1918 in Australia explained
1918 in Australia was dominated by national participation in World War I. The Australian Corps, formed at the beginning of the year from the five divisions of the First Australian Imperial Force, played a significant role in the Allied victory.
Incumbents
State premiers
State governors
Events
- 8 January – Billy Hughes resigns as Prime Minister of Australia as promised following the defeat of the 1917 plebiscite on conscription. He is immediately sworn in again by the Governor-General as there are no alternative candidates.
- 21 January – Thirty people are killed when the Mackay cyclone strikes the town of Mackay in Queensland.
- 2 February – The Brighton tornado, the strongest storms ever recorded in Melbourne, strike the suburb of Brighton, killing two people.
- 10 March – The 1918 Innisfail cyclone made landfall in the area around Innisfail
- 21 March – John Bowser resigns as Premier of Victoria after his railway estimates bill is defeated in parliament. Harry Lawson forms a composite ministry of Liberal factions, including Bowser as Chief Secretary and Minister for Public Health.
- 3 August – Australia House, Australia's high commission to the United Kingdom, opens in London.
- 22 September – The Prime Minister Billy Hughes makes the first direct radio telephone call between England and Australia, calling Sydney from London.
- 6 October – Australia's first electric train service begins, between Newmarket and Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
- 26 October – A by-election is held in the Division of Swan following the death of the sitting member, Sir John Forrest. The youngest ever MP, Edwin Corboy, is elected to parliament.
- 17 December – The Darwin Rebellion takes place, with 1,000 demonstrators demanding the resignation of the Administrator of the Northern Territory, John A. Gilruth.
World War I events
Arts and literature
See main article: 1918 in Australian literature.
Sport
Births
- 16 January – Clem Jones, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (died 2007)
- 26 January – Amy Witting, novelist (died 2001)
- 8 February – Charles Birch, geneticist (died 2009)
- 5 March – John Billings, doctor who developed the Billings Method (died 2007)
- 14 March – John McCallum, actor (died 2010)[1] [2]
- 18 March – David Zeidler, chemist and industrialist (died 1998)
- 19 March – Jim Brown, NSW politician (died 1999)
- 11 April – Francis Hassett, Australian Army general (died 2008)
- 18 April – Harry Firth, racing driver (died 2014)
- 21 April – Francis James, publisher (died 1992)
- 5 July – Brian James, actor (died 2009)
- 16 July – Jim Vickers-Willis, Australian journalist (died 2008)
- 26 July – Richard Arthur Blackburn, Chief Justice of the ACT (died 1987)
- 24 August – Sandy Pearson, soldier (died 2012)
- 4 September – John Carrick, politician (died 2018)
- 5 September
- 13 September – Eric McClintock, businessman and public servant (died 2018)
- 14 October – Thelma Coyne Long, tennis player (died 2015)
- 14 October – Doug Ring, cricketer (died 2003)
- 13 December – Jack Emanuel, George Cross recipient (died 1971)
- 15 December – Pauline Neura Reilly, ornithologist (died 2011)
Deaths
See also
Notes and References
- Obituary, The Times, London, 15 February 2010.
- Obituary, The Independent, London, 3 April 2010.