The following lists events that happened during 1917 in Australia.
1917 in Australia | |
---|---|
Monarch | George V |
Governor-General | Ronald Munro-Ferguson |
Prime minister | Billy Hughes |
Population | 4,940,815 |
Elections | Federal, New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria |
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Transcription
Pango quick studies Australia and World War I in the nineteenth century Europe was made up of empires competing for status by building impressive armies and colonising the rest of the world. Amongst these empires, two main alliances were maintained. On one side, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany and Italy and on the other, Britain, France and Russia Since the alliances were more or less even in strength, for a while no country would risk conflict with another. It was a time of prosperity but there was enough tension that a single event could trigger the beginning of a war. That event was the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His assassination in Sarajevo by Yugoslav nationalists caused a diplomatic crisis, which led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. Within weeks thanks to the alliances formed a decade earlier, Europe was at full scale war. The Great War saw the increase of military technology and tactics. For the first time ever, battles were fought in the air and under the sea. Many weapons of modern warfare were introduced at this time - from tanks to machine guns - and World War One quickly became one of the deadliest walls in history. On the other side of the world Australia, as part of the British Empire, was obliged to get involved. Men rushed to enlist in the armed forces, including many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, as pro-wall sentiment swept through the young country. By the end of 1914, 50,000 men had enlisted; driven by loyalty to Britain and a perception that war was glorious and exciting. The Anzac soldiers swiftly found this wasn't the case upon landing Gallipoli, Turkey. On the 25th April 1915, the Anzacs found themselves ashore at a narrow beach, facing steep cliffs. A great deal of confusion upon landing allowed Turkish forces, who had the advantageous high ground, to halt the poorly organised attack. More than 600 Australian soldiers were killed on that first day, and it has since become a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand. Overall, Australia lost 65 percent of the troops it sent to the war, the highest of any Commonwealth nation. By 1915, Australian enthusiasm for the war effort plummeted and volunteering declined. Twice the Australian people voted 'no' in a referendum for a military conscription, arguing that for a small population the country had done more than its fair share to support Britain in a war half a world away. Post-war, Australia's involvement in the Gallipoli campaign became the stuff of legend. Often referred to as the birth of the nation, it came to be a significant factor in the still emerging Australian identity. The ANZAX qualities of courage mateship and sacrifice have become highly valued in the Australian culture and continue to define what it means to have the 'Aussie spirit'. The anniversary of the ANZACs landing on Gallipoli, is today a solemn remembrance of the Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations
Incumbents
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- Monarch – George V
- Governor-General – The Right Hon. Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson
- Prime Minister – Billy Hughes
- Chief Justice – Samuel Griffith
State premiers
- Premier of New South Wales – William Holman
- Premier of South Australia – Crawford Vaughan (until 14 July), then Archibald Peake
- Premier of Queensland – T. J. Ryan
- Premier of Tasmania – Walter Lee
- Premier of Western Australia – Frank Wilson (until 28 June), then Henry Lefroy
- Premier of Victoria – Sir Alexander Peacock (until 29 November), then John Bowser
State governors
- Governor of New South Wales – Sir Gerald Strickland (until 28 October)
- Governor of South Australia – Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Galway
- Governor of Queensland – Major Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams
- Governor of Tasmania – Sir William Ellison-Macartney (until 31 March), then Sir Francis Newdegate (from 6 July)
- Governor of Western Australia – Major General Sir Harry Barron (until 27 February), then Sir William Ellison-Macartney (from 9 April)
- Governor of Victoria – Sir Arthur Stanley
Events
- 20 March – Lieutenant Frank Hubert McNamara becomes the first Australian airman to receive the Victoria Cross.
- 5 May – A federal election is held. The incumbent Nationalist government led by Billy Hughes is returned to power.
- 5 May – Queenslanders reject a referendum to abolish the state's Legislative Council.[1]
- 2 August – The General Strike of 1917 begins, a massive industrial action involving over 100,000 workers in support of railway workers in Sydney.
- 17 October – The two-halves of the Trans-Australian Railway meet.
- 15 November – A general election is held in Victoria. The Commonwealth Liberal Party led by John Bowser defeats the incumbent Labour government led by Sir Alexander Peacock.
- 29 November – The "Egg Throwing Incident" takes place in the town of Warwick, Queensland. A man throws an egg at Prime Minister Billy Hughes, and the refusal of Queensland Police Service to arrest him leads to the forming of the Commonwealth Police Force.[2]
- 12 December – The Royal Australian Navy battlecruiser HMAS Australia is damaged in a collision with the British cruiser HMS Repulse.
- 20 December – The second plebiscite on the issue of military conscription was held; it was defeated.
- Daniel Mannix becomes a Catholic archbishop of Melbourne. He publicly supports Sinn Féin.
Arts and literature
- Foundation of Australian Entertainment Industry Association (AEIA), the peak body for Australia's live entertainment and performing arts industry.
Film
- 19 March – Our Friends, the Hayseeds released in Sydney. The film made by Beaumont Smith was Australia's first substantial film comedy.
Sport
- The Melbourne Cup is won by Westcourt
- The 1917 NSWRFL Premiership is won for the third year in a row by Balmain.
- The Sheffield Shield is not contested due to the war
Births
- 17 February – Harry Gibbs, Chief Justice of the High Court (died 2005)
- 11 March – Nancy Cato, writer (died 2000)
- 14 March – John McCallum, actor (died 2010)
- 21 March – Frank Hardy, novelist (Power Without Glory) (died 1994)
- 25 March – Barbara Jefferis, author (died 2004)
- 22 April – Sidney Nolan, artist (died 1992)
- 30 April – Mervyn Wood, Olympic rower (died 2006)
- 3 May – James Penberthy, composer (died 1999)
- 7 May – Lenox Hewitt, public servant (died 2020)
- 15 May – Ron Saggers, cricketer (died 1987)
- 25 May – James Plimsoll, Governor of Tasmania from 1982–1987 (died 1987)
- 2 June – Peggy Antonio, female Test cricketer (died 2002)
- 14 July – Pat Moran, statistician (died 1988)
- 17 July – Jack Beale, politician and first Environment Minister (died 2006)
- 19 August – Laurie Aarons, leader of the Australian Communist Party (died 2005)
- 20 August – Dudley Erwin, politician (died 1984)
- 7 September – John Cornforth, Australian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)
- 12 September – Charles Jones, politician (died 2003)
- 19 September – Paterson Clarence Hughes, RAF pilot (killed in action 1940)
- 30 September – Kim Beazley Sr., Federal politician (died 2007)
- 2 October – Phil Ridings, cricketer (died 1998)
- 5 October – Kenneth Jacobs, Chief Justice of the High Court (died 2015)
- 17 October – Sumner Locke Elliott, novelist (died 1991)
- 20 October – D'Arcy Niland, novelist (died 1967)
- 21 November – Tom Reynolds, VFL footballer (Essendon and St Kilda) (died 2002)
- 22 November – Jon Cleary, novelist (died 2010)
- 8 December – Ian Johnson, cricketer (died 1998)
- 12 December – Xavier Connor, jurist (died 2005)
- 25 December – Tim Walker, NSW politician (died 1986)
- 31 December – Pat Hills, NSW politician (died 1992)
Deaths
- 31 March – Joseph Cullen, New South Wales and Western Australian politician (b. 1849)
- 5 April – E. H. Coombe, South Australian politician and newspaper editor (b. 1858)
- 6 May – Thomas Carr, Catholic archbishop (born in Ireland) (b. 1839)
- 24 May – Les Darcy, boxer (died in the United States) (b. 1895)
- 15 August – John Haynes, New South Wales politician and journalist (b. 1850)
- 26 August – William Lane, journalist and labour movement pioneer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1861)
- 15 September – Carty Salmon, Victorian politician (b. 1860)
- 17 September – Edward Petherick, book collector and bibliographer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1847)
- 31 October – Tibby Cotter, cricketer and soldier (died in the Ottoman Empire) (b. 1883)
- 9 November – Harry Trott, cricketer (b. 1866)
- 20 December – Frederick McCubbin, artist (b. 1855)
See also
References
- ^ Abolition of the Upper House Archived 31 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Parliament of Queensland, 27 March 2001.
- ^ The Warwick incident, Queensland 1917 Archived 19 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Queensland State Archives.
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