1897

Sir Robert Menzies

Posted in 1897

  • James Menzies with (from left) sons Les, Frank & Robert, wife Kate and daughter Isobel. Miss Annie Drendel is seated at left Robert Menzies spends his childhood in Jeparit where:

"... the children had the normal enjoyments and camaraderies of a small country town. They had no inkling of their parents' dour struggle for economic survival. They played football and a rustic form of hockey, with paper sticks and empty jam tins for balls; they yabbied, fished and swam in Lake Hindmarsh and the Wimmera River."
AW Martin, Robert Menzies: A Life. Vol 1 1894-1943, 1993 p 11.

  • The family photo (right) was taken on the bank of the Wimmera River at the back of the township of Jeparit (from left): Miss Annie Drendel (helper to Mrs Menzies), brother Les, father James Menzies, brother Frank, Robert, mother Kate and sister Isobel.

Australian Events

Posted in 1897

 

  • March 22 to April 23: The second Federal Convention meets in Adelaide to begin drawing up a constitution. Delegates come from all colonies except Queensland and are mostly experienced politicians from professional or commercial backgrounds.
  • May - September: The Constitution Bill is debated in the various colonial houses of parliament.
  • September 2-24: The Federal Convention meets again in Sydney.
    The Macquarie Book of Events, 1983 p 342.

World Events

Posted in 1897

 

  • Ross identifies the cause of malaria.
  • Diamond Jubilee of Queen VictoriaDiamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria: Celebrations provided an opportunity for the people to display the extent of her popularity.
  • The first comic strip appears in the USA (by Rudolph Dirks).
  • McCreary patents air-washer to purify air in buildings: the beginning of air-conditioning.