1831 in Australia

See also: 1830 in Australia, other events of 1831, 1832 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:

• Governor of New South Wales - Ralph Darling (to 23 October).
• Governor of New South Wales - Major-General Sir Richard Bourke (from 23 October).
• Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania - Colonel George Arthur
• Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia as a Crown Colony - Captain James Stirling

Events

• 4 March - James Stirling commissioned as Lieutenant-Governor of Western Australia, rectifying the absence of a legal instrument providing the authority detailed in Stirling's Instructions of 30 December 1828.
• 14 March - The Surprise, the first paddle steamer built in Australia, was launched in Sydney.
• 18 April - The Sydney daily newspaper and Australia's oldest newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald is first published.
• The Ripon Land Regulation Act provides land grants.

Arts and literature

• Australia’s first novel, Quintus Servinton: A Tale founded upon Incidents of Real Occurrence was written and published in Tasmania . It was written by the convicted English forger Henry Savery and published anonymously.

See also

• 1831
• 1830s