1877 in Australia

← 1876 1875 1874 1877 in Australia → 1878 1879 1880
Decades:	1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
See also:	Other events of 1877 Timeline of Australian history

The following lists events that happened during 1877 in Australia.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:

• Governor of New South Wales – Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead
• Governor of Queensland – Sir William Cairns until 14 March, then Arthur Kennedy
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Anthony Musgrave until 29 January, then William Jervois
• Governor of Tasmania – Frederick Weld
• Governor of Victoria – Sir George Bowen
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir William Robinson GCMG, then Major General The Hon. Sir Harry Ord GCMG CB RE

Premiers

Premiers of the Australian colonies:

• Premier of New South Wales –
  • until 21 March: John Robertson
  • 21 March-16 August: Henry Parkes
  • 17 August-17 December: John Robertson
  • starting 17 December: James Farnell
• Premier of Queensland – George Thorn until 8 March, then John Douglas
• Premier of South Australia – John Colton until 26 October, then James Boucaut
• Premier of Tasmania – Thomas Reibey until 9 August, then Philip Fysh
• Premier of Victoria – James McCulloch

Events

• 8 March – John Douglas becomes Premier of Queensland
• 10 March – Cloncurry was established
• 15 March to 4 April – 1877 Australia v England series is played
• 1 April – A settlement on Thursday Island was established for the refueling of steam ships
• 8 June – Lutherans found the Hermannsburg Mission at Finke River in the Northern Territory
• 20 July – Arthur Kennedy becomes Governor of Queensland
• 9 August – Philip Fysh becomes Premier of Tasmania
• 17 August – John Robertson begins another term as Premier of New South Wales
• 11 September – Ships Avalanche and Forrest collide off Portland, Victoria, only 3 of the 107 passengers are saved
• 2 October – William Jervois becomes Governor of South Australia
• 26 October – James Boucaut becomes Premier of South Australia
• 12 November – Harry Ord becomes Governor of Western Australia
• 8 December – Telegraph line between Western Australia and South Australia completed, linking Western Australia to the east coast by telegraphy for the first time, via Adelaide. ^[1]

Arts and literature

Main article: 1877 in Australian literature

Sport

• 30 April – South Australian Football League founded.
• 17 May – Victorian Football Association founded.

Births

• 17 January – May Gibbs
• 25 August – John Latham
• 8 October – Hans Heysen
• 14 November – Norman Brookes

Deaths

• 25 March – Caroline Chisholm, humanitarian (b. 1808)
• 2 April – Bully Hayes, ship's captain and trader
• 7 April – John Arthur, Tasmanian cricketer (b. 1847)
• 16 June – John Fairfax, journalist and politician (b. 1804)
• 18 July – Joseph Anderson, Norfolk Island administrator (b. 1790)
• 17 August – Martin Cash, convict escapee (born 1808)
• 16 September – Saxe Bannister, first Attorney General of New South Wales (b. 1790)

References

1. "WA SA overview". telegramsaustralia.com. Archived from the original on 19 June 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
2. Hadwen-Chandler, Herbert (1900), Marie gavotte : for piano, W. H. Glen & Co, retrieved 18 August 2021
3. "Musical Notes". The Telegraph . No. 5, 346. Queensland, Australia. 30 November 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 18 August 2021– via National Library of Australia.

• Barker, Anthony (1996). What Happened When. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   978-1-86373-986-3.