1934 in Australia

← 1933 1932 1931 1934 in Australia → 1935 1936 1937
Decades:	1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s
See also:	Other events of 1934 Federal election Timeline of Australian history

The following lists events that happened during 1934 in Australia.

Incumbents[]

Joseph Lyons

• Monarch – George V
• Governor-General – Sir Isaac Isaacs
• Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons
• Chief Justice – Frank Gavan Duffy

State Premiers[]

• Premier of New South Wales – Bertram Stevens
• Premier of Queensland – William Forgan Smith
• Premier of South Australia – Richard L. Butler
• Premier of Tasmania – John McPhee (until 15 March), then Walter Lee (until 22 June), then Albert Ogilvie
• Premier of Victoria – Sir Stanley Argyle
• Premier of Western Australia – Philip Collier

State Governors[]

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Philip Game
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven (until 26 April), then Sir Winston Dugan (from 20 July)
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark
• Governor of Victoria – William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield (from 14 May)
• Governor of Western Australia – none appointed

Events[]

ANZAC War Memorial Sydney, built in 1934

Two fashionably-dressed women at the Warwick Farm Racecourse in Australia, 1934.

Schoolchildren line up for free issue of soup and a slice of bread in the Depression, Belmore North Public School, Sydney, 2 August 1934 (photographed by Sam Hood)

• 18 January – Qantas and Imperial Airways join forces and establish Qantas Empire Airways.
• 12 March – An intense cyclone crosses the Queensland coast near Innisfail, 75 people were confirmed dead.
• 1 September – Body of the "Pyjama Girl" found in Albury, New South Wales.
• 15 September – A federal election is held. Joseph Lyons is returned as Prime Minister, leading a United Australia Party-Country Party coalition to victory over the Australian Labor Party.
• 3 October – Qantas de Havilland DH.50 Atalanta, registration VH-UHE, crashes near Winton, Queensland, killing the pilot and 2 passengers.
• 15 October – Captain Cook's cottage is opened to the public, after being dismantled in England, then shipped to Australia and reassembled in Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne.
• 18 October – Charles Prince of Morphettville is found guilty of fraud for the "ring in" of Redlock at the Murray Bridge Racing Club on 28 July.
• 24 October – C. W. A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black cross the finishing line and win the MacRobertson Air Race, flying from London to Melbourne in an elapsed time of 71 hours.
• 6 November – The Australian government attempts to stop left-wing writer Egon Erwin Kisch from entering the country, using the language provisions of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 which allowed a test in any European language. The multi-lingual Kisch was tested in Scottish Gaelic, although the decision to block his entry was later overturned by the High Court.
• 11 November – The Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne is dedicated.
• 15 November – Qantas de Havilland DH86 crashes after departing from Longreach Airport during its delivery flight.

Unknown dates[]

• The first ute is produced by Ford in Geelong
• CMV Group founded

Arts and literature[]

• Henry Hanke wins the Archibald Prize with his self-portrait^[1]
• Eleanor Dark's Prelude to Christopher is published. The author was later awarded the ALS Gold Medal.
• Martin Boyd publishes his first novel Scandal of Spring
• Christina Stead publishes her first novel Seven Poor Men of Sydney

Film[]

• Strike Me Lucky, starring Roy Rene and directed by Ken G. Hall, is released

Sport[]

• 8 September - The 1934 NSWRFL season culminates in Western Suburbs' 15–12 victory against Eastern Suburbs in the final. University finish in last place, claiming the wooden spoon.
• Peter Pan wins the Melbourne Cup
• Victoria wins the Sheffield Shield
• Australia defeats England 2–1 in The Ashes series, held in England

Births[]

• 6 January – Harry M. Miller, promoter and publicist (died 2018)
• 11 January – Peter Badcoe, soldier and Victoria Cross recipient (died 1967)
• 20 January – Barry Fisher, cricketer (died 1980)
• 26 January – Ruby Langford Ginibi, Indigenous author and historian (died 2011)
• 31 January – Gil Jamieson, painter (died 1992)
• 15 February – Graham Kennedy, entertainer (died 2005)
• 17 February – Barry Humphries, entertainer
• 24 February – Frank Brazier, Olympic cyclist (d. 2021)
• 20 March – David Malouf, writer
• 16 April – Barrie Unsworth, Premier of New South Wales
• 27 April – Colin Holt, Australian rules footballer (died 2018)
• 1 May – John Meillon, actor (died 1989)
• 5 May – Victor Garland, politician and high commissioner to the UK
• 6 May – Chris Wallace-Crabbe, poet and academic
• 2 June – Ian Brooker, botanist (died 2016)
• 27 June – Bill Hay, Australian rules footballer (died 2018)
• 6 July – Tony Burreket, politician
• 7 July – Brian Davis, politician (died 2018)
• 11 July – Barney Cooney, politician (died 2019)
• 16 July – Marjorie McQuade, swimmer
• 18 July – Alan Ridge, politician
• 12 August – Ian George, Anglican Archbishop of Adelaide (1991–2004)(died 2019)
• 17 August – Ben Humphreys, politician (died 2019)
• 25 August – Jimmy Hannan, television presenter (died 2019)
• 15 September – Fred Nile, clergyman and politician
• 9 October – Jill Ker Conway, author and academic (died 2018)
• 10 October – Julian Beale, politician (died 2021)
• 2 November – Ken Rosewall, tennis player
• 16 November – Peter Ross Sinclair, Governor of New South Wales (1990–1996)
• 4 December – Bill Collins, film critic (died 2019)
• 24 December – Alan Beaumont, Chief of the Australian Defence Force (1993–1995), (died 2004)

Deaths[]

Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar

William Holman

• 1 January – Sir Robert Gibson, businessman (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1863)
• 22 January – Arthur Jose, historian (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1863)
• 30 January – Edward Heitmann, Western Australian politician (b. 1878)
• 21 February – Sydney Smith, New South Wales politician (b. 1856)
• 27 February – George Temple-Poole, architect and public servant (born in Italy) (b. 1856)
• 17 March – Walter Rosenhain, metallurgist (born in Germany and died in the United Kingdom) (b. 1875)
• 23 March – Thomas Brown, New South Wales politician (b. 1861)
• 29 March – Sir Josiah Symon, South Australian politician (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1846)
• 30 March – Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar, 6th Governor-General of Australia (born and died in the United Kingdom) (b. 1860)
• 12 April – Bertram Steele, scientist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1870)
• 12 May – Agar Wynne, Victorian politician (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1850)
• 25 May – Percy Coleman, New South Wales politician and union organiser (b. 1892)
• 5 June - Emily Dobson, philanthropist (b. 1842)
• 6 June – William Holman, 19th Premier of New South Wales (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1871)
• 19 June – John McDonald, Western Australian politician (b. 1869)
• 14 July – John Thomson, New South Wales politician (b. 1862)
• 31 July – Charles McGrath, Victorian politician (b. 1872)
• 6 August – Alexander Leeper, educationist (born in Ireland) (b. 1848)
• 18 August – Sir John Sulman, architect (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1949)
• 27 August – Linda Agostini, murder victim (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1905)
• 28 August – Sir Edgeworth David, geologist and explorer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1858)
• 5 September – Sidney Myer, businessman and philanthropist (born in Belarus) (b. 1878)
• 10 September – Fred Bamford, Queensland politician (b. 1849)
• 7 October – William Sutherland Dun, palaeontologist and geologist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1868)
• 16 October – James Mathews, Victorian politician (b. 1865)
• 21 November – John Scaddan, 10th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1876)
• 3 December – Charles Ulm, aviator (died in the Pacific Ocean) (b. 1898)

See also[]

• List of Australian films of the 1930s

References[]

External links[]

Media related to 1934 in Australia at Wikimedia Commons