1933 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1933 in Australia.

Incumbents

• Monarch – George V
• Governor-General – Sir Isaac Isaacs
• Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons
• Chief Justice – Frank Gavan Duffy

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Bertram Stevens
• Premier of Queensland – William Forgan Smith
• Premier of South Australia – Lionel Hill (until 13 February), then Robert Richards (until 18 April), then Richard L. Butler
• Premier of Tasmania – John McPhee
• Premier of Victoria – Sir Stanley Argyle
• Premier of Western Australia – James Mitchell (until 24 April), then Philip Collier

State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Philip Game
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark (from 4 August)
• Governor of Victoria – none appointed
• Governor of Western Australia – none appointed

Events

• 8 April – A referendum is held in Western Australia, which is carried 2 to 1 in favour of secession from the Commonwealth of Australia.
• 26 April – The seaplane carrier, , is paid off into reserve.
• 10 June – The Australian Women's Weekly is first published.
• 13 June – The Australian Antarctic Territory is established.
• 30 June - The third national Australian Census is taken, recording the population at 6,630,600.
• 28 August – The Brisbane newspaper, The Courier-Mail, is first published.
• 5 September – Australia signs a trade agreement with New Zealand.
• 6 September – Windscreen wipers become compulsory on all Australian cars.
• 13 October – The first traffic lights in Sydney become operational at the intersection of Kent and Market Streets.

Arts and literature

• Charles Wheeler wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Ambrose Pratt
• Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian, the first Blinky Bill book is published by children's author Dorothy Wall

Film

• Errol Flynn makes his first film appearance, In the Wake of the Bounty, directed by Charles Chauvel

Sport

• 9 September – The 1933 NSWRFL season culminates in Newtown's 18–5 victory against St. George in the premiership final. Western Suburbs finish in last place, claiming the "wooden spoon".
• Hall Mark wins the Melbourne Cup
• New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
• England defeats Australia 4–1 in The Ashes series

Births

• 2 January – Ed Casey (died 2006), banker and politician
• 19 January – Leslie Dayman (died 2023), actor
• 23 January – Bill Hayden (died 2023), Governor-General of Australia (1989–1996)
• 29 January – Rosemary Adey, softball player (died 2013)
• 12 February – Brian Carlson (died 1987), rugby league footballer
• 22 February – Faith Thomas (died 2023), cricketer and hockey player
• 20 March – Ian Walsh (died 2013), rugby league footballer and coach
• 15 April – David Martin (died 1990), Governor of New South Wales (1989–1990)
• 27 May – Michael Crouch (died 2018), investor, water boiler manufacturer
• 13 July – Kel O'Shea (died 2015), rugby league footballer
• 25 July – Owen Abrahams (died 2006), Australian rules footballer
• 27 July – Ted Whitten (died 1995), Australian rules footballer
• 19 August – Patricia Kailis (died 2020), businesswoman, neurologist and geneticist
• 30 August – Keith Payne, soldier
• 14 September – Zoe Caldwell (died 2020), actress
• 15 September – Monica Maughan (died 2010), actress
• 3 October – Neale Fraser (died 2024), tennis player
• 6 October – Diane Cilento (died 2011), actress
• 11 October – Gary O'Callaghan (died 2017), radio personality
• 19 October – Brian Booth (died 2023), cricketer
• 29 October – John Andrews (died 2022), architect
• 1 December – James Wolfensohn (died 2020), President of the World Bank
• 5 December – Harry Holgate (died 1997), Premier of Tasmania (1991–1992)
• 19 December – Kevan Gosper (died 2024), athlete, sports administrator and businessman
• 20 December – Ted Mack (died 2018), politician
• 26 December – Ugly Dave Gray, television personality

Deaths

• 7 January – Bert Hinkler, aviation pioneer (died in Italy) (b. 1892)
• 9 January – Daphne Akhurst, tennis player (b. 1903)
• 10 January – Richard Buzacott, Western Australian politician (b. 1867)
• 17 January – John Hodges, cricketer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1855)
• 5 February – Josiah Thomas, New South Wales politician (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1863)
• 16 February – Archie Jackson, cricketer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1909)
• 21 March – James Edmond, journalist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1859)
• 15 April – Alfred Stephens, writer and literary critic (b. 1865)
• 20 April – Sir William Rooke Creswell, 1st Naval Officer Commanding the Commonwealth Naval Forces (born in Gibraltar) (b. 1852)
• 30 April – Robert Hamilton Russell, surgeon (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1860)
• 4 June – Herbert Basedow, South Australian politician, anthropologist, geologist and explorer (b. 1881)
• 22 June – Harold Desbrowe-Annear, architect (b. 1865)
• 20 July – William Lowrie, agricultural educationist (b. 1857)
• 26 July – Sir Joseph Verco, physician and conchologist (b. 1851)
• 10 August – Alf Morgans, 4th Premier of Western Australia (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1850)
• 7 October – Sir Alexander Peacock, 20th Premier of Victoria (b. 1861)
• 15 November – Affie Jarvis, cricketer (b. 1860)
• 19 November – Hugo Throssell, soldier and Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1884)

See also

• List of Australian films of the 1930s

References