1919 in Australia
See also: 1918 in Australia, other events of 1919, 1920 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.
Incumbents
State premiers
State governors
Events
- 1 March – The Potts, believed to be the world's longest running cartoon strip drawn by the same artist, is first published in The Sun News-Pictorial.
- 24 March – one of the most notable incidents of the Red Flag Riots occurred in Brisbane, Queensland, when a crowd of returned servicemen clashed with police. The incident had been sparked the previous day by a socialist demonstration against the continued operation of the War Precautions Act, which had angered many of the returned soldiers.
- 1 June – A mutiny occurs on board the Royal Australian Navy battlecruiser HMAS Australia shortly after it arrives in Fremantle, Western Australia.
- 28 June – The Treaty of Versailles is signed in France, bringing Australia's involvement in World War I to an end.
- 18 October – Sir Adrian Knox is appointed Chief Justice of the High Court.
- 28 October – The Treaty of Peace (Germany) Act 1919 receives Royal Assent, confirming Australia's membership as a sovereign nation in the new League of Nations, and indicating Australia's independence from the United Kingdom.
- 10 December – Keith and Ross Smith, piloting a Vickers Vimy, reach Darwin at the end of the first England to Australia flight.
- 19 December – A federal election is held. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Billy Hughes defeats the Australian Labor Party of Frank Tudor.
- 24 December – The Electrical Trades Union of Australia is federally registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1904.
- The worldwide Spanish flu epidemic continues, eventually claiming almost 12,000 lives in Australia.
- At the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 Australian delegates succeed in excluding recognition of the principle of racial equality in the League of Nations Covenant.
Science and technology
Arts and literature
Film
Sport
Births
- 6 January – Geoffrey Bingham, author and Anglican minister (d. 2009)
- 3 February – Bill Alley, cricketer (d. 2004)
- 16 February – Keith Carmody, cricketer (d. 1977)
- 22 February – Mary Maguire, actress (d. 1974)
- 1 March – Reg Sprigg, geologist (d. 1994)
- 20 March – Pat Norton, backstroke swimmer (d. 2007)
- 25 March – William Wade, NSW politician
- 28 March – Tom Brooks, cricketer (d. 2007)
- 10 April – Vernon Wilcox, politician (d. 2004)
- 1 May – Lance Barnard, Deputy Prime Minister (d. 1997)
- 15 May – Tom Drake-Brockman, politician (d. 1992)
- 22 May – Peter Howson, politician (d. 2009)
- 28 May – Olga Masters, writer (d. 1986)
- 24 June – Fabian "Fabe" McCarthy, rugby union footballer
- 14 September – Gil Langley, cricketer (d. 2001)
- 6 October – Abe Saffron, Sydney crime figure (d. 2006)
- 7 October – Zelman Cowen, Governor General of Australia
- 5 November – Thomas O'Dwyer, cricketer (d. 2005)
- 19 November – Margaret Whitlam, wife of Gough Whitlam
- 7 December – Wilfred Arthur, World War II fighter ace (d. 2000)
- 10 December – Jean Lee, last woman executed in Australia (d. 1951)
- 17 December – Geraldine Halls (pen name: Charlotte Jay), mystery novelist (d. 1996)
- 29 December – Malcolm Mackay, politician (d. 1999)
Deaths
- 4 February – Richard Bowyer Smith (b. 1837), inventor
- 20 March – Sir Edward Charles Stirling (b. 1848), anthropologist
- 8 June – Henry Briggs (b. 1844), WA politician
- 21 June – Sir Thomas à Beckett (b. 1836), solicitor and judge
- 25 July – Nat Gould (b. 1857), British novelist
- 25 July – Samuel McCaughey (b. 1835), pastoralist
- 30 July – Sir Simon Fraser (b. 1832), politician
- 4 August – Dave Gregory (b. 1845), cricketer
- 10 September – J.F. Archibald (b. 1856), publisher and journalist
- 12 September – John Mark Davies (b. 1840), Victorian politician
- 24 September – Frank Laver (b. 1869), cricketer
- 7 October – Alfred Deakin (b. 1856), Prime Minister of Australia
- 25 October – William Kidston (b. 1849), Premier of Queensland (1906–1907, 1908–1911)
- 2 November – Mephan Ferguson (b. 1843), manufacturer
- 20 December – Sir Philip Fysh (b. 1835), Premier of Tasmania (1877–1878, 1887–1892)
- 25 December – Sir Edwin Thomas Smith (b. 1830), SA politician
References