1860 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1860 in Australia.

Governors
Governors of the Australian colonies:
 * Governor of New South Wales – Sir William Denison
 * Governor of Queensland – Sir George Bowen
 * Governor of South Australia – Sir Richard G. MacDonnell
 * Governor of Tasmania – Sir Henry Young
 * Governor of Victoria – Sir Henry Barkly
 * Governor of Western Australia – Sir Arthur Kennedy.

Premiers
Premiers of the Australian colonies:
 * Premier of New South Wales – William Forster until 8 March then John Robertson
 * Premier of Queensland – Robert Herbert
 * Premier of South Australia – Richard Hanson until 9 May then Thomas Reynolds
 * Premier of Tasmania – Francis Smith until 1 November then William Weston
 * Premier of Victoria – William Nicholson until 26 November then Richard Heales

Events

 * 20 August – Burke and Wills expedition sets off from Royal Park, Melbourne at about 4pm watched by around 15,000 spectators.
 * 12 November – The Victorian College for the Deaf is opened in a small house in Peel Street Windsor.
 * 12 December – Initial riots on the Lambing Flat goldfields near present-day Young, New South Wales.

Births

 * 6 April – Henry Willis, New South Wales politician (d. 1950)
 * 20 June – Jack Worrall, Australian rules footballer (Fitzroy), cricketer and journalist (d. 1937)
 * 23 June – Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer, evolutionary biologist, anthropologist, and ethnologist (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1929)
 * 27 July – Carty Salmon, Victorian politician (d. 1917)
 * 25 August – Charles McDonald, Queensland politician (d. 1925)
 * 6 September – May Jordan McConnel, trade unionist and suffragist (d. 1929)
 * 25 September – John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, 1st Governor-General of Australia (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1908)
 * 7 November – Edward Millen, New South Wales politician (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1923)
 * 18 November – Charles Kenningham, opera singer and actor (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1925)
 * 7 December – Sir Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1947)
 * Unknown – Thomas Kennedy, Victorian politician (d. 1929)

Deaths

 * 31 March – Frederick Irwin, Acting Governor of Western Australia (born in Ireland and died in the United Kingdom) (b. 1794)
 * 1 July – Robert Thomas, newspaper proprietor (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1781)