1902 in Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following lists events that happened during 1902 in Australia.
Population3,845,265
| 1902 in Australia | |
|---|---|
| Monarch | Edward VII |
| Governor-General | John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun |
| Prime minister | Edmund Barton |
| Population | 3,845,265 |
| Elections | South Australia, Victoria, Queensland |
In 1902 women were finally allowed to vote and stand in federal elections.
Incumbents
- Monarch â Edward VII
- Governor-General â John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun
- Prime Minister â Edmund Barton
State premiers
- Premier of New South Wales â John See
- Premier of South Australia â John Jenkins
- Premier of Queensland â Robert Philp
- Premier of Tasmania â Elliott Lewis
- Premier of Western Australia â George Leake (until 1 July), then Walter James
- Premier of Victoria â Alexander Peacock (until 10 June), then William Irvine
State governors
- Governor of New South Wales â Admiral Harry Rawson (from 27 May)
- Governor of South Australia â Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson (until 17 July)
- Governor of Queensland â Major General Sir Herbert Chermside (from 24 March)
- Governor of Tasmania â Captain Sir Arthur Havelock
- Governor of Western Australia â Sir Arthur Lawley (until 14 August)
- Governor of Victoria â Sir George Clarke
Events
- 7 February â The Waterside Workers Federation is formed.
- April â Averaged over Australia, the driest month on record with only 3.74 millimetres (0.15 in).[1] Over half the continent was absolutely rainless and less than 3 percent outside Tasmania had more than 10 millimetres (0.39 in).[2]
- 5 May â The Commonwealth Public Service Act creates Australia's Public Service.
- 31 May â The Second Boer War, in which Australia is involved, ends.
- 12 June â The Commonwealth Franchise Act granted most Australian women the right to vote and stand in federal elections.
- 31 July â A coal gas explosion kills 96 in the Mount Kembla mining disaster
- 1 August â New Idea magazine is first published.
- 3 November â Postmaster-General James Drake opens a submarine telegraph cable from Southport, Queensland to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, completing a British Empire communications line.
- 18 December â The mayors of Sydney and Melbourne are conferred the title of Lord Mayor
- 26 December â Brisbane is declared a city.
- 26 December â Ada Evans becomes the first female law graduate in Australia.
- As a culmination of the Federation Drought, this was by raw totals the driest calendar year averaged over Australia since 1890[3] with only 314.46 millimetres (12.38 in)[4] (though by area-averaged mean decile it was only eleventh driest).[5]
Unknown dates
- The world's first successful pyritic smelting takes place at Mount Lyell, Tasmania
Arts and literature
- 17 September â Opera singer Nellie Melba arrives in Brisbane for her first Australian tour after 16 years in Europe.
- James White wins the Wynne Prize with his bronze sculpture In Defence of the Flat
Sport
- 27 September â Collingwood wins the 1902 VFL grand final, defeating Essendon 9.6 (60) to 3.9 (27) at the first final to be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before a record crowd of 35,000.
- 11 November â The Victory wins the Melbourne Cup
- New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
Births
- 15 January â Dan Dempsey, rugby league footballer (d. 1960)
- 25 February â Vince Gair, politician (d. 1980)
- 2 May â Alan Marshall, writer (d. 1984)
- 22 May â Leslie Herron, Chief Justice of NSW (d. 1973)
- 12 July â Vic Armbruster, rugby league footballer (d. 1984)
- 17 July â Christina Stead, writer (d. 1983)
- 28 July â Albert Namatjira, painter (d. 1959)
Deaths
- 27 February â Breaker Morant, convicted military officer, bush poet and drover (born in the United Kingdom and died in South Africa) (b. 1864)
- 6 March â Frederick William Piesse, Tasmanian politician (b. 1848)
- 24 June â George Leake, 3rd Premier of Western Australia (b. 1856)
See also
- 1902
- 1900â1909
