1899 in Australia
Encyclopedia
See also:
1898 in Australia
,
other events of 1899,
1900 in Australia
and the
Timeline of Australian history
.
1898 in Australia
1898 in Australia
See also:1897 in Australia,other events of 1898,1899 in Australia and theTimeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Premier of New South Wales - George Reid*Premier of South Australia - Charles Kingston...
,
other events of 1899,
1900 in Australia
1900 in Australia
See also: 1899 in Australia, other events in 1900, 1901 in Australia, Timeline of Australian history.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen VictoriaNote: Australia was not yet federated as of 1900, therefore no prime minister existed....
and the
Timeline of Australian history
Timeline of Australian history
This is a timeline of Australian history.-BC:*c. 68,000–40,000 BC: Aboriginal tribes are thought to have arrived in Australia.*c. 13,000 BC: Land bridges between mainland Australia and Tasmania are flooded. Tasmanian Aboriginal people become isolated for the next 12,000 – 13,000 years.*c...
.
Governors of the Australian colonies
- Governor of New South Wales – Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount HampdenHenry Brand, 2nd Viscount HampdenHenry Robert Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden, GCMG was Governor of New South Wales from 1895 to 1899.-Background:Hampden was the son of Henry Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden...
(until 5 March), then William Lygon, 7th Earl BeauchampWilliam Lygon, 7th Earl BeauchampWilliam Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp KG, KCMG, PC , styled Viscount Elmley until 1891, was a British Liberal politician. He was Governor of New South Wales between 1899 and 1901, a member of the Liberal administrations of Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman and H. H...
(from 18 May) - Governor of Queensland – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron LamingtonCharles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron LamingtonCharles Wallace Alexander Napier Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, GCMG, GCIE was a British politician and colonial administrator who was Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901, and Governor of Bombay from 1903 to 1907....
- Governor of South Australia – Sir Thomas Buxton, 3rd Baronet (until 29 March), then Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron TennysonHallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron TennysonHallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC , the second Governor-General of Australia, was born at Chapel House, Twickenham, in Surrey, England. Named after his father's late friend Arthur Hallam, he was the elder son of Alfred Tennyson, the most popular and prominent poet of late Victorian...
(from 10 April) - Governor of Tasmania – Jenico Preston, 14th Viscount GormanstonJenico Preston, 14th Viscount GormanstonJenico William Joseph Preston, 14th Viscount Gormanston GCMG , was an Anglo-Irish colonial administrator.Gormanston was born the son of Edward Anthony John Preston, 13th Viscount Gormanston, and his wife Lucretia, daughter of William Charles Jerningham, and was born at Gormanston Castle, County...
- Governor of Victoria – Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl BrasseyThomas Brassey, 1st Earl BrasseyThomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey GCB, JP, DL, TD , was a British Liberal Party politician, Governor of Victoria and founder of The Naval Annual.-Background and education:...
- Governor of Western AustraliaGovernor of Western AustraliaThe Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
– Sir Gerard Smith
Premiers of the Australian colonies
- Premier of New South Wales – George ReidGeorge Reid (Australian politician)Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
(until 13 September) then William LyneWilliam LyneSir William John Lyne KCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales and a member of the first federal ministry.-Early life:... - Premier of Queensland – James DicksonJames DicksonSir James Robert Dickson, KCMG was an Australian politician and businessman, the 13th Premier of Queensland and a member of the first federal ministry....
(until 1 December), Anderson DawsonAnderson DawsonAndrew Dawson , usually known as Anderson Dawson, was an Australian politician, the Premier of Queensland for one week in 1899...
(until 7 December) then Robert PhilpRobert PhilpSir Robert Philp, KCMG was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908.-Early life:... - Premier of South Australia – Charles KingstonCharles KingstonCharles Cameron Kingston, Australian politician, was an early liberal Premier of South Australia serving from 1893 to 1899 with the support of Labor led by John McPherson from 1893 and Lee Batchelor from 1897 in the House of Assembly, winning the 1893, 1896, and 1899 state elections against the...
(until 1 December), Vaiben SolomonVaiben SolomonVaiben Louis Solomon was the 21st Premier of South Australia and a member of the first Australian Commonwealth parliament....
(until 8 December) then Frederick HolderFrederick HolderSir Frederick William Holder KCMG was the 19th Premier of South Australia and a prominent member of the inaugural Australian Commonwealth Parliament, including the first Speaker of the House of Representatives.-Life:... - Premier of Tasmania – Edward BraddonEdward BraddonSir Edward Nicholas Coventry Braddon, KCMG , Australian politician, was the Premier of Tasmania from 1894 to 1899, and was a Member of the First Australian Parliament in the House of Representatives...
(until 12 October) then Elliott LewisElliott LewisSir Neil Elliott Lewis, KCMG , Australian politician, was Premier of Tasmania on three occasions. He was also a member of the first Australian federal ministry, led by Edmund Barton.... - Premier of Victoria – George TurnerGeorge Turner (Australian politician)Sir George Turner, KCMG, PC , Australian politician, was the 18th Premier of Victoria and the first Treasurer of Australia in the federal Barton Ministry....
(until 5 December) then Allan McLeanAllan McLean (Australian politician)Allan McLean was an Australian politician, the 19th Premier of Victoria.McLean was born in the highlands of Scotland and came to Australia as a child in 1842 with his family. He later said 'were practically frozen out of Scotland' by 'an exceptionally severe winter'... - Premier of Western AustraliaPremier of Western AustraliaThe Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
– John ForrestJohn ForrestSir John Forrest GCMG was an Australian explorer, the first Premier of Western Australia and a cabinet minister in Australia's first federal parliament....
Events
- 1 January – The Police Regulation Act 1898 is enacted in TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, unifying several small regional police forces to form the Tasmanian Police ForceTasmania PoliceTasmania Police is the police force of the Australian state of Tasmania. Established in 1899, the force has over 1,200 officers policing Tasmania's population of about half a million people.-Structure:...
. - 22 January – Leaders of the six Australian colonies meet in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne 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...
to discuss confederationFederation of AustraliaThe Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
. - 4 March – Cyclone MahinaCyclone MahinaCyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Australia and the surrounding region with a devastating storm surge on 4 March 1899, killing over 400 people, the largest death toll of any natural disaster in Australian history.-Intensity:...
strikes Bathurst BayBathurst BayBathurst Bay is the name of a 19th century peninsula settlement that is now a tourist attraction on Cape York in northern Queensland, near the Great Barrier Reef. The British first settled Bathurst Bay sometime in the early-19th Century. The settlement had few tradable goods because of its climate...
in Queensland. Approximately 400 persons are killed, and the pearling fleet is sunk. A storm surgeStorm surgeA storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
of up to 14 metres sweeps 5 kilometres inland. - 24 April – The 1,280 ton barqueBarqueA barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
Loch SloyLoch SloyLoch Sloy was a Scottish sailing barque that operated between Great Britain and Australia from the late 19th century until 1899. Her name was drawn from Loch Sloy, a freshwater lake which lies to the north of the Burgh of Helensburgh, in the region of Argyll and Bute, Scotland.In the early hours of...
hits rocks off Kangaroo IslandKangaroo IslandKangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
and sinks, killing 31 persons. - 8 December – An electric tram service commences in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, along George StreetGeorge Street, SydneyGeorge Street is one of Sydney's most notable city streets. There are more high rise buildings and more ASX 100 companies located here than anywhere else in Australia, and is well known for being busy around-the-clock...
from the railway to Circular Quay. - Colonial soldiers leave to fight in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
Arts and literature
- 8 October – The word "wowserWowserWowser was originally a slang expression, most commonly heard in Australian and New Zealand English. It originated in Australia, at first carrying a similar meaning to 'lout', i.e. an annoying or disruptive person, or even a prostitute. In around 1900 it shifted to its present meaning: one whose...
" is first used by John Norton, editor of the Melbourne Truth newspaper. - George Washington LambertGeorge Washington LambertGeorge Washington Thomas Lambert ARA was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait paintings and as a war artist during the First World War.-Early life:...
wins the Wynne PrizeWynne PrizeThe Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. One of Australia's longest running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne...
for landscape painting or figure sculpture for his landscape Across the Blacksoil Plains - Dot and the KangarooDot and the Kangaroo-Film adaptations:The book was adapted into a film in 1977 which featured a combination of animation and live-action. The main character, Dot, was voiced by Barbara Frawley. The film also featured Spike Milligan as the voice of Platypus. The movie featured an original soundtrack including several...
, a children's book by Ethel PedleyEthel PedleyEthel Charlotte Pedley was an Australian author and musician.Pedley's most well-known book is Dot and the Kangaroo, which featured a little girl named Dot who becomes lost in the Australian outback, and is helped to find her way back home by a friendly kangaroo. The illustrations were drawn by...
, is published. - On Our Selection by Steele RuddSteele RuddSteele Rudd was the pseudonym of Arthur Hoey Davis an Australian author, best known for On Our Selection.-Early life:...
is published. - Past Carin written by Henry Lawson.
Sport
- Merriwee wins the Melbourne CupMelbourne CupThe 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...
- Victoria wins the Sheffield ShieldPura CupThe Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
Births
- 7 January – John Collins, Chief of Naval Staff and High Commissioner to New Zealand (d. 1989)
- 17 January – Nevil ShuteNevil ShuteNevil Shute Norway was a popular British-Australian novelist and a successful aeronautical engineer. He used his full name in his engineering career, and 'Nevil Shute' as his pen name, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.-...
, writer (d. 1960) - 21 January – Ernestine HillErnestine HillErnestine Hill was an Australian journalist, travel writer and novelist.-Life:Born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Hill attended All Hallows' School in Brisbane, and then Stott & Hoare's Business College, Brisbane...
, travel writer (d. 1972) - 22 February – Ian Clunies RossIan Clunies RossSir Ian Clunies Ross, CMG is described as the 'architect' of Australia's scientific boom, for his stewardship of Australia's scientific organisation the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - CSIRO.-Family:...
, scientist (d. 1959) - 7 March – Eddie WardEddie WardEdward John "Eddie" Ward , Australian politician, was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for 32 years from 1931 until his death....
, politician (d. 1963) - 3 September – Frank Macfarlane BurnetFrank Macfarlane BurnetSir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, , usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist best known for his contributions to immunology....
, biologist and Nobel Prize winner (d. 1985) - 24 September – William DobellWilliam DobellSir William Dobell, OBE was an Australian artist .The electoral Division of Dobell is named after him.- Life :...
, artist, sculptor and painter (d. 1970) - 21 October – Herb SteinohrtHerb SteinohrtHerb Steinohrt was an Australian rugby league player. He was a front row forward for the Australian national team...
, rugby league footballer (d. 1985) - 14 December – Frank McMillanFrank McMillanFrank McMillan was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He was a full-back for the Australian national team and played in nine Tests between 1929 and 1934, two as captain...
, rugby league footballer and coach (d. 1966)
Deaths
- 21 February - George Ferguson BowenGeorge Ferguson BowenSir George Ferguson Bowen GCMG was a British colonial administrator whose appointments included postings to the Ionian Islands, Queensland , New Zealand, Victoria , Mauritius and Hong Kong....
(b. 1821), Governor of Queensland - 13 April - James ServiceJames ServiceJames Service , Australian colonial politician, was the 12th Premier of Victoria, Australia.-Biography:Service was born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland, and as a young man worked in a Glasgow tea importing business, Thomas Corbett and Company...
(b. 1823), former Premier of Victoria