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See also: 1937 in Australia, other events of 1938, 1939 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch – King George VI
• Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie
• Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons

State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Bertram Stevens
• Premier of Queensland – William Forgan Smith
• Premier of South Australia – Richard L. Butler (until November 5), 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

• January 26 – Australia officially celebrates its sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of European settlement. Unofficially, it is a Day of Mourning for Indigenous Australians.
• February 6 – 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.
• February 13 – Nineteen people die when Sydney ferry the Rodney, carrying 150 passengers, capsizes in Sydney Harbour while farewelling US Navy cruiser USS Louisville.
• April 1 – New monthly newspaper Abo Call begins publication in Sydney, focusing on issues of Aboriginal rights and edited by activist Jack Patten.
• May 11 – Two jockeys are killed and two are injured in a horse racing accident at Morphetville Racecourse in Adelaide, South Australia.
• October 25 – Eighteen people die in Australia's worst air disaster, when an Australian National Airways Douglas DC-2 crashes in the Dandenong Ranges in heavy fog.
• November 15 – 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".
• December 21 – A direct radio-telephone link is established between Canberra and Washington D.C.
• December 28 – The Sydney Mail ceases publication.

Arts and literature

• March 31 – Xavier Herbert wins the Commonwealth 150th anniversary literary award for his novel Capricornia.
• December 30 – The Passing of the Aborigines by Daisy Bates is published.

Sport

• February 5 to February 12 – The 1938 British Empire Games are held in Sydney. Australia leads the medal tally at the games, winning 25 gold medals, 19 silver and 22 bronze.
• September 24 – Carlton defeat Collingwood 15.10 (100) to 13.7 (85) in the grand final, becoming premiers of the 1938 VFL season.
• November 1 – Catalogue wins the Melbourne Cup.

Births

• January 12 – Lewis Fiander, actor
• January 12 – Noel McNamara, crime victims supporter
• January 13 – Daevid Allen, musician (Soft Machine)
• January 17 – David Theile, backstroke swimmer
• February 25 – Herb Elliott, athlete
• February 28 – Dennis Olsen, pianist, actor and director
• March 1 – Henry Reynolds, historian
• March 5 – Mike Walsh, television presenter
• March 25 – Anthony Carwardine, naval officer
• April 13 – Col Joye, entertainer
• April 20 – Betty Cuthbert, athlete
• June 5 – Roy Higgins, jockey
• June 18 – Kevin Murray, Australian rules footballer (Fitzroy)
• June 20 – Joan Kirner, Premier of Victoria (1990–1992)
• July 13 – Ian Macphee, politician, Minister for Immigration
• July 23 – Bert Newton, television performer
• July 28 – Robert Hughes, art critic
• August 9 – Rodney Laver, tennis player
• August 22 – Roger Gyles, lawyer and judge
• August 30 – Murray Gleeson, High Court judge
• September 6 – Ernie Sigley, entertainer
• October 8 – Fred Stolle, tennis player
• October 17 – Les Murray, poet
• October 30 – Morris Lurie, writer
• November 8 – Bob Skilton, Australian rules footballer (South Melbourne)
• November 26 – Rodney Jory, physicist
• December 11 – Reg Livermore, actor, singer and television presenter
• December 21 – Frank Moorhouse, writer

Deaths

• January 6 – John Gavin (b. 1875), film director
• January 15 – Paul Raphael Montford (b. 1868), sculptor
• January 21 – Will Dyson (b. 1880), cartoonist
• January 31 – John Barnes (b. 1868), politician
• February 16 – Thomas Molloy (b. 1852), WA politician
• April 21 – Sir Talbot Hobbs (b. 1864), architect
• May 11 – Lawrence Wells (b. 1860), explorer
• May 17 – Nora Clench (b. 1867), Canadian violinist
• June 17 – Ranji Hordern (b. 1883), cricketer
• June 19 – Jack Hides (b. 1906), explorer
• June 22 – C. J. Dennis (b. 1876), poet
• June 29 – Sir Colin Mackenzie (b. 1877), anatomist and museum administrator
• August 30 – Evelyn Marsden (b. 1883), survivor of the Titanic
• September 11 – Sir Philip Whistler Street (b. 1863), NSW Supreme Court judge
• October 12 – Hugh Massie (b. 1854), cricketer
• October 25 – Charles Hawker (b. 1884), politician
• November 29 – John Sandes (b. 1863), journalist and author

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