1889 in Australia

Decades:	1860s ; 1870s ; 1880s ; 1890s ; 1900s ;
See also:	Other events of 1889 ; Timeline of Australian history ;

Last updated September 10, 2025

The following lists events that happened during 1889 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch - Victoria

Premiers

Premier of New South Wales – Henry Parkes until 16 January, then George Dibbs 17 January-7 March, then Henry Parkes
Premier of Queensland – Boyd Dunlop Morehead
Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford II until 27 June, then John Cockburn
Premier of Tasmania – Philip Fysh ^[1]
Premier of Victoria – Duncan Gillies

Governors

Governor of New South Wales – Lord Carrington
Governor of Queensland – Henry Wylie Norman
Governor of South Australia – Sir William Robinson until 5 March, then 9th Earl of Kintore
Governor of Tasmania – Sir Robert Hamilton
Governor of Victoria – Lord Loch
Governor of Western Australia – Sir Frederick Broome

Arts and literature

17 August – The 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition , featuring works by Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder, was opened in Melbourne.
21 December – The poem "Clancy of the Overflow", by Banjo Paterson, is first published in The Bulletin magazine.

Sport

5 October – Norwood defeat Port Adelaide by 2 goals to win the 1889 SAFA Grand Final, the first Grand Final in Australian rules football.
November – Bravo wins the Melbourne Cup ^[2]

Births

23 February – Lucy Godiva Woodcock, pacifist, schoolteacher, trade union official and women's activist (died 1968)^[3]
6 March – William Douglas Francis, botanist (died 1959)
18 April – Jessie Street, feminist and suffragette (died 1970)^[4]
20 April – Cuthbert Butler, politician (died 1950)
2 June – Margaret Theadora Allan, community worker (died 1968)
18 September – Doris Blackburn, politician (died 1970)
27 October – Fanny Durack, swimmer (died 1956)
23 November – Harry Sunderland, rugby league administrator (died 1964)^[5]

Deaths

9 February – Peter Lalor, Eureka Stockade leader (born 1827)
5 November – Peter Warburton, explorer (born 1813)

References

↑ Beresford, Quentin. "Fysh, Sir Philip Oakley (1835–1919)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
↑ "THE BOOKMAKERS AND THE MELBOURNE CUP". North Eastern Ensign (Benalla, Vic. : 1872–1938). 15 November 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
↑ Mitchell, Bruce. "Woodcock, Lucy Godiva (1889–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943 . Retrieved 18 February 2012.
↑ Radi, Heather. "Street, Lady Jessie Mary (1889–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
↑ Sunderland, Harry (1889–1964)

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[1] Beresford, Quentin. "Fysh, Sir Philip Oakley (1835–1919)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 14 May 2018.

[2] "THE BOOKMAKERS AND THE MELBOURNE CUP". North Eastern Ensign (Benalla, Vic. : 1872–1938). 15 November 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 14 May 2018.

[DAB_Lucy_Godiva_Woodcock-3] Mitchell, Bruce. "Woodcock, Lucy Godiva (1889–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943 . Retrieved 18 February 2012.

[4] Radi, Heather. "Street, Lady Jessie Mary (1889–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 9 February 2020.

[5] Sunderland, Harry (1889–1964)

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v t e Years in Australia (1788–present)
18th century	1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800
19th century	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
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21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Timeline of Australian history

v t e 1889 in Oceania
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Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue