Australian Events

Posted in 1927

  • The Duke and Duchess of York in an open carriage, MelbourneFederal Parliament moves from Melbourne to Canberra. On May 9 the first session of Commonwealth Parliament in Canberra is opened by HRH Prince Albert, the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George VI) accompanied by the Duchess.
  • Dame Nellie Melba greeted the official party by singing the national anthem on the steps of the provisional Parliament House (now known as Old Parliament House).
  • Kingsford Smith and Ulm complete a ten-day round Australia flight.
  • Federal Parliament, CanberraA cyclone and floods in Cairns claim 36 lives with 20 people missing in February, followed in April with a death toll of 19 from a cyclone that hits Sydney and the NSW coast.
  • Oodnadatta-Alice Springs railway is completed.
  • A member of the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association states:

Old Parliament House, 1953"The family life of Aboriginal people shall be held sacred and free from invasion and interference and ... the children shall be left in the control of their parents.
Fred Maynard, to the NSW Premier