1889 in Australia

See also: 1888 in Australia, other events of 1889, 1890 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Henry Parkes (until 16 January), then George Dibbs (until 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
• Premier of Victoria – Duncan Gillies

Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Lord Carrington
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Norman (from 1 May)
• Governor of South Australia – Sir William Robinson (until 5 March), then The Earl of Kintore (from 11 April)
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Robert Hamilton
• Governor of Victoria – Lord Loch
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Frederick Broome

Events

• 1 February – Foster's Lager, brewed by the Foster brothers, goes on sale for the first time.
• 23 May – Louisa Lawson founded the Dawn Club, which became the hub of the women's suffrage movement in Sydney.
• 30 September – The Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory is officially opened.
• 24 October – The Tenterfield Oration is delivered by Henry Parkes, calling for the Federation of the states.
• 27 November – The Sydney Town Hall is officially opened.

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

• Bravo wins the Melbourne Cup

Births

• 18 April - Jessie Street, feminist and suffragette (d. 1970)
• 18 September - Doris Blackburn, politician (d. 1970)
• 27 October - Fanny Durack, swimmer (d. 1956)

Deaths

• 9 February - Peter Lalor, Eureka Stockade leader (b. 1827)
• 5 November - Peter Warburton, explorer (b. 1813)