Significant Events in the 1930''s By laidlawj Nov 4, 1930 Phar lap wins the Melbourne Cup Dec 19, 1930 Phone line links Perth with the rest of the country Jan 22, 1931 Phone line links Perth with the rest of the country Dec 22, 1931 United Australia Party wins federal election. Joseph Lyons becomes Prime Minister Feb 5, 1932 Nine people die in Gippsland bushfires Mar 19, 1932 Habour Bridge Openes Apr 4, 1932 Phar Lap dies after being poisoned Jun 11, 1932 Lang Labor Government dismissed by NSW Governor Jun 18, 1932 Australian swimmer Claire Dennis wins gold in Olympic 200 metres breastroke in world record time 3 mins 6.3 secs Jul 1, 1932 Inaurguration of the ABC by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons Jun 10, 1933 Australian Women's Weekly launched by RC Packer and son Frank Oct 13, 1933 First traffic lights installed in Sydney Jan 11, 1934 Federal Government tells NT police to stop chaining Aboriginal prisoners Mar 13, 1934 75 feared dead after cyclone strikes near Cape Tribulation Nov 19, 1934 Victoria celebrates centenary Feb 26, 1935 Qantas Empire Airways plane leaves for Siingapore on first scheduled international flight Mar 29, 1935 At least 140 drown after a cyclone batters the pearling fleet Dec 31, 1935 Chef Bert Sachse creates the pavlova dessert in honour of ballerina Anna Pavlova Dec 31, 1935 The giant cane toad, Bufo marinus, is introduced into Queensland to control the grey-back beetle which attacks sugar cane Feb 24, 1936 Special Labor Party conference re-elects former NSW Premier Jack Lang to the party after a 5-year expulsion Mar 25, 1936 Submarine telephone cable between Tasmania and the mainland begins operation Sep 7, 1936 Last Tasmanian Tiger (thylacine) dies in Hobart Zoo Nov 21, 1936 Opening of the Hume Dam, the biggest water storage system in the southern hemisphere Feb 15, 1937 Massive explosion in state coal mine kills 13, the worst mining disaster in Victorian history Apr 2, 1937 17 Aborigines travel 650 miles on foot to see the Darwin Picture Theatre. It is their first encounter with white society Apr 20, 1937 First regular airmail service between Australia and America begins Jan 26, 1938 Australia celebrates 150 years of settlemen Feb 6, 1938 Freak 35 ft high wave at Bondi Beach kills 5 people. 200 bathers saved by lifesavers Feb 14, 1938 19 drown in Sydney Harbour after overcrowded launch Rodney capsizes Mar 8, 1938 Assisted immigration from Britain reintroduced Oct 25, 1938 18 people die after Australia's worst air disaster when an ANA Douglas DC2 crashes in the Dandenong Ranges due to severe fog Dec 21, 1938 Direct radio-telephone link established between Canberra and Washington Jan 16, 1939 Black Friday bushfires rage from South Australian border to Gippsland and NSW. 71 people die Apr 7, 1939 Under pressure from Robert Menzies' government, waterside workers agree to load pig iron for Japan Apr 26, 1939 Robert Gordon Menzies becomes Prime Minister Sep 3, 1939 Australia follows Britain and declares war on Germany Sep 15, 1939 Canberra: Prime Minister Menzies announces a new War Cabinet
