A Look Back At
Born in 1942
What Was Life Like in 1942?
Who Was in Charge?
Prime Minister
John Curtin
Monarch
King George VI
What Things Cost
Petrol (per litre)
$0.01
Loaf of Bread
$0.06
Average House
$1,300
Weekly Wage
$3.40
Events of 1942 in Australia
A selection from Wikipedia's '1942 in Australia'. Not a complete list.
- 15 February – Singapore falls to the Japanese, with approximately 15,000 Australian troops taken prisoner.
- 1 March – The cruiser HMAS Perth is torpedoed by Japanese destroyers in the Battle of Sunda Strait, sinking with the loss of 350 crew and three civilians.
- 4 May – The Battle of the Coral Sea begins.
- 19 May – The prototype CAC Boomerang, an Australian designed and built fighter aircraft, takes to the air for the first time.
- 7 June – The Income Tax (War-time Arrangements) Act 1942 is enacted, transferring the power to levy personal income tax from the states to the federal government.
- 6 July – Elements of the Australian 9th Division arrive in El Alamein. The Division subsequently takes part in the First and Second Battle of El Alamein.
- 30 October – Construction begins on the Burma Railway, begun by 15,000 Australian prisoners-of-war captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore.
- 16 November – Japan retreats from Kokoda Trail with Australia being the Victor