1899 in Australia

← 1898 1897 1896 1899 in Australia → 1900 1901 1902
Decades:	1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s
See also:	Other events of 1899 Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

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

Main article: 1899 in Australian 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)

Deaths

• 21 February - George Bowen (born 1821), Governor of Queensland
• 13 April - James Service (born 1823), former Premier of Victoria