Premier of Victoria
–
Edmond Hogan
(until 22 November), then
William McPherson
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
(from 14 May)
Governor of Tasmania
–
Sir James O'Grady
Governor of Victoria
–
Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers
Governor of Western Australia
–
Sir William Campion
Events
27–28 January –
Bundaberg tragedy
: 12 children die in
Bundaberg, Queensland
, after being inoculated with a
diphtheria vaccine
contaminated with the
Staphylococcus aureus
bacterium.
[
1
]
22 February –
Bert Hinkler
arrives in
Darwin, Northern Territory
after flying solo from
London
on 7 February, and then, later, he arrives in his hometown of
Bundaberg, Queensland
on 27 February.
17 May – The
Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
makes its first official flight from
Cloncurry
to
Julia Creek
8 June –
Charles Kingsford Smith
and his crew arrive in
Brisbane
,
Queensland
, after completing the first flight across the Pacific Ocean in the "
Southern Cross
" after leaving the United States on 31 May.
14 August – The
Coniston massacre
begins.
20 December –
Hubert Wilkins
makes the first flight over
Antarctica
in his
Lockheed Vega
San Francisco
The first
Speedos
are produced
Arts and literature
Main article:
1928 in Australian literature
John Longstaff
wins the
Archibald Prize
with his portrait of Dr Alexander Leeper
[
2
]
Arthur Streeton
wins the
Wynne Prize
with his landscape
Afternoon Light, Goulburn Valley
Film
29 December –
The Jazz Singer
becomes the first sound film screened in Australia. It premieres at the Lyceum Theatre in Sydney
Sport
15 September - The
1928 NSWRFL season
culminates in
South Sydney
's 26–5 victory over
Eastern Suburbs
in the final.
6 November –
Statesman
wins the
Melbourne Cup
.
Victoria wins the
Sheffield Shield
Bobby Pearce wins Australia's only gold medal at the
1928 Summer Olympics
. He won the men's 200m sculls
The first
Australian Grand Prix
is held at
Phillip Island
[
3
]
Births
17 January –
Ken Archer
, cricketer (died 2023)
19 January –
John Treloar
, track and field athlete (died 2012)
21 January –
James Achurch
, javelin thrower (died 2015)
29 February –
Terry Lewis
, police officer and convicted fraudster (died 2023)
14 March –
June Maston
, sprinter and athletics coach (died 2004)
2 April –
Denis Flannery
, rugby league footballer of the 1940s and 1950s (died 2012)
30 May –
Pro Hart
, artist (died
2006
)
June –
Mike Williamson
, sports commentator (died 2019)
3 June –
Beryl Kimber
, violinist and educator (died 2022)
12 June –
Bob Davis
, Australian rules footballer (died 2011)
15 June –
Joan Croll
, physician and radiologist (died 2022)
18 June –
Michael Blakemore
, actor and director (died 2023)
[
4
]
1 July –
Robert Wemyss
, Australian football (soccer) player
7 July –
Henry Sommerville
, fencer (died 2010)
17 July –
David Leach
, senior officer of the
Royal Australian Navy
(died 2020)
18 July –
Russell Mockridge
, cyclist (died 1958)
8 August –
Don Burrows
, jazz musician (died 2020)
12 August –
Charles Blackman
, painter (died 2018)
31 August –
A. W. Pryor
, physicist (died 2014)
8 October –
Leonard French
, glass artist (died 2017)
27 October –
Thomas Perrin
, cricketer
16 November –
Patricia Giles
, activist (died 2017)
17 November –
Colin McDonald
, cricketer (died 2021)
[
5
]
18 November –
Bruce Rosier
, Anglican bishop (died 2019)
30 November –
Steele Hall
, Premier of South Australia (died 2024)
15 December –
Peter Coleman
, politician and writer (died 2019)
26 December –
Maureen Brunt
, economist (died 2019)
27 December –
Phillip Bennett
, Governor of Tasmania (died 2023)
date unknown
–
John Challis
, gay rights activist
Deaths
9 February
–
William Gillies
, 21st
Premier of Queensland
(b.
1868
)
1 April
–
Andrew Lang Petrie
, Queensland politician (b.
1854
)
19 May
–
John Barrett
, Victorian politician (b.
1858
)
19 July
–
Norman Ewing
,
Tasmanian Opposition Leader
(b.
1870
)
22 October
–
Andrew Fisher
, 5th
Prime Minister of Australia
(born and died in the
United Kingdom
) (b.
1862
)
Unknown, possibly
August
–
Bert Rache
, composer (b. unknown)
See also
List of Australian films of the 1920s
References
↑
Akers, Harry; Porter, Suzette (2008).
"Bundaberg's Gethsemane: the tragedy of the inoculated children"
(PDF)
.
Royal Historical Society of Queensland Journal
.
20
(7):
261–
278.
↑
"Winner: Archibald Prize 1928 - John Longstaff"
.
artgallery.nsw.gov.au
. Art Gallery of NSW
. Retrieved
18 August
2017
.
↑
Conlin, Michael V.; Jolliffe, Lee (December 2016).
Automobile Heritage and Tourism
. Taylor & Francis. p.
140.
ISBN
978-1-315-43620-3
.
↑
Current Biography Yearbook
. H. W. Wilson. 2001. p.
38.
↑
Robert Coleman (1993).
Seasons in the Sun: The Story of the Victorian Cricket Association
. Hargreen Publishing Company. p.
566.
ISBN
978-0-949905-59-8
.
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