#OnThisDay 13 May 1932 the NSW Premier, Jack Lang, was dismissed from office by NSW Governor Sir Philip Game. Lang is the only Premier of an Australian state to have been dismissed by the state Governor. The NSW government had accumulated large loans and during the Great Depression could not meet the interest payments. Lang found himself in a stand-off with the Commonwealth Government and withdrew £1 million of NSW Government money from the bank to prevent the Commonwealth Government from seizing it. Lang was replaced by Bertram Stevens and he then lost the June 11 state elections.
Source: Examiner (Launceston, Tas: 1900-1954). Dramatic dismissal of Mr Lang. State Governor's Action
Related
The complex events preceding the dismissal have been documented in the literature, and also in the Governor’s papers such as NRS 4545.
See the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry for Jack Lang
From the Collection
Photos of the official opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 19 March 1932.
