HISTORY
By Barry Clark Bribie Island Historical Society
I
N THE 1930’S THE WHOLE WORLD SUFFERED THE DEEP IMPACT OF “DEPRESSION”. NINETY YEARS ON, WITH PARTS OF THE WORD IN THE GRIP OF COVID 19 PANDEMIC, THE FUTURE FOR MANY LOOKS BLEAK AND CHALLENGING. THIS ARTICLE REFLECTS ON ASPECTS OF LIFE IN 1930’S “DEPRESSION” QUEENSLAND AND BRIBIE ISLAND, THAT IS WORTH REMEMBERING WHEN TIMES GET TOUGH.
opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, when a mounted political activist beat the Premier to cutting the ribbon. Phar Lap won the 1930 Melbourne Cup, carrying the highest weight ever put on a horse, despite being shot at weeks earlier. Phar Lap went to America in 1932 and won for the first time on dirt tracks, before suddenly dropping dead.
AUSTRALIA 1930
The 6.5 million population of 1930 Australia was 99% British origin, and Britain selected all their own people as Australian Governors General, before the first Australian, Sir Isaac Isaacs, was appointed in 1931. During the Depression, Prime Minister Joseph Lyons was the first to speak on Radio, and later the first Prime Minister to die in office in 1939. His protégé Bob Menzies took over and announced on radio that Australia was at War with Germany. A significant event in 1932 was the 46 www.thebribieislander.com.au
In 1932, one-third of the Australian workforce was out of work. Life was tough. Government assistance was hard to get, and unemployed parents depended on sons leaving school at 14, to provide low paid support. Girl’s education was considered unimportant, and many businesses refused to employ married women, so many brides kept it secret. The Bribie Islander
1930’s TRANSPORT
Until the late 1930’s Australian cars were made of wood and steel, with no safety features such as seat belts, and only the wealthy could afford them. Trams were a much-used transport, running up the streets of most
Australian Cities. There were many more bicycles than cars or horses. Hubert Opperman broke World and Australian long distance cycling records, promoting Malvern Star bicycles, before a career in politics, becoming Immigration Minister and being knighted
COMMUNICATION 1930’s
A quarter of Australian homes had telephones by 1939 and public phone boxes were in some streets. Phone calls were kept very brief and businesslike. Two thirds of homes had the “Wireless -Radio”, a large box on the living
