1899 in Australia

1899 in Australia

1896 • 1897 • 1898 • 1899 (1899) • 1900 • 1901 • 1902

Other events of 1899 • Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

Governors of the Australian colonies

• Governor of New South Wales – Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden (until 5 March), then William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (from 18 May)
• Governor of Queensland – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Thomas Buxton, 3rd Baronet (until 29 March), then Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson (from 10 April)
• Governor of Tasmania – Jenico Preston, 14th Viscount Gormanston
• Governor of Victoria – Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Gerard Smith

Premiers of the Australian colonies

• Premier of New South Wales – George Reid (until 13 September) then William Lyne
• Premier of Queensland – James Dickson (until 1 December), Anderson Dawson (until 7 December) then Robert Philp
• Premier of South Australia – Charles Kingston (until 1 December), Vaiben Solomon (until 8 December) then Frederick Holder
• Premier of Tasmania – Edward Braddon (until 12 October) then Elliott Lewis
• Premier of Victoria – George Turner (until 5 December) then Allan McLean
• Premier of Western Australia – John Forrest

Events

• 1 January – The Police Regulation Act 1898 is enacted in Tasmania, unifying several small regional police forces to form the Tasmanian Police Force.
• 22 January – Leaders of the six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation.
• 4 March – Cyclone Mahina strikes Bathurst Bay in Queensland. Approximately 400 persons are killed, and the pearling fleet is sunk. A storm surge of up to 14 metres sweeps 5 kilometres inland.
• 24 April – The 1,280 ton barque Loch Sloy hits rocks off Kangaroo Island and sinks, killing 31 persons.
• 8 December – An electric tram service commences in Sydney, along George Street from the railway to Circular Quay.^[1]
• Colonial soldiers leave to fight in the Second Boer War.

Science and technology

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Arts and literature

• 8 October – The word "wowser" is first used by John Norton, editor of the Melbourne Truth newspaper.
• George Washington Lambert wins the Wynne Prize for landscape painting or figure sculpture for his landscape Across the Blacksoil Plains
• Dot and the Kangaroo, a children's book by Ethel Pedley, is published.
• On Our Selection by Steele Rudd is published.
• Past Carin' written by Henry Lawson.

Sport

• Merriwee wins the Melbourne Cup
• Victoria wins the Sheffield Shield

Births

• 7 January – John Collins, Chief of Naval Staff and High Commissioner to New Zealand (died 1989)
• 17 January – Nevil Shute, writer (died 1960)
• 21 January – Ernestine Hill, travel writer (died 1972)
• 22 February – Ian Clunies Ross, scientist (died 1959)
• 7 March – Eddie Ward, politician (died 1963)
• 3 September – Frank Macfarlane Burnet, biologist and Nobel Prize winner (died 1985)
• 24 September – William Dobell, artist, sculptor and painter (died 1970)
• 21 October – Herb Steinohrt, rugby league footballer (died 1985)
• 14 December – Frank McMillan, rugby league footballer and coach (died 1966)

Deaths

• 21 February - George Ferguson Bowen (born 1821), Governor of Queensland
• 13 April - James Service (born 1823), former Premier of Victoria

References