Governors

• Governor of New South Wales
  Governors of New South Wales
  The Governor of New South Wales is the state viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, as well as with the eleven other jurisdictions of Australia, and resides predominantly in her...
  
   – Sir Hercules Robinson
  Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead
  Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, GCMG, PC was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong...
  
  
• Governor of Queensland
  Governors of Queensland
  The Governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level....
  
   – Sir Arthur Kennedy
  Arthur Edward Kennedy
  Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy GCMG CB was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of a number of British colonies, namely Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Vancouver Island, Hong Kong and Queensland....
  
  
• Governor of South Australia
  Governors of South Australia
  The Governor of South Australia is the representative in the Australian state of South Australia of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level.In...
  
   – Sir William Jervois
  William Jervois
  Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, GCMG, CB was a British military engineer who saw service, as Second Captain, in South Africa...
  
  
• Governor of Tasmania
  Governors of Tasmania
  The Governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as the Governor-General of Australia does at the national level.In accordance with the...
  
   – Frederick Weld
  Frederick Weld
  Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld, GCMG , was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the sixth Premier of New Zealand, and later served as Governor of Western Australia, Governor of Tasmania, and Governor of the Straits Settlements.-Early life:Weld was born near...
  
  
• Governor of Victoria
  Governors of Victoria
  The Governor of Victoria is the representative in the Australian state of Victoria of its monarch, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The Governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national level...
  
   – Sir George Bowen

Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – James Farnell
  James Farnell
  James Squire Farnell was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales. Farnell was a hard-working legislator who gave much study to the land question and also tried hard for some years to pass a bill for the regulation of contagious diseases.-Early years:Farnell was born in St Leonards,...
  
   (until 20 December), then Sir Henry Parkes
  Henry Parkes
  Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
  
  
• Premier of Queensland – John Douglas
  John Douglas (Queensland politician)
  John Douglas CMG was an Anglo-Australian politician and Premier of Queensland.Douglas was born in London, the seventh son of Henry Alexander Douglas and his wife Elizabeth Dalzell, daughter of the Earl of Carnwarth...
  
  
• Premier of South Australia – James Boucaut
  James Boucaut
  Sir James Penn Boucaut KCMG was an Australian judge and politician, Premier of South Australia three times: 1866–1867, 1875–1876 and 1877–1878.-Early life:...
  
   (until 27 September), then William Morgan
  William Morgan (Australian politician)
  Sir William Morgan KCMG was the Premier of South Australia between 1878 and 1881.-Early life:William Morgan was born in Bedfordshire, England, the son of George Morgan, a farmer, and his wife Sarah, née Horne. He emigrated to South Australia, arriving in Port Adelaide on 13 February 1849 in the...
  
  
• Premier of Tasmania – Philip Fysh
  Philip Fysh
  Sir Philip Oakley Fysh, KCMG was an Australian politician, Premier of Tasmania and a member of the first federal ministry....
  
   (until 5 March), then William Giblin
  William Giblin
  William Robert Giblin was Premier of Tasmania from 5 March 1878 until 20 December 1878 and from 1879 until 1884.-Early life:...
  
  
• Premier of Victoria – Graham Berry
  Graham Berry
  Sir Graham Berry KCMG , Australian colonial politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most Radical and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most determined efforts to break the power of the Victorian Legislative Council, the stronghold of the...
  
  

Events

• 8 January – Three hundred senior public servants are sacked in Victoria by the government of Graham Berry
  Graham Berry
  Sir Graham Berry KCMG , Australian colonial politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most Radical and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most determined efforts to break the power of the Victorian Legislative Council, the stronghold of the...
  
  , on the grounds that as the appropriation bill
  Appropriation bill
  An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending...
  
   had not been passed in the Victorian Legislative Council
  Victorian Legislative Council
  The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...
  
  , they could not be paid.
• 20 May – One thousand unemployed men march up Collins Street, Melbourne
  Collins Street, Melbourne
  Collins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
  
  , demanding relief work. Premier Berry agrees to construct sanitation works and thus employ two hundred men.
• 1 June – The clipper ship Loch Ard
  Loch Ard (ship)
  The Loch Ard was a ship which was wrecked at Muton bird Island just off the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia in 1878. The name was drawn from Loch Ard, a lake which lies to the west of the village of Aberfoyle, and to the east of Loch Lomond...
  
  is wrecked at Mutton Bird Island
  Mutton Bird Island
  Mutton Bird Island is an irregularly shaped island, with an area of 44 ha, in south-eastern Australia. Its highest point is 40 m asl. It is part of the Mutton Bird Island Group, lying close to the southern end of the south-western coast of Tasmania. It is also part of the Southwest National...
  
  , just off the Shipwreck Coast
  Shipwreck Coast
  The Shipwreck Coast of Victoria, Australia stretches from Moonlight Head to Cape Otway, a distance of approximately 130km. This coastline is accessible via the Great Ocean Road, and is home to the limestone formations called The Twelve Apostles....
  
   of Victoria; 45 die, only two lives are saved.
• 9 December – Ned Kelly
  Ned Kelly
  Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
  
   and his gang lock 22 people in a storehouse on a sheep station near Euroa, Victoria
  Euroa, Victoria
  Euroa is a town in the Shire of Strathbogie in North-East Victoria, Australia.At the 2006 census, Euroa had a population of 2,776. The name Euroa comes from an Aboriginal word in the old local dialect meaning "joyful".-History:Major T.L...
  
  . The next day they rob Euroa's bank.

Exploration and settlement

• 18 January – construction of The Ghan railway line starts in Port Augusta, South Australia
  Port Augusta, South Australia
  -Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
  
  
• 3 September – the Main Southern railway line, New South Wales
  Main Southern railway line, New South Wales
  The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and the Riverina regions.- Description of route :...
  
   reached Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
  Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
  Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...
  
   in an attempt to lure Riverina
  Riverina
  The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales , Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation. This combination has allowed the Riverina to develop...
  
   trade away from Victoria.
• European discovery of the Great Artesian Basin
  Great Artesian Basin
  The Great Artesian Basin provides the only reliable source of freshwater through much of inland Australia. The basin is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over a total of , with temperatures measured ranging from 30°C to 100°C...
  
   when a shallow bore near Bourke, New South Wales
  Bourke, New South Wales
  -Transportation:Bourke can be reached by the Mitchell Highway, with additional sealed roads from town to the north , east and south . The town is also served by Bourke Airport and has Countrylink bus service to other regional centres, like Dubbo...
  
   produced flowing water.
• Walcha, New South Wales
  Walcha, New South Wales
  Walcha is a parish and town at the south-eastern edge of the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia.The town serves as the seat of Walcha Shire. Walcha is located 425 kilometres by road from Sydney at the intersection of the Oxley Highway and Thunderbolts Way...
  
   proclaimed a town.
• The Brisbane suburb of Alderley, Queensland
  Alderley, Queensland
  Alderley is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is north-west of the CBD. It is surrounded by Newmarket in the south, Ashgrove and Enoggera in the west, Grange and Stafford in the east and Kedron and Everton Park in the north. At the 2006 census, it had a populatio of 5,068.In...
  
   gained a post office.
• District of Kingaroy, Queensland
  Kingaroy, Queensland
  Kingaroy is an agricultural town in Queensland, Australia, approximately or about 2½ hours drive north-west of the state capital Brisbane. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways...
  
   settled.
• The railway system reached Morgan, South Australia
  Morgan, South Australia
  Morgan is a town in South Australia on the right bank of the Murray River, just downstream of where it turns from flowing roughly westwards to roughly southwards. It is about north east of Adelaide, and about upstream of the Murray Mouth. At the 2006 census, Morgan had a population of 426.The...
  
   which was proclaimed a town in the same year.
• Quorn, South Australia
  Quorn, South Australia
  Quorn is a township and railhead in the Flinders Ranges in the north of South Australia, 39 km northeast of Port Augusta. At the 2006 census, Quorn had a population of 1068.Quorn is the home of the Flinders Ranges Council local government area...
  
   surveyed and declared a town.
• Charter of Snowtown, South Australia
  Snowtown, South Australia
  The town of Snowtown is located in the Mid North of South Australia 145 km north of Adelaide and lies on the main route between Adelaide and Perth. The town's elevation is 103 metres and on average the town receives 389 mm of rainfall per annum.-History:...
  
   proclaimed.

Science and technology

• January 8 – The telephone
  Telephone
  The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
  
   is used for the first time in Australia in Melbourne
  Melbourne
  Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
  
  .
• The Sydney Mechanics' Institute, founded in 1843
  1843 in Australia
  See also:1842 in Australia,other events of 1843,1844 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.- Governors:Governors of the Australian colonies:*Governor of New South Wales - Sir George Gipps*Governor of South Australia - Sir George Grey...
  
  , becomes the Sydney Technical College
  Sydney Technical College
  The Sydney Technical College was a name used by Australia's oldest technical education institution.It began as the Sydney Mechanics' Institute in 1843...
  
  
• At Burnie, Tasmania
  Burnie, Tasmania
  - Sport :Australian rules football is popular in Burnie. The city's team is the Burnie Dockers Football Club in the Tasmanian State League.Rugby union is also played in Burnie. The local club is the Burnie Rugby Union Club. They are the current Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide Division Two Premiers...
  
  , the Van Diemen's Land Company construct a 75 km wooden, horse-drawn, tram
  Tram
  A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
  
  way to serve Mount Bischoff, at the time the richest tin mine in the world.

Arts and literature

• 30 November – Advance Australia Fair
  Advance Australia Fair
  "Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song...
  
   first sung publicly at the Highland Society of NSW's annual Scottish concert in the Protestant Hall, Sydney.

Sport

• 22 April – The Stawell Gift
  Stawell Gift
  The Stawell Gift is Australia's oldest and richest short distance running race. It is run over every Easter weekend by the Stawell Athletic Club, with the main race finals on the holiday Monday, at Central Park, Stawell in the Grampian Mountains district of western Victoria.The race is run on grass...
  
   is run for the first time on Easter Monday in April.
• 5 November – Calamia wins the Melbourne Cup
  Melbourne Cup
  The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
  
  .

Births

• 19 January – Don Cameron, politician (d. 1962)
• 30 March – Harold Cazneaux
  Harold Cazneaux
  Harold Cazneaux was and Australian pictorialist photographer; a pioneer whose style had an indelible impact on the development of Australian photographic history. In 1916 he was a founder of the Pictorialist Sydney Camera Circle...
  
  , photographer (d. 1953)
• 4 July – John McPhee
  John McPhee (Australian politician)
  Sir John Cameron McPhee, KCMG was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He was Premier of Tasmania from 15 June 1928 to 15 March 1934.-Early life:...
  
  , Premier of Tasmania (1928–1934) (d. 1952)
• 1 October – Helen Mayo
  Helen Mayo
  Helen Mary Mayo, OBE was an Australian medical doctor and medical educator, born and raised in Adelaide. In 1896, she enrolled at the University of Adelaide, where she studied medicine. After graduating, Mayo spent two years working in infant health in England, Ireland and India...
  
  , medical doctor (d. 1967)

Deaths

• 9 May – Thomas Sutcliffe Mort
  Thomas Sutcliffe Mort
  Thomas Sutcliffe Mort was an Australian industrialist responsible for improving refrigeration of meat. He was renowned for speculation in the local pastoral industry as well as industrial activities such as his Ice-Works in Sydney's Darling Harbour and dry dock and engineering works at...
  
   (b. 1816), industrialist
• 14 August – Edward Henty
  Edward Henty
  See also Western District Edward Henty ,was a pioneer and first permanent settler in the Port Phillip district , Australia....
  
   (b. 1810), pioneer settler
• 17 September – Randolph Isham Stow
  Randolph Isham Stow
  Randolph Isham Stow was an English-born Australian Supreme Court judge.Stow was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, England, the eldest son of the Rev. Thomas Quinton Stow and his wife Elizabeth, née Eppes...
  
   (b. 1828), judge
• 22 October – Benjamin Babbage
  Benjamin Babbage
  Benjamin Herschel Babbage was an English engineer, scientist, explorer and politician, best known for his work in the colony of South Australia. He invariably signed his name "B...
  
   (b. 1815), explorer
• 16 November – John Gardiner (b. 1798), banker and pastoralist