Decades: 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s See also:
The following lists events that happened during 1939 in Australia .
Incumbents Lord Gowrie
State Premiers
State Governors
Events 8 January – Federal interior minister John McEwen released a white paper detailing the New Deal for Aborigines , a policy by which Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory could receive full civil rights in exchange for cultural assimilation .[ 2] 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
January Murray Rose Germaine Greer 3 January – Janice Crosio , New South Wales politician4 January – J. S. Harry , poet (d. 2015 )6 January 9 January 10 January – Jill Kitson , radio broadcaster and literary journalist (d. 2013 )12 January – John Gregg , actor (d. 2021 )15 January – Ken Doolan , rear admiral and author20 January – Paul Braddy , 28th Deputy Premier of Queensland 23 January – Peter Richardson , Western Australian politician29 January – Germaine Greer , academic and feminist30 January – Dale Baker , 34th South Australian Leader of the Opposition (d. 2012 )31 January – Paddy Guinane , Australian rules footballer (Richmond ) (d. 2019 )
February Andrew Peacock 1 February – John Haslem , Australian Capitol Territory politician5 February – Ian Norman , businessman and retail executive (d. 2014 )7 February 11 February – Gary Hooper , Paralympian athlete (d. 2025 )12 February – Nita Cunningham , Queensland politician (d. 2015 )13 February – Andrew Peacock , 22nd Federal Leader of the Opposition (d. 2021 )16 February – Peter Heerey , Federal Court judge (d. 2021 )19 February – Beatrice Faust , co-founder of Women's Electoral Lobby and author (d. 2019 )23 February – Elaine Lee , actress (born in South Africa ) (d. 2014 )25 February – Gerald Murnane , writer27 February – Harry Roberts , rugby union player28 February – Ron Leeson , Western Australian politician
March Michael Kirby
April David de Kretser
May Peter Wilenski Tony Staley
June Elaine Schreiber Gordon Bilney 1 June – Ernie Tuck , mathematician (d. 2009 )3 June – Colin Youren , Australian rules footballer (Hawthorn ) (d. 2015 )4 June – Elaine Schreiber , Paralympian athlete (d. 2017 )5 June – Ron Baensch , racing cyclist (d. 2017 )6 June – John Oswald , South Australian politician10 June 20 June – Rodger Head , Australian rules footballer (St Kilda ) (d. 2012 )21 June 22 June – Paul Winkler , film director (born in Germany )23 June – David Hannay , film producer (born in New Zealand ) (d. 2014 )24 June – Annette Andre , actress25 June 27 June – Neil Hawke , test cricketer and Australian rules footballer (Port Adelaide ) (d. 2000 )29 June – Alan Connolly , cricketer
July Phillip Adams Helen Firth David Connolly John Howard
August Roger Ryan
September George Lazenby Mike Dancis 3 September – John Langmore , Australian Capitol Territory politician4 September – Richard Lewis , Western Australian politician (d. 2019 )5 September – George Lazenby , actor7 September – John McGrath , Victorian politician (d. 2021 )8 September – Lew Mander , organic chemist (born in New Zealand ) (d. 2020 )9 September 10 September 13 September – Kevin Rozzoli , New South Wales politician15 September – Ron Walker , businessman, former Lord Mayor of Melbourne (d. 2018 )18 September – Gerry Harvey , entrepreneur19 September – Jim Lisle , rugby union and rugby league player (d. 2003 )24 September – Tony Messner , South Australian politician and former Administrator of Norfolk Island (d. 2024 )
October Paul Hogan Nick Dondas 1 October – Philip Cox , architect3 October – Dave Barsley , rugby league player (d. 2021 )4 October – Ivan Mauger , motorcycle speedway racer (born in New Zealand ) (d. 2018 )5 October – Scott Ashenden , South Australian politician7 October – Clive James , writer and broadcaster (d. 2019 )8 October 9 October – John Pilger , journalist and filmmaker (d. 2023 )12 October – Michael Clyne , linguist, academic, and intellectual (d. 2010 )25 October – Terry Gill , actor (born in the United Kingdom ) (d. 2015 )26 October 27 October – Hurtle Lupton , Victorian politician
November
December Glenda Adams
Deaths Joseph Lyons 14 February – James Webb , New South Wales politician (b. 1887 )9 March – Edwin Greenslade Murphy , journalist and poet (b. 1866 )11 March – William Miller , athlete (born in the United Kingdom and died in the United States ) (b. 1846 )7 April – Joseph Lyons , 10th Prime Minister of Australia and 26th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1879 )25 April – Sir Charles Powers , High Court judge (b. 1853 )18 May – Francis Clarke , New South Wales politician (b. 1857 )10 June – Albert Ogilvie , 28th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1890 )13 June – Arthur Coningham , cricketer (b. 1863 )6 August – James MacCallum Smith , Western Australian politician (born in the United Kingdom ) (b. 1868 )11 August – Margaret Windeyer , librarian and feminist (b. 1866 )30 August – Edward Sydney Simpson , mineralogist and geochemist (b. 1875 )3 October – Henry Augustus Ellis , physician and federalist (born in Ireland and died in the United Kingdom ) (b. 1861 )22 October – Sir Langdon Bonython , South Australian politician and journalist (born in the United Kingdom ) (b. 1848 )15 November – William Hill , Victorian politician (b. 1866 )6 December – Sir Ernest Scott , historian (born in the United Kingdom ) (b. 1867 )
See also
References ^ Hart, P. R.; Lloyd, C. J. "Lyons, Joseph Aloysius (Joe) (1879–1939)" . Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 10 October 2018 . ^ Golding, Peter S. (1996). Black Jack McEwen: Political Gladiator . Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0522847188 .
18th century 19th century 20th century 21st century
1939 in Oceania
Sovereign states Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Associated states
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