1904 in Australia

← 1903 1902 1901 1904 in Australia → 1905 1906 1907
Decades:	1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s
See also:	Other events of 1904 Timeline of Australian history

The following lists events that happened during 1904 in Australia.

1904 in Australia
Monarch	Edward VII
Governor-General	Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, then Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
Prime minister	Alfred Deakin, Chris Watson, George Reid
Population	3,941,208
Elections	Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia

Incumbents

Alfred Deakin

Chris Watson

George Reid

• Monarch – Edward VII
• Governor-General – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson (until 21 January), then Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
• Prime Minister – Alfred Deakin (until 27 April), Chris Watson (until 18 August), then George Reid
• Chief Justice – Samuel Griffith

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – John See (until 14 June), Thomas Waddell (until 29 August), then Joseph Carruthers
• Premier of South Australia – John Jenkins
• Premier of Queensland – Arthur Morgan
• Premier of Tasmania – William Propsting (until 12 July), then John Evans
• Premier of Western Australia – Walter James (until 10 August), then Henry Daglish
• Premier of Victoria – William Irvine (until 16 February), then Sir Thomas Bent

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Harry Rawson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Herbert Chermside (until 10 October)
• Governor of Tasmania – Captain Sir Arthur Havelock (until 16 April), then Sir Gerald Strickland (from 28 October)
• Governor of Western Australia – Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford
• Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Reginald Talbot (from 25 April)

Events

• 6 January – The Tasmanian government replaces the state's Central Board of Health with a Public Health Department.
• 13 January – The flag of South Australia is officially gazetted as the current design.
• 23 January – A by-election is held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Ryde. It is won by Edward Terry for the Liberal Reform Party.
• 29 February – Women's suffrage is granted in Tasmania.
• 1 June – A general election is held in Victoria. Incumbent premier Sir Thomas Bent is returned with an increased majority.
• 20 June – The P&O ship SS Australia is wrecked at the entrance to Port Phillip. There is no loss of life.
• 18 August – Chris Watson resigns as the first Labor prime minister and is succeeded by George Reid of the Free Trade Party. ^[1]
• 12 November – John Drayton is imprisoned under parliamentary privilege provisions in Western Australia.
• 1 December – Ipswich, Queensland is proclaimed as a city.

Arts and literature

Main article: 1904 in Australian literature

• 12 January – Melbourne businessman Alfred Felton leaves a large bequest to the Art Gallery of Victoria.
• Hans Heysen wins the Wynne Prize with Mystic Morn
• The Austral Hall Toowoomba was officially opened on 5 November 1904 by Sir Hugh Nelson, Lieutenant Governor of Queensland for The Austral Society.

Sport

• September – The Australasian Lawn Tennis Association is formed in Sydney.
• 1 November – Acrasia wins the Melbourne Cup.
• New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield.
• Two Australians, Corrie Gardner and Leslie McPherson, compete in athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics. They do not return with any medals

Births

• 7 April – Sir Roland Wilson, public servant and economist (d. 1996)
• 8 April – John Antill, composer (d. 1986)
• 29 May – Sir Hubert Opperman, Victorian politician and cyclist (d. 1996)

Deaths

• 8 January – Alfred Felton, entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1831)
• 25 January – Sir Graham Berry, 11th Premier of Victoria (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1822)
• 2 February – Sir Edward Braddon, 18th Premier of Tasmania (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1829)
• 12 April – George Cruickshank, New South Wales politician (b. 1853)
• 12 May – Robert Reid, Victorian politician (born and died in the United Kingdom) (b. 1842)
• 5 August – Sir George Dibbs, 10th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1834)
• 17 December – William Shiels, 16th Premier of Victoria (born in Ireland) (b. 1848)

See also

• 1904
• 1900–1909

References

1. Nairn, Bede (1990). "Watson, John Christian (Chris) (1867–1941)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University . Retrieved 7 April 2024.