1859 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1859 in Australia.
Incumbents
Governors
Governors of the Australian colonies:- Governor of New South Wales – Sir William Denison
- Governor of Queensland – Sir George Bowen
- Governor of South Australia – Sir Richard MacDonnell
- Governor of Tasmania – Sir Henry Young
- Governor of Victoria – Sir Henry Barkly
- Governor of Western Australia as a Crown Colony – Sir Arthur Kennedy
Premiers
Premiers of the Australian colonies:- Premier of New South Wales – Charles Cowper, William Forster
- Premier of Queensland – Robert Herbert
- Premier of South Australia – Richard Hanson
- Premier of Tasmania – Francis Smith
- Premier of Victoria – John O'Shanassy, William Nicholson
Events
- 14 May – Melbourne Football Club is founded.
- 6 June – The colony of Queensland is established by decree of Queen Victoria.
- July – Geelong Football Club is founded.
- 5 August – The passenger steamship SS Admella is shipwrecked on a submerged reef near Mount Gambier South Australia with the loss of 89 lives.
- 6 October – Thomas Austin takes 24 rabbits and 5 hares to Australia in order to release them there as a game. They will multiply exponentially.
- The first permanent educational institution for girls, the East Leigh, is founded in Melbourne by Elizabeth Tripp.
- Undated – A retaliatory mass-slaughter of Indigenous Australians occurs in the Hospital Creek Massacre.
Births
- 24 March – Hugh de Largie, Western Australian politician
- 23 April – Bella Guerin, feminist and suffragist
- 25 April – Joseph Maiden, botanist
- 16 June – John Russell, impressionist painter
- 28 November – Richard Godfrey Rivers, artist