The following lists events that happened during 1931 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

–

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

* Governor-General –

John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven John Lawrence Baird of Urie, 1st Viscount Stonehaven, 1st Baron Stonehaven, 2nd Baronet, 3rd of Ury, (27 April 1874 – 20 August 1941) was a British politician who served as the eighth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1925 to 193 ...

(until 21 January), then

Sir Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of A ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

–

James Scullin James Henry Scullin (18 September 1876 – 28 January 1953) was an Australian Labor Party politician and the ninth Prime Minister of Australia. Scullin led Labor to government at the 1929 Australian federal election. He was the first Cathol ...

* Chief Justice –

Isaac Isaacs Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs (6 August 1855 – 11 February 1948) was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge who served as the ninth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1931 to 1936. He had previously served on the High Court of Au ...

(until 21 January) then Frank Gavan Duffy

State Premiers

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatu ...

– Jack Lang *

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

– Arthur Edward Moore *

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

–

Lionel Hill Lionel Laughton Hill (14 May 1881 – 19 March 1963) was an Australian politician who served as the thirtieth Premier of South Australia, representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party. Early life Born in Adelaide, So ...

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

–

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American writer. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the four ...

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

– Edmond Hogan *

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

– James Mitchell

State Governors

* Governor of New South Wales –

Sir Philip Game Sir Philip Woolcott Game, (30 March 1876 – 4 February 1961) was a British Royal Air Force commander, who later served as Governor of New South Wales and Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (London). Born in Surrey in 1876, Game was educa ...

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

– Sir John Goodwin * Governor of South Australia – Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven *

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

– ''none appointed'' *

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and th ...

–

Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers Arthur Herbert Tennyson Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers, (20 March 1887 – 14 July 1944), was a British Army officer who was the 16th Governor of Victoria, from 1926 to 1931 and Administrator of Australia in 1930-31. He had a long involvement ...

(until 23 June) *

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutiona ...

– Sir William Campion (until 9 June)

Events

*7 January –

Guy Menzies Guy Lambton Menzies (20 August 19091 November 1940) was an Australian aviator who flew the first solo trans-Tasman flight, from Sydney, Australia to the West Coast of New Zealand, on 7 January 1931. Family The eldest of the five children ...

flies the first solo non-stop

trans-Tasman Trans-Tasman is an adjective used primarily to signify the relationship between Australia and New Zealand. The term refers to the Tasman Sea, which lies between the two countries. For example, ''trans-Tasman commerce'' refers to commerce betwee ...

flight (from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand's

west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

. *10 January – The Beef Riot takes place in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Seventeen people are injured when unemployed men clash with police while protesting the decision to remove

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

from the dole ration. *21 January –

becomes the first Australian-born Governor-General. *22 January – The

Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration was an Australian court that operated from 1904 to 1956 with jurisdiction to hear and arbitrate interstate industrial disputes, and to make awards. It also had the judicial functions of i ...

announces a 10% reduction in the

basic wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

, in addition to reductions made in accordance with the fall in the

cost of living Cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time can be operationalized in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a cer ...

index, effective from 1 February. *4 February –

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He began his career in the Australian Labor Party (ALP), ...

resigns from the federal cabinet of

, after Scullin re-appoints

Ted Theodore Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 – 9 February 1950) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the state Labor Party. He later entered federal politics, serving as Treasurer in ...

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

. *18 February – The

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...

HMAS ''Pioneer'' is scuttled off Sydney Heads. *4 March – Holden's Motor Body Builders is purchased by General Motors, and is renamed General Motors–Holden's Ltd. *10 March – The first Apex Club is formed in Geelong, Victoria. *21 March – The

Australian National Airways Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s. The Holyman's Airways period On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...

aircraft ''Southern Cloud'', carrying 8 persons, disappears on a flight between

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The wreckage is not located until 1958. *7 May –

forms the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four federal elections in that time, usually governing in coalition with the Country Party. It provided two prim ...

, through the amalgamation of ALP defectors,

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and anti-Labor citizens' groups. *9 May – A general election is held in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, which implements

compulsory voting Compulsory voting, also called mandatory voting, is the requirement in some countries that eligible citizens register and vote in elections. Penalties might be imposed on those who fail to do so without a valid reason. According to the CIA World ...

clauses of the Electoral Act for the first time. The Nationalist Party led by

defeats the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

, and substantially increasing its majority. *15 August – The two ends of the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

are joined in the middle. *25 November – The

Lang Labor Lang Labor was a faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) consisting of the supporters of Jack Lang, who served two terms as Premier of New South Wales and was the party's state leader from 1923 to 1939. Following the expulsion of the N ...

group led by Jack Lang vote with the Opposition on a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

against

's government, triggering an early election. *19 December – A federal election is held. The incumbent

led by

is defeated by former Labor MP

and the

Arts and literature

John Longstaff Sir John Campbell Longstaff (10 March 1861 – 1 October 1941) was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. His cousin Will Longstaff was also a painter and war artist. Longstaff was known ...

wins the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

with his portrait of Sir John Sulman

Sport

* 9 May -

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

set a record VFL score of 30.19 (199) against

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

. This record stands until 1969.

Doug Strang Francis Douglas Strang (12 July 1912 – 28 March 1954) was an Australian rules footballer who played as a full forward in the VFL between 1931 and 1935 for the Richmond Football Club. Family He married Ina Lillian McCullough, at Geelong o ...

, with fourteen goals, and

Jack Titus Jack "Skinny" Titus (9 March 1908 – 19 April 1978) was an Australian rules football player who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1926 and 1943 for the Richmond Football Club. In the golden era of the 1930s, Titus was one ...

, with eight, combine for 22 goals - a total equalled by Templeton and Dunstan in 1978 but never beaten * 12 September - South Sydney 12 defeat Eastern Suburbs 7 for their tenth

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

premiership * 10 October -

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

9.14 (68) beats Richmond 6.12 (48) for its second premiership * ''White Nose'' wins the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

* Victoria wins the

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield (currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Marsh Sheffield Shield) is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Sheffield Shi ...

Births

* 1 February – Roger Covell, musicologist (died 2019) * 24 February –

Barry Oakley Barry Kingham Oakley (born 24 February 1931)''Who's Who in Australia'' (2010) is an Australian writer.Luke Slattery"10 questions: Barry Oakley, author, 81"''The Australian'', 15 December 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2016.- Graeme Blundell"Wittily i ...

, writer * 25 February –

Eric Edgar Cooke Eric Edgar Cooke (25 February 1931 – 26 October 1964), nicknamed the Night Caller and later the Nedlands Monster, was an Australian serial killer who terrorised the city of Perth, Western Australia, from September 1958 to August 1963. Cooke c ...

, serial killer (died 1964) * 5 March – **

George Ogilvie George Buchan Ogilvie (5 March 1931 – 5 April 2020) was a prolific Australian theatre director and actor, who also worked as a director and actor within film and television. Life and career George Ogilvie began as an actor at the Canberra ...

, film and theatre director (died 2020) **

Barry Tuckwell Barry Emmanuel Tuckwell, (5 March 1931 – 16 January 2020) was an Australian French horn player who spent most of his professional life in the UK and the United States. He is generally considered to have been one of the world's leading horn p ...

, horn player and conductor (died 2020) * 11 March –

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...

, businessman * 20 March –

James Mollison James Mollison (20 March 1931 – 19 January 2020) was acting director of the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) from 1971 to 1977 and director from 1977 to 1989. He was director of the National Gallery of Victoria from 1989 to 1995. Ea ...

, art gallery director (died 2020) * 26 April – John Cain, Premier of Victoria (died 2019) * 30 May – Diana Fisher, journalist and television presenter (died 2023) * 2 June –

Peter Cummins Peter Cummins (born 2 June 1931 in Melbourne) is an Australian retired character actor of stage and screen and chorister who was especially prominent in the 1970s and appeared in some of the most famous Australian films of the period. He was pa ...

, actor * 14 June –

Ross Higgins Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of So ...

, actor (died 2016) * 27 June –

Geoffrey Harcourt Geoffrey Colin Harcourt (27 June 1931 – 7 December 2021) was an Australian academic economist and leading member of the post-Keynesian school. He studied at the University of Melbourne and then at King's College, Cambridge. Biography After ...

, academic economist (died 2021) * 4 July – Bill Gleeson, Australian rules footballer (died 1998) * 13 July – Arthur Hurst, Australian rules footballer (died 2014) * 19 July –

Alan Wrigley Alan Keveral Cumming Newton Wrigley (born 19 July 1931) is an Australian writer and commentator on topics related to intelligence, defence and security. Prior to his writing career, he was an engineer at the Government Aircraft Factories, a senio ...

, writer and commentator * 20 July – Phil Coles, canoeist and sports administrator (died 2023) * 15 September – Brian Henderson, broadcaster (died 2021) * 14 October – Mary Hardy, actress and comedian (died 1985) *19 October – Dick Fenton-Smith, Australian rules footballer (died 2021) * 21 November –

Malcolm Williamson Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, (21 November 19312 March 2003) was an Australian composer. He was the Master of the Queen's Music from 1975 until his death. Biography Williamson was born in Sydney in 1931; his father was an A ...

, composer (died 2003)

Deaths

* 17 February – Norman Cameron, Tasmanian politician (b. 1851) *

23 February Events Pre-1600 * 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. * 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...

–

Dame Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th centur ...

, opera singer (b. 1861) *

9 March Events Pre-1600 * 141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China. * 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg. *1226 &ndash ...

–

John Chanter John Moore Chanter (11 February 1845 – 9 March 1931) was an Australian politician, farmer and commission agent. He was a member of the Protectionist Party, as well as the Australian Labor Party and the Nationalist Party of Australia. Ear ...

, New South Wales politician (b. 1845) * 22 August –

Edward Dyson Edward George Dyson (4 March 1865 – 22 August 1931), or 'Ted' Dyson, was an Australian journalist, poet, playwright and short story writer. He was the elder brother of illustrators Will Dyson (1880–1938) and Ambrose Dyson (1876–1913), w ...

, poet and novelist (b. 1865) * 14 September –

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe ...

, artist (born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) (b. 1856) *

8 October Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Constantine I defeats Roman Emperor Licinius, who loses his European territories. * 451 – The first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins. * 876 – Frankish forces led by Louis the Younger preve ...

– Sir John Monash, general (b. 1865) * 28 October –

Paddy Glynn Patrick McMahon Glynn KC (25 August 1855 – 28 October 1931) was an Irish-Australian lawyer and politician. He served in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1919, and was a government minister under three prime ministers, as Attorney-Gen ...

, South Australian politician (born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) (b. 1855) * 20 December – James Stewart, Queensland politician (born in the

) (b. 1850)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1931 in Australia

Years of the 20th century in Australia