The following lists events that happened during 1937 in Australia.
Incumbents
Monarch – George VI Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons Chief Justice – Sir John Latham
State Premiers Premier of New South Wales – Bertram Stevens Premier of Queensland – William Forgan Smith Premier of South Australia – Richard L. Butler Premier of Tasmania – Albert Ogilvie Premier of Victoria – Albert Dunstan Premier of Western Australia – John Willcock
State Governors Governor of New South Wales – John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst (from 8 April) Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson Governor of South Australia – Sir Winston Dugan Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark Governor of Victoria – William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield Governor of Western Australia – none appointed
Events 9 February – Cairns is hit by a tropical cyclone. 15 February – An explosion kills 13 men at the State Coal Mine in Wonthaggi, Victoria. 20 February – A general election is held in Tasmania. The incumbent Labor government led by Albert Ogilvie is returned to power. 1 March – Bernard O'Reilly locates the wreckage of an Airlines of Australia Stinson airliner, VH-UHH City of Brisbane, in the McPherson Range in southern Queensland. Two survivors are rescued, five others did not survive. 20 April – Regular airmail services begin between Australia and the USA. 21-23 April - The first conference of Commonwealth and State Aboriginal authorities is held in Canberra. The conference sees several resolutions pass with the aim of assimilating Australian Aboriginals (excluding those deemed full-blooded) in white culture. 23 October – The ACTU calls on the government to boycott trade with Japan, following the Japanese invasion of China.
Arts and literature
24 June – The Commonwealth Literature Censorship Board replaces the Book Censorship Advisory Committee, and temporarily lifts the ban on Ulysses by James Joyce. Sunbaker by photographer Max Dupain
Sport 3 March – Captained by Don Bradman, Australia defeats England in the Fifth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, retaining The Ashes. 25 September – Geelong become premiers of the 1937 VFL season, defeating Collingwood 18.14 (122) to 12.18 (90). 19 November – Hubert Opperman completes an epic bicycle ride from Fremantle, Western Australia to Sydney, taking 13 days, 10 hours and 11 minutes. Eastern Suburbs win the premiership in a shortened 1937 NSWRFL season. University finish in last place for the fourth year in a row, and voluntarily withdraw from the premiership at the end of the season.
Births 16 January – Lorraine Bayly, actor (died 2026) 19 January – John Lions, computer scientist and academic (died 1998) 21 January Peter Gallagher, rugby league footballer (died 2003) Michael Beahan, Labor Senator for Western Australia (died 2022) 25 January – John Watson, Liberal Senator for Tasmania (died 2025) 4 February – John Devitt, Olympic swimmer (died 2023) 7 February – Daryl Jackson, architect (died 2026) 19 February Lee Harding, science fiction writer (died 2023) Colin Ridgway, NFL American footballer (died 1993) 20 February – Robert Evans, minister and amateur astronomer (died 2022) 21 February – Ron Clarke, Olympic athlete (died 2015) 3 March – Kevin O'Halloran, Olympic swimmer (died 1976) 7 April – Louise Faulkner, missing woman 13 April – Col Joye, entertainer (died 2025) 19 April – Lindsay Fox, businessman 27 May – Peter Pinne, writer and composer 1 June – Colleen McCullough, novelist (died 2015) 11 June – Robin Warren, Nobel Prize-winning pathologist (died 2024) 7 July Jocelyn Newman, politician (died 2018) 26 July Alan Cadman, politician Guy Green, Governor of Tasmania (1995–2003) (died 2025) 28 August – Tony Marchant, Olympic track cyclist 1 September – Ian Callinan, High Court judge 4 September – Dawn Fraser, Olympic swimmer 17 September – Gary Chapman, Olympic swimmer (died 1978) 18 September – Barry Muir, rugby league footballer (died 2022) 3 October – John Hodges, Minister for Immigration (1982–1983) (died 2024) 7 October – Colin Guest, cricketer (died 2018) 10 October – Bruce Devlin, golfer 21 November – John Kerin, politician (died 2023) 12 December Michael Jeffery, Governor-General of Australia (died 2020) Judy Tegart, tennis player 17 December – Kerry Packer, businessman (died 2005)
Deaths
11 February – Walter Burley Griffin, architect of Canberra (born in the United States and died in India) (b. 1876) 18 March – Walter Wilson Froggatt, geologist and economic entomologist (b. 1858) 7 May – Christina Jane Corrie, Queensland politician and suffragette (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1867) 9 June – Charles Chewings, geologist and anthropologist (b. 1859) 10 July – Thomas Brentnall, accountant and musician (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1846) 22 July – Ted McDonald, cricketer and Australian rules footballer (Essendon, Fitzroy) (died in the United Kingdom) (b. 1891) 28 July – Sir George Hyde, 7th Naval Member and Chief of the Australian Naval Staff (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1877) 14 August – Bruce Smith, New South Wales politician (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1851) 28 August – George Prendergast, 28th Premier of Victoria (b. 1854) 28 September – William Ramsay Smith, physician and anthropologist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1859) 2 October – Sir Granville Ryrie, New South Wales politician, diplomat and soldier (b. 1865) 8 October – Dame Eadith Walker, philanthropist and heiress (b. 1861) 4 November – Alfred Walter Campbell, neurologist (b. 1868) 6 November – William Moore, art and drama critic (b. 1868) 17 November – Jack Worrall, cricketer and Australian rules footballer (Fitzroy) (b. 1861) 19 November – Rayner Hoff, sculptor (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1894) 27 November – Walter Howchin, geologist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1845) 11 December – Godfrey Irving, 8th Chief of the General Staff (b. 1867) 16 December – Sir Murray Bourchier, 5th Deputy Premier of Victoria and soldier (died in the United Kingdom) (b. 1881)
See also List of Australian films of the 1930s
References