1886 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1886 in Australia.

Incumbents

 * Monarch - Victoria

Premiers

 * Premier of New South Wales – John Robertson (until 25 February) then Patrick Jenning
 * Premier of Queensland – Samuel Griffith
 * Premier of South Australia – John Downer
 * Premier of Tasmania – Adye Douglas (til 8 March) then James Agnew
 * Premier of Victoria – James Service (til 18 February) then Duncan Gillies

Governors

 * Governor of New South Wales – Lord Carrington
 * Governor of Queensland – Anthony Musgrave
 * Governor of South Australia – William Robinson
 * Governor of Tasmania – George Strahan
 * Governor of Victoria – Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron Loch
 * Governor of the Crown Colony of Western Australia – Sir Frederick Broome

Events

 * 25 January – The first assembly of the Federal Council of Australasia is held in Hobart.
 * 30 May – The SS Ly-Ee-Moon sinks off Green Cape, New South Wales, with the loss of 71 persons.
 * 12 June – William Spence chairs a meeting of shearers in Ballarat, Victoria at which the Australian Shearers Union is formed, an ancestor of the Australian Workers' Union.

Undated

 * Queen Victoria grants the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to the Clunies Ross family.

Sport

 * November – Arsenal wins the Melbourne Cup
 * England defeats Australia 3–0 in The Ashes

Births

 * 3 January – Arthur Mailey (died 1967), cricketer and journalist
 * 4 May – Aubrey Abbott (died 1975), politician and administrator of the Northern Territory
 * 28 November – Margaret McIntyre (died 1948), politician

Deaths

 * 4 November – James Martin (born 1820), Premier of New South Wales