1927 in Australia

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See also: 1926 in Australia, other events of 1927, 1928 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch – King George V
• Governor-General – John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven
• Prime Minister – Stanley Bruce

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Jack Lang (until 18 October) then Thomas Bavin
• Premier of Queensland – William McCormack
• Premier of South Australia – Lionel Hill (until 8 April) then Richard Layton Butler
• Premier of Tasmania – Joseph Lyons
• Premier of Victoria – John Allan (until 20 May) then Edmond Hogan
• Premier of Western Australia – Philip Collier

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Dudley de Chair
• Governor of Queensland – Sir John Goodwin (from 13 July)
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Tom Bridges (until 4 December)
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir James O'Grady
• Governor of Victoria – Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir William Campion

Events

Parliament House Opening, 1927

• 1 February – The North Australia Act of 1926 is enforced and the territory of Central Australia is created.
• 8 February – A cyclone makes landfall north of Cairns, causing flooding at Halifax Bay, Ingham, Innisfail, Tully, Cardwell and Townsville. Thirty-six people are killed, and twenty are missing.
• 9 April – A general election is held in Victoria.
• 3 May – The Australasian Council of Trade Unions is formed at the All-Australian Trade Union Congress in Melbourne.
• 9 May – Parliament House in Canberra is officially opened by the Duke of York.
• 20 May – Following a swing to the ALP in the Victorian election, Edmond Hogan forms a minority Labor government with Progressive support, and takes over as Premier of Victoria from John Allan.
• 29 June – Charles Kingsford Smith and his copilot Charles Ulm complete a round-Australia flight in ten days, five-and-a-half hours.
• 27 October – Melbourne gangster Squizzy Taylor is killed in a shootout with Sydney gangsters (including Snowy Cutmore, who also dies) in Carlton.
• 3 November – The Sydney ferry Greycliffe is cut in half by the liner Tahiti, killing 40 persons.

Science and technology

• Professor Thomas Parnell begins the pitch drop experiment at the University of Queensland. It will go on to become the world's longest continuously-running scientific experiment.

Arts and literature

• George Washington Lambert wins the Archibald Prize

Film

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Sport

• 27 August – Ronald McMurdo wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 3:06:23 in Sydney. The race was not considered an official Australian championship by the national athletics federation.
• 24 September – Collingwood become premiers of the 1927 VFL season, defeating Richmond 2.13 (25) to 1.7 (13) in the 1927 grand final.
• 1 November – Trivalve wins the Melbourne Cup.
• South Australia wins the Sheffield Shield

Births

• 20 January – Dawn Lake, entertainer (died 2006)
• 21 January – Clive Churchill, rugby league player (died 1985)
• 20 March – Wally Grout, cricket player (died 1968)
• 1 April – Peter Cundall, horticulturist and television presenter
• 6 June – Alan Seymour, playwright
• 13 June – David Kirkpatrick (Slim Dusty), country and western singer (died 2003)
• 13 July – Ian Reed, discus thrower
• 14 August – Sid Patterson, cyclist (died 1999)
• 29 October – Frank Sedgman, tennis player
• 14 November – Bart Cummings, Australia's Best Racehorse Trainer (12 Melbourne Cups at the time of writing)
• 28 December – Ron Casey, Australian rules football administrator and media personality (died 2000)

Deaths

• 15 March – Hector Rason, Premier of Western Australia (born 1858)
• 26 October – Squizzy Taylor, gangster (born 1888)
• 13 December – Stephen Henry Parker, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (born 1846)