- 1908 in Australia
Infobox Australian year
year = 1908
monarch =Edward VII
governor-general =Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote , thenWilliam Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
pm =Alfred Deakin , thenAndrew Fisher
population = 4,190,692
australian =
elections =Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia"See also:"1907 in Australia , Other events of 1908,1909 in Australia ,Timeline of Australian history .Incumbents
*Monarch – King Edward VII
*Governor General – The Right Hon.Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote (until9 September ), then The Right Hon.William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
*Prime Minister –Alfred Deakin (until13 November ), thenAndrew Fisher tate premiers
*
Premier of New South Wales –Charles Wade
*Premier of South Australia –Thomas Price
*Premier of Queensland –Robert Philp (until18 February ), thenWilliam Kidston
*Premier of Tasmania – John Evans
*Premier of Western Australia –Newton Moore
*Premier of Victoria – (Sir)Thomas Bent tate governors
*
Governor of New South Wales – Admiral Sir Harry Rawson
*Governor of South Australia – Sir George Ruvthen Le Hunte
*Governor of Queensland – Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford
*Governor of Tasmania – Sir Gerald Strickland
*Governor of Western Australia – Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford
*Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Reginald Talbot (until6 July ), then Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael (fromJuly 27 )Events
*
March 10 – AustraliansDouglas Mawson andEdgeworth David accompanied byErnest Shackleton and others are the first people to scaleMount Erebus inAntarctica .
*March 30 - Commonwealth Quarantine service came into operation and took over quarantine stations in every state.
*April 20 – 44 are killed and 400 injured in theSunshine train disaster .
*May 7 – TheCoat of Arms of Australia are grantedRoyal Assent .
*August - Boys in Australia first participated in the scouting movement, within a year ofscouting starting in England [ [http://www.scoutsqld.com.au/index.cfm?MenuID=20 History of Scouting in Queensland] ]
*August 20 – TheGreat White Fleet , the first visit by theU.S. Navy to Australia, arrives in Sydney. [http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/timeline.asp?Submit2=Go&action=show&byDecade=1 Australia's Prime Ministers - Timeline 1901-1910] ,National Archives of Australia .]
*October 8 – The capital of Australia is chosen, settling a feud between rivalsMelbourne andSydney .
*November 13 – TheAustralian Labor Party withdraws its support for theminority government of Prime MinisterAlfred Deakin , forcing his replacement withAndrew Fisher .
*November 18 – The Victorian government passes the Adult Suffrage Bill 1908, grantingfemale suffrage for the first time. [http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/onthisday/decade.cfm?d=1900 On These Days - 1901-1910] ,Parliament of Victoria .]
*December 15 – The Invalid and Old Age Pensions Act is passed, which sets up a national agedpension scheme.
*December 29 – A general election is held in Victoria. The government of Sir Thomas Bent is returned to power.cience and Technology
*
January 1 – The CommonwealthBureau of Meteorology formally commences operation.
*February 3 - firsttrans-Tasman radio transmission (via HMS "Powerful" in Tasman Sea)Arts and Literature
*
May 16 – TheCommonwealth Literary Fund is established.
*Henry Handel Richardson 's first novel "Maurice Guest " is published
*"We of the Never Never " by Mrs Aeneas Gunn is published
* The poem "My Country " byDorothea Mackellar first publishedFilm
*
February 2 – TheLimelight Department of theSalvation Army films "Grand Memorial Service", a film of the funeral of Major Kenneth McLeod, the Director of the Bayswater Boys' Home. The funeral was held at theKew cemetery in Melbourne. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/limelight/docs/films/5_1_3_13.htm Grand Memorial Service, 1908] ,Australian Broadcasting Corporation .]port
*
January 31 – Victoria wins the 1907-08 Sheffield Shield.
*February 11 – Australia regainsThe Ashes with a 308 run victory over England.
*April 20 – The firstNew South Wales Rugby League premiership begins in Sydney.
*November 3 – "Lord Nolan" wins theMelbourne Cup .
*At the1908 Summer Olympics held in London, Australia formed a team with New Zealand and competed as Australasia. They won a gold medal for rugby football, a silver medal for middleweight boxing, and in swimming : a silver medal for men's 400 metre freestyle , bronze medal for men's 1500 metre freestyle - both won byFrank Beaurepaire Births
*
February 23 –William McMahon , 20thPrime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
*May 15 – Kevin Ellis, NSW politician (d. 1975)
*May 20 –Henry Bolte , Premier of Victoria (d. 1990)
*July 10 – John Armstrong, ALP senator (d. 1977)
*August 5 –Harold Holt ,Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
*August 26 –Alexandra Hasluck , author and social historian
*August 27 –Donald Bradman , Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
*November 3 –Eddie Scarf , Australian boxer and wrestler (d. 1980)Deaths
*
January 22 -Clara Seekamp , actress and newspaper editor (b. c. 1819)
*February 14 -David Syme , newspaper proprietor (b. 1827)
*February 29 –John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow , firstGovernor-General of Australia
*March 7 –Alfred William Howitt , anthropologist (b. 1830)
*May 11 –Charles Kingston , Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
*October 2 -John Gowing , retailer (cofounder ofGowings ) (b. 1835)
*October 20 –Vaiben Solomon , Premier of South Australia (b. 1853)
*November 14 –Ernest Favenc , explorer (b. 1845)
*November 18 –Pierce Galliard Smith , priest (b. 1826)References
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