1875 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1875 in Australia.

Incumbents

 * Monarch - Victoria

Governors
Governors of the Australian colonies:
 * Governor of New South Wales – Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead
 * Governor of Queensland – Sir William Cairns
 * Governor of South Australia – Sir Anthony Musgrave
 * Governor of Tasmania – Frederick Weld
 * Governor of Victoria – Sir George Bowen
 * Governor of Western Australia – The Hon. Sir Frederick Weld GCMG, then Sir William Robinson GCMG.

Premiers
Premiers of the Australian colonies:
 * Premier of New South Wales – Henry Parkes until 8 February, then John Robertson
 * Premier of Queensland – Arthur Macalister
 * Premier of South Australia – Arthur Blyth until 8 June, then James Boucaut
 * Premier of Tasmania – Alfred Kennerley
 * Premier of Victoria –
 * until 7 August – George Kerferd
 * 7 August - 20 October – Graham Berry
 * starting 20 October – James McCulloch

Events

 * 11 January – William Robinson arrives in Western Australia to become Governor of the colony.
 * 13 January – Frederick Weld becomes Governor of Tasmania.
 * 23 January – William Cairns becomes Governor of Queensland.
 * 9 February – John Robertson becomes Premier of New South Wales, replacing Henry Parkes.
 * 24 February – The SS Gothenburg strikes Old Reef off Ayr, Queensland and sinks with the loss of 102 lives.
 * 24 May – J. V. Mulligan and party discover the Barron River in Queensland, they left Cooktown on 17 April
 * 6 May – Ernest Giles and party leave South Australia for an overland expedition to Perth, they arrive on 10 November.
 * 3 June – Premier of South Australia Arthur Blyth resigns and is replaced by James Boucaut.
 * 7 August – Graham Berry becomes Premier of Victoria.
 * 20 October – James McCulloch becomes Premier of Victoria for the fourth time.
 * 24 December – 59 die when a cyclone destroys the pearling fleet in the Exmouth Gulf of Western Australia.
 * Undated – Between 80 and 100 Arrernte (formerly known as Aranda) men, women and children are killed by a raiding party of 50 to 60 Matuntara warriors in the massacre of Running Waters.

Arts and literature

 * New South Government establishes an art gallery in Sydney; it later becomes the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Sport

 * Polo played for the first time in Australia at Albert Park in Victoria
 * Soccer played for the first time in Australia at Goodna in New South Wales.
 * Wollomai wins the Melbourne Cup; the cup was held on the first Tuesday in November for this first time this year

Births

 * 20 March – Benjamin Fuller, theatrical entrepreneur (died 1952)
 * 29 April – Margaret Preston, painter and printmaker (died 1963)
 * 22 July – Leslie James Wrigley, academic, school inspector, principal, and teacher (died 1933)
 * 3 December – Max Meldrum, painter (died 1955)

Deaths

 * 28 January – James Hurtle Fisher, South Australian pioneer (born 1790)
 * 25 February – Thomas Reynolds, premier of South Australia (born 1818)
 * 25 February – James Stokes Millner, medical practitioner (born 1830)
 * 10 September – Silas Gill, Methodist preacher
 * 20 October – Charles Cowper, premier of New South Wales (born 1807)
 * 9 November – William Hovell, explorer (born 1786)
 * 2 December – Charles La Trobe, lieutenant-governor of Victoria (born 1801)

Unknown date


 * Henry Willey Reveley, Swan River Colony civil engineer (born 1788)