1939 in Australia
See also: 1938 in Australia, other events of 1939, 1940 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.
Incumbents
State Premiers
State Governors
Events
- 13 January – The bushfires of Black Friday kill 70 people in Victoria.
- 27 March – The first CAC Wirraway training aircraft, A20-3, takes to the air at Fishermans Bend, Victoria.
- 7 April – Prime Minister Joseph Lyons dies of a sudden heart attack, the first Prime Minister to die in office. Sir Earle Page, the leader of the Country Party is appointed caretaker Prime Minister until the United Australia Party can elect a new leader.
- 26 April – Robert Menzies is elected leader of the United Australia Party, and is sworn in as Prime Minister.
- 10 June – Premier of Tasmania Albert Ogilvie dies in office. Edmund Dwyer-Gray acts as Premier until he is officially elected as leader of the Labor Party in Tasmania on 6 July.
- 3 September – World War II begins. Australia declares war on Germany, following the United Kingdom and British Dominions' declaration of same, after the German invasion of Poland.
- 15 September – Robert Menzies announces a new War Cabinet.
- 1 December – Australia agrees to take 15,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Europe, following the German occupation of Austria and Czechoslovakia.
- 18 December – Edmund Dwyer-Gray steps aside as Premier of Tasmania, by prior arrangement with Robert Cosgrove to assume the premiership.
Arts and literature
Sport
Births
- 6 January – Murray Rose, swimmer
- 29 January – Germaine Greer, academic and feminist
- 13 February – Andrew Peacock, politician
- 5 March – Tony Rundle, Premier of Tasmania (1996–1998)
- 4 April – Alex George, botanist
- 7 April – Brett Whiteley (d. 1992), artist
- 12 April – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league footballer
- 20 April – Elspeth Ballantyne, actress
- 12 May – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league footballer
- 12 July – Phillip Adams, broadcaster and writer
- 26 July – John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia (1996–2007)
- 5 September – George Lazenby, actor (James Bond)
- 8 October – Paul Hogan, comedian and actor
- 9 October – John Pilger, journalist and filmmaker
- 10 October – Clive James, writer and social commentator
- 25 November – Ian Smith, politician
- 26 December – Fred Schepisi, film director
Deaths
- 14 February – James Webb, NSW politician
- 9 March – Edwin Greenslade Murphy (b. 1866), journalist and poet
- 7 April – Joseph Lyons (b. 1879), Prime Minister of Australia (1932–1939) and Premier of Tasmania (1923–1928)
- 25 April – Sir Charles Powers (b. 1853), High Court judge
- 10 June – Albert Ogilvie (b. 1890), Premier of Tasmania (1934–1939)
- 6 August – James MacCallum Smith (b. 1868), WA politician
- 30 August – Edward Sydney Simpson (b. 1875), mineralogist and geochemist
- 3 October – Henry Augustus Ellis (b. 1861), physician and federalist
- 22 October – Sir John Langdon Bonython (b. 1848), politician and journalist
- 15 November – William Hill (b. 1866), politician
- 6 December – Sir Ernest Scott (b. 1867), historian