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