1920: The national, Country Party of Australia (The Nationals) is formed.
1920: The first successful flight from Melbourne to Perth is completed (3 Dec).
1921: Edith Cowan was a social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. In 1921, Edith Cowan, at 60 years of age, became the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament.
1921: Edith Cowan was a social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. In 1921, Edith Cowan, at 60 years of age, became the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament.
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| Edith Cowan's portrait appears on the back of Australia's fifty dollar note. |
1921: Walter Burley Griffin is removed as director of construction for Canberra.
1922: Queensland abolishes capital punishment, the first state in Australia to do so.
1922: Henry Lawson dies aged 55.
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| Photographic portrait of Australian bush poet Henry Lawson |
1922: Billy Hughes reelected as Prime Minister.
1923: Stanley Bruce became 8th Prime Minister of Australia.
1923: Telephone link between Sydney and Brisbane officially opened.
1925: Australian federal election: Stanley Bruce reelected as Prime Minister.
1925: Australian federal election: Stanley Bruce reelected as Prime Minister.
1925: Millicent Preston-Stanley becomes the first woman member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.
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| Millicent Preston-Stanley, the first woman member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), Sunday 24 October 1954 |
1926: Helen Wayth wins the first Miss Australia Quest. The first Miss Australia contest was held in 1908 as a one-off event.
1927: The Australasian Council of Trade Unions is formed at the All-Australian Trade Union Congress in Melbourne.
1927: Parliament House in Canberra is officially opened by the Duke of York.
1927: David Unaipon was the first Australian Aboriginal writer to have a book published in Australia. The A.F.A. funded publication of Hungarrda (1927), followed by Kinnie Ger - the Native Cat in 1928 and his main work, Native Legends, in 1929.
1927: Parliament House in Canberra is officially opened by the Duke of York.
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| Prime Minister Mr Stanley and Mrs Ethel Bruce with another man on the steps of Parliament House, Canberra, ca. 1927 |
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| David Unaipon, 1925, State Library of New South Wales |
1928: The first solo flight between England and Australia made by Bundaberg born aviator, Bert Hinkler, in 1928. Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith also, made the first transpacific flight from the United States to Australia.
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| Bert Hinkler and his Avro Avian in 1926 |
1929: Labor returns to office under James Scullin. The Great Depression impacts Australia.
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| Men in a dole queue during the Great Depression at No. 7 Wharf, Circular Quay, Sydney, 11 June 1931, NLAUST |
1930: Phar Lap, the racehorse legend, wins the 1930 Melbourne Cup.
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| Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup, c1930 |
1931: Isaac Isaacs becomes the first Australian-born Governor-General.
1931: The two ends of the Sydney Harbour Bridge are joined in the middle.
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| Construction of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, 1925-27. Courtesy State Library of New South Wales |
1931: Dame Nellie Melba, the world-renowned Australian soprano, dies.
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| Dame Nellie Melba photographed outside the Gresham Hotel, Brisbane, ca. 1909. Nellie Melba was born Helen Porter Mitchell on 19 May 1861 at Richmond, Melbourne. |
1932: On 19 March 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge opened to the public.
1932: Joseph Lyons becomes Prime Minister.
1933: Western Australia votes at a referendum to secede from the Commonwealth, but the Commonwealth and British governments ignore the vote.
1935: Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's aircraft, Lady Southern Cross, mysteriously disappears off the coast of Burma.
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| Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and his Lockheed Altair low-wing monoplane, "Lady Southern Cross", Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), Thursday 30 August 1934 |
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| The last known thylacine photographed at Beaumaris Zoo in 1933. A scrotal sac is not visible in this or any other of the photos or film taken, leading to the supposition that "Benjamin" was a female. However, photographic analysis in 2011 suggested that "Benjamin" was male. |
1938: Sydney hosts the Empire Games, the forerunner to the Commonwealth Games.
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| People at Empire Games, 12 February 1938, Sydney, NSW, SLNSW |
1939: Prime Minister Joseph Lyons dies in office and is replaced by Robert Menzies and the first Menzies Government. Lyons is the only person in Australian history to have been prime minister, premier of a state, and leader of the opposition in both the Federal Parliament and a state parliament.
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| Joseph Aloysius Lyons was the 10th Prime Minister of Australia from 1932 -1939. National Library of Australia |
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| Declaration of War Broadcast, September 1939, Robert Menzies |
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| The Diggers embarking at an Australian port for service in the Middle East. Evening Advocate (Innisfail, Qld. : 1941 - 1954), Friday 15 September 1944 |
1939: The Cummeragunja walk-off in 1939 was a protest by Aboriginal Australians at the Cummeragunja Station, an Aboriginal reserve in southern New South Wales.
1939: The first flight of the CAC Wirraway (an Aboriginal word meaning "challenge"). It was an aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) between 1939 and 1946.
1940: Australian pathologist, Sir Howard Florey, along with Ernst Boris Chain, isolated and purified penicillin.
1940: From mid-1940, ships of the Royal Australian Navy, at the request of the Admiralty, began to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to take part in the Battle of the Mediterranean against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
1941: 3 Divisions of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force join operations in the Mediterranean. After successes against Italy, defeats are suffered against the Germans in Greece, Crete, and North Africa.
1941: The Rats of Tobruk were soldiers of the Australian-led Allied garrison, who held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk in World War II. The propagandist for Germany, William Joyce, better known as "Lord Haw-Haw", began describing the besieged men as living like rats in underground dug-outs and caves. The Australians reclaimed the name as a badge of pride.
1941; Menzies resigns and John Curtin becomes Prime Minister.
1941: The Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit was formed in 1941, composed mostly of Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory. The unit patrolled the coast of Arnhem Land during 1942–43 searching for signs of Japanese landings and was trained, to fight as guerrillas using traditional weapons in the event of an invasion.
1942: Fall of Singapore occurred when all British Empire forces withdrew from the Malay peninsula onto Singapore Island, by 31 January 1942. Then, on the morning of 8 February 1942, the Japanese commenced a massive artillery bombardment on Singapore, resulting in a decisive Japanese victory, with the capture of Singapore by the Japanese and the largest British surrender in history. 15,000 Australians become Prisoners of War of the Japanese.
1942: Between February 1942 and November 1943, Australia was attacked at least 111 times by aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. These attacks came in various forms; from large-scale raids by medium bombers, to torpedo attacks on ships, and to strafing runs by fighters. Six German surface raiders also, operated in Australian waters at different times between 1940 and 1943. These ships sank a small number of merchant ships and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney. The German submarine U-862 also carried out attacks in Australian waters in late 1944 and early 1945.
1942: The attacks on Australia, especially by the Japanese, caused many to believe that invasion by the Axis powers was imminent. The term, "Battle for Australia", was used in wartime propaganda campaigns, but whether there was a campaign aimed against Australia is debated by historians.
1942-3: Sparrow Force, the code name of a garrison which included Australian Special Forces, was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by the Empire of Japan.
1942: The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia.
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| Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 25 July 1939 |
1940: Australian pathologist, Sir Howard Florey, along with Ernst Boris Chain, isolated and purified penicillin.
1940: From mid-1940, ships of the Royal Australian Navy, at the request of the Admiralty, began to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to take part in the Battle of the Mediterranean against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
1941: 3 Divisions of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force join operations in the Mediterranean. After successes against Italy, defeats are suffered against the Germans in Greece, Crete, and North Africa.
1941: The Rats of Tobruk were soldiers of the Australian-led Allied garrison, who held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk in World War II. The propagandist for Germany, William Joyce, better known as "Lord Haw-Haw", began describing the besieged men as living like rats in underground dug-outs and caves. The Australians reclaimed the name as a badge of pride.
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| A group of ten Australian soldiers posing with a 'Rats of Tobruk' banner outside a building bearing the sign 'magezzeno' c1942. SLSA |
1941: The Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit was formed in 1941, composed mostly of Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory. The unit patrolled the coast of Arnhem Land during 1942–43 searching for signs of Japanese landings and was trained, to fight as guerrillas using traditional weapons in the event of an invasion.
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| Squadron Leader training the NTSRU. The Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit Was formed in 1941, Royal Australian Airforce Air Power Development Centre |
1942: Between February 1942 and November 1943, Australia was attacked at least 111 times by aircraft from the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. These attacks came in various forms; from large-scale raids by medium bombers, to torpedo attacks on ships, and to strafing runs by fighters. Six German surface raiders also, operated in Australian waters at different times between 1940 and 1943. These ships sank a small number of merchant ships and the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney. The German submarine U-862 also carried out attacks in Australian waters in late 1944 and early 1945.
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| An Australian gun camera photograph of two Japanese Mitsubishi G4M2 "Betty" medium bombers during a raid on Darwin in June 1943. |
1942-3: Sparrow Force, the code name of a garrison which included Australian Special Forces, was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by the Empire of Japan.
1942: The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4 to 8 May 1942, was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces of the United States and Australia.
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| HMAS Australia (center) and TG17.3 under air attack on 7 May 1942, Joint Australian-United States naval Task Group 17.3 under air torpedo attack by Imperial Japanese Navy land-based bombers during the Battle of the Coral Sea on 7 May 1942. A Japanese Mitsubishi G4M Type 1 bomber flies past the cruiser HMAS Australia (D84). |
1942: On 29 July 1942, the Japanese captured the village of Kokoda, Papua New Guinea, and its airfield. During the Battle of Kokoda Track, the Japanese came closer to Australia, than in any other campaign, as Australian forces battled, in the jungle, to hold back the advancing Japanese. Papua New Guinea's "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels" acted as bearers for the Australian and other Allied troops.
1942: The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September), fought on the remote, extreme eastern tip of Papua, was the Allies' first defeat of Japanese forces on land during the Second World War.1942: Three major battles occurred around El Alamein, Egypt (150 miles west of Cairo), between July and November 1942. The Australian 9th Division, led by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, played a crucial role in two of these battles, which were the turning point of the war in North Africa.
1942: The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September), fought on the remote, extreme eastern tip of Papua, was the Allies' first defeat of Japanese forces on land during the Second World War.1942: Three major battles occurred around El Alamein, Egypt (150 miles west of Cairo), between July and November 1942. The Australian 9th Division, led by Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, played a crucial role in two of these battles, which were the turning point of the war in North Africa.
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| British and Australian graves at El Alamein, Egypt - WW2, Australian section right hand corner. Kaye |
1942: Daylight saving was introduced during World War I in Australia, to save power. It was reintroduced during WWII for the same reason.
1942: The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, enabled the total legislative independence of the various self-governing Dominions of the British Empire, including Australia.
1943: Kokoda Front Line!, an Australian newsreel, was the first Australian film to win an Oscar, at 15th Academy Awards.
1943: In 1943, the Japanese Empire decided to build a railway, through mosquito-infested jungle, linking Thailand and Burma, using Australian prisoners of war (as well as British, Dutch and conscripted Asian labourers) as slave labour, with only hand tools. They endured immense suffering and hardship and the death of 2,815 Australian POWs.
1942: The Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, enabled the total legislative independence of the various self-governing Dominions of the British Empire, including Australia.
1943: Kokoda Front Line!, an Australian newsreel, was the first Australian film to win an Oscar, at 15th Academy Awards.
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| Three "fit" workers at Shimo Sonkurai No 1 Camp, standing outside the camp hospital. Identified, left to right, believed to be: NX4417 Bruce Pearce, NX47506 Oscar Jackson, and NX47513 Reuben Niles Pearce, all of the 2/30th Battalion. The prisoner at right is unable to fasten his shorts because his stomach is swollen with beri-beri. c 1943, AWM |
1944: On 5 August 1944, 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war tried to escape from a prisoner of war camp near Cowra, NSW. It was the largest prison escape of World War II and extremely violent.
1944: The Sandakan Death Marches were forced marches of Allied prisoners of war, held captive by the Empire of Japan, which took place in Borneo, from Sandakan to Ranau. The result was the death of 2,434 allied prisoners of war.
1944: Australian forces fight Japanese garrisons from Borneo to Bougainville.
1945: Between May and July 1945, Australian-led Allied forces liberated Borneo from Japanese occupation.
1945: On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims, France.
1945: Ben Chifley became Prime Minister 13 July 1945, following the death of John Curtin in office. Chifley served as the 16th Prime Minister of Australia and was in office from 1945 to 1949.
1945: The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively.
1945: On August 14th, 1945, the Japanese government accepted defeat. Australia becomes a founding member of the United Nations.
1945: On 31 August 1945 the Liberal Party of Australia was officially launched at Sydney Town Hall by Robert Menzies.
1945: The first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was held in December 1945.
1946: The first Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, promoted mass immigration with the slogan "populate or perish".
1946: Australian, Norman Makin, was the first President of the United Nations Security Council in 1946.
1948: Dr H. V. Evatt is elected President of the United Nations General Assembly.
1948: The first Australian-designed mass-production car was manufactured by Holden in 1948.
1948: Australia becomes a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
1948: The Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 made Australians, not just British subjects, but Australian citizens as well.
1948: The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) began in 1948, with free medicines for pensioners and a list of 139 "life-saving and disease preventing" medicines free of charge for others in the community.
1944: The Sandakan Death Marches were forced marches of Allied prisoners of war, held captive by the Empire of Japan, which took place in Borneo, from Sandakan to Ranau. The result was the death of 2,434 allied prisoners of war.
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| Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), Tuesday 2 October 194 |
1945: Between May and July 1945, Australian-led Allied forces liberated Borneo from Japanese occupation.
1945: On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims, France.
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| Forbes Advocate (NSW : 1911 - 1954), Tuesday 8 May 1945 |
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| Ben Chifley, Labour Prime Minister in 1945, National Archives of Australia |
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| Hiroshima, Japan, in the aftermath of the bombing, U.S. Navy Public Affairs Resources Website |
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| Dancing Man, Sydney, Australia, 15 August 1945 |
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| P.O.W Japanese prison camps, Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954), Thursday 27 September 1945 |
1946: The first Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, promoted mass immigration with the slogan "populate or perish".
1946: Australian, Norman Makin, was the first President of the United Nations Security Council in 1946.
1948: Dr H. V. Evatt is elected President of the United Nations General Assembly.
1948: The first Australian-designed mass-production car was manufactured by Holden in 1948.
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| Holden crosses at the] opening of the Hexham Bridge, Newcastle, 17 December 1952 / Sam Hood, State Library of New South Wales |
1948: The Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 made Australians, not just British subjects, but Australian citizens as well.
1948: The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) began in 1948, with free medicines for pensioners and a list of 139 "life-saving and disease preventing" medicines free of charge for others in the community.
Timeline: Outline Australian History. Part 1.
Timeline: Outline Australian History. Part 2.
Timeline: Outline Australian History. Part 4.