1938 in Australia
See also: 1937 in Australia, other events of 1938, 1939 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.
Incumbents
State Premiers
State Governors
Events
- 26 January – Australia officially celebrates its sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of European settlement. Unofficially, it is a Day of Mourning for Indigenous Australians.
- 6 February – Three hundred beachgoers are dragged out to sea when three freak waves strike Bondi Beach in Sydney in an event known as "Black Sunday". A team of eighty surf lifesavers manage to rescue all but five people.
- 13 February – Nineteen people die when Sydney ferry the Rodney, carrying 150 passengers, capsizes in Sydney Harbour while farewelling US Navy cruiser USS Louisville.
- 1 April – New monthly newspaper Abo Call begins publication in Sydney, focusing on issues of Aboriginal rights and edited by activist Jack Patten.
- 11 May – Two jockeys are killed and two are injured in a horse racing accident at Morphetville Racecourse in Adelaide, South Australia.
- 25 October – Eighteen people die in Australia's worst air disaster, when an Australian National Airways Douglas DC-2 crashes in the Dandenong Ranges in heavy fog.
- 15 November – Waterside workers at Port Kembla, New South Wales refuse to load a consignment of scrap iron destined for Japan, arguing that it would be used for munitions. Attorney-General Robert Menzies attempts to force the loading of the cargo, earning himself the nickname "Pig Iron Bob".
- 21 December – A direct radio-telephone link is established between Canberra and Washington D.C.
- 28 December – The Sydney Mail ceases publication.
Arts and literature
Sport
Births
- 12 January – Lewis Fiander, actor
- 12 January – Noel McNamara, crime victims supporter
- 13 January – Daevid Allen, musician (Soft Machine)
- 17 January – David Theile, backstroke swimmer
- 25 February – Herb Elliott, athlete
- 28 February – Dennis Olsen, pianist, actor and director
- 1 March – Henry Reynolds, historian
- 5 March – Mike Walsh, television presenter
- 25 March – Anthony Carwardine, naval officer
- 13 April – Col Joye, entertainer
- 20 April – Betty Cuthbert, athlete
- 5 June – Roy Higgins, jockey
- 18 June – Kevin Murray, Australian rules footballer (Fitzroy)
- 20 June – Joan Kirner, Premier of Victoria (1990–1992)
- 13 July – Ian Macphee, politician, Minister for Immigration
- 23 July – Bert Newton, television performer
- 28 July – Robert Hughes, art critic
- 9 August – Rodney Laver, tennis player
- 22 August – Roger Gyles, lawyer and judge
- 30 August – Murray Gleeson, High Court judge
- 6 September – Ernie Sigley, entertainer
- 8 October – Fred Stolle, tennis player
- 17 October – Les Murray, poet
- 30 October – Morris Lurie, writer
- 8 November – Bob Skilton, Australian rules footballer (South Melbourne)
- 26 November – Rodney Jory, physicist
- 11 December – Reg Livermore, actor, singer and television presenter
- 21 December – Frank Moorhouse, writer
Deaths
- 6 January – John Gavin (b. 1875), film director
- 15 January – Paul Raphael Montford (b. 1868), sculptor
- 21 January – Will Dyson (b. 1880), cartoonist
- 31 January – John Barnes (b. 1868), politician
- 16 February – Thomas Molloy (b. 1852), WA politician
- 21 April – Sir Talbot Hobbs (b. 1864), architect
- 11 May – Lawrence Wells (b. 1860), explorer
- 17 May – Nora Clench (b. 1867), Canadian violinist
- 17 June – Ranji Hordern (b. 1883), cricketer
- 19 June – Jack Hides (b. 1906), explorer
- 22 June – C. J. Dennis (b. 1876), poet
- 29 June – Sir Colin Mackenzie (b. 1877), anatomist and museum administrator
- 30 August – Evelyn Marsden (b. 1883), survivor of the Titanic
- 11 September – Sir Philip Whistler Street (b. 1863), NSW Supreme Court judge
- 12 October – Hugh Massie (b. 1854), cricketer
- 25 October – Charles Hawker (b. 1884), politician
- 29 November – John Sandes (b. 1863), journalist and author