1940 in Australia
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See also: 1939 in Australia, other events of 1940, 1941 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.
Contents |
[edit] Incumbents
- Prime Minister - Robert Menzies
- Governor General - Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
- Premier of New South Wales - Alexander Mair
- Premier of South Australia - Thomas Playford
- Premier of Queensland - William Forgan Smith
- Premier of Tasmania - Robert Cosgrove
- Premier of Western Australia - John Willcock
- Premier of Victoria - Albert Dunstan
[edit] Events
- July 6 - The Story Bridge is opened in Brisbane
- July 19 - The Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney takes part in the sinking of the Italian cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni
- August 1 - The first of sixty Bathurst class corvettes , HMAS Bathurst (J158), is launched in Sydney
- August 13 - The Canberra air disaster takes place
- September 3 - The heavy cruiser HMAS Australia takes part in Operation Menace off Dakar
- The Australian 7th Division is formed
- The Australian 9th Division is formed
[edit] Science & Technology
[edit] Arts and literature
- Max Meldrum wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Dr J Forbes McKenzie
[edit] Film
- Forty Thousand Horsemen, directed by Charles Chauvel and starring Chips Rafferty, is released
[edit] Sport
- Old Rowley wins the Melbourne Cup
- Beaulivre wins the Caulfield Cup
- Beau Vite wins the Cox Plate
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
[edit] Births
- January 5 - Athol Guy, musician
- February 27 - Bill Hunter, actor
- March 1 - Robin Gray, Premier of Tasmania
- June 29 - Ken Done, artist
- August 16 - Bruce Beresford, film director
- October 15 - Peter Doherty, medical researcher, Nobel Prize recipient
[edit] Deaths
- July 22 - George Fuller (b. 1861), Premier of New South Wales
- August 13 - Geoffrey Street (b. 1894), politician
- August 13 - Henry Gullett (b. 1878), politician
- August 13 - James Fairbairn (b. 1897), politician
- November 23 - Stanley Argyle (b. 1867), Premier of Victoria
