1880 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1880 in Australia.

Governors
Governors of the Australian colonies:
 * Governor of New South Wales – Sir Augustus Loftus
 * Governor of Queensland – Sir Arthur Kennedy
 * Governor of South Australia – Sir William Jervois
 * Governor of Tasmania – Frederick Weld until 5 April, vacant thereafter
 * Governor of Victoria – George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby

Premiers
Premiers of the Australian colonies:
 * Premier of New South Wales – Sir Henry Parkes
 * Premier of Queensland – Thomas McIlwraith
 * Premier of South Australia – William Morgan
 * Premier of Tasmania – William Giblin
 * Premier of Victoria –
 * until 5 March – Graham Berry
 * 5 March-3 August – James Service
 * starting 3 August – Graham Berry

Events

 * 22 January – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland.
 * 20 January – Bushranger Captain Moonlite (real name Andrew George Scott) hanged in Sydney.
 * 31 January – The Bulletin magazine is first published.
 * May – School is made compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 in New South Wales.
 * 28 June – Ned Kelly captured at Glenrowan, Victoria.
 * 1 October – The Melbourne International Exhibition is opened at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton.
 * 10 October – Geologist Lamont Young and four others disappear on a boat trip north from Bermagui, New South Wales.
 * 11 November – Bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged.
 * 23 November – Redmond Barry, the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to be hanged, dies just twelve days after Kelly was hanged.

Science and technology

 * 2 February – The first successful shipment of frozen beef and mutton from Australia arrived in London aboard the SS Strathleven.
 * August – The first telephone exchange in Australia opened in Melbourne.

Sport

 * Grand Flaneur wins the Melbourne Cup.
 * England defeat Australia by 5 wickets in a Cricket Test held at The Oval.

Births

 * 2 January – Charlie Frazer, politician (died 1913)
 * 15 April – Doug McLean, Sr., rugby footballer (died 1947)
 * 8 August – Earle Page, the eleventh Prime Minister of Australia (died 1961)
 * 10 December – Jessie Aspinall, doctor, first female junior medical resident at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (died 1953)
 * 11 December – Frank Tarrant, cricketer (died 1951)

Deaths

 * 20 January – Captain Moonlight, bushranger (born 1842), hanged
 * 2 May – Tom Wills, cricketer and founder of Australian rules football (born 1835), suicide
 * 26 June – Aaron Sherritt, bushranger (born August 1854), shot by Joe Byrne
 * 28 June – Joe Byrne, bushranger (born November 1856),
 * 28 June – Steve Hart, bushranger (born February 1859),
 * 28 June – Dan Kelly, bushranger and the younger brother of Ned Kelly (born June 1861),
 * 29 July – Charles Hervey Bagot, South Australian pastoralist, mine owner and parliamentarian (b. 1788)
 * 27 September – Charles Hardwicke, Tasmanian explorer (b. 1788)
 * 27 October – Samuel Gill, artist (born 1818)
 * 11 November – Ned Kelly, bushranger (b. c. 1855), hanged
 * 23 November – Redmond Barry, Judge (born 1813)