The following lists events that happened during 1938 in Australia. Incumbents Monarch – George VI Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons Chief Justice – Sir John Latham State Premiers Premier of New South Wales – Bertram Stevens Premier of Queensland – William Forgan Smith Premier of South Australia – Richard L. Butler (until 5 November), then Thomas Playford IV Premier of Tasmania – Albert Ogilvie Premier of Victoria – Albert Dunstan Premier of Western Australia – John Willcock State Governors Governor of New South Wales – John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson Governor of South Australia – Sir Winston Dugan Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark Governor of Victoria – William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield Governor of Western Australia – none appointed Events 26 January – Australia officially celebrates its sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of European settlement. Unofficially, it is a Day of Mourning for Indigenous Australians. 6 February – Three hundred beachgoers are dragged out to sea when three freak waves strike Bondi Beach in Sydney in an event known as "Black Sunday". A team of eighty surf lifesavers manage to rescue all but five people. 13 February – Nineteen people die when Sydney ferry the Rodney, carrying 150 passengers, capsizes in Sydney Harbour while farewelling US Navy cruiser . 1 April – New monthly newspaper Abo Call begins publication in Sydney, focusing on issues of Aboriginal rights and edited by activist Jack Patten. 11 May – Two jockeys are killed and two are injured in a horse racing accident at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, South Australia. 25 October – Eighteen people die in Australia's worst air disaster when the Douglas DC-2 Kyeema crashes in the Dandenong Ranges in thick fog. 15 November – Waterside workers at Port Kembla, New South Wales refuse to load a consignment of scrap iron destined for Japan, arguing that it would be used for munitions. Attorney-General Robert Menzies attempts to force the loading of the cargo, earning himself the nickname "Pig Iron Bob". 21 December – A direct radio-telephone link is established between Canberra and Washington D.C. 28 December – The Sydney Mail ceases publication. Arts and literature 31 March – Xavier Herbert wins the Commonwealth 150th anniversary literary award for his novel Capricornia. 30 December – The Passing of the Aborigines by Daisy Bates is published. Sport 5