1899 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1899 in Australia.

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 Louis 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.
 * Colonial soldiers leave to fight in the Second Boer War.

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.

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)

Date unknown

 * Olga Agnew, child actress (died 1987)

Deaths

 * 21 February - George Bowen (born 1821), Governor of Queensland
 * 13 April - James Service (born 1823), former Premier of Victoria
 * 25 September - Elizabeth Tripp (born 1809), educator