1860 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1860 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 G. MacDonnell
- Governor of Tasmania - Sir Henry Young
- Governor of Victoria - Sir Henry Barkly
- Governor of Western Australia - Sir Arthur Kennedy.
Premiers
Premiers of the Australian colonies:- Premier of New South Wales - William Forster until 8 March then John Robertson
- Premier of Queensland - Robert Herbert
- Premier of South Australia - Richard Hanson until 9 May then Thomas Reynolds
- Premier of Tasmania - Francis Smith until 1 November then William Weston
- Premier of Victoria - William Nicholson until 26 November then Richard Heales
Events
- 20 August - Burke and Wills expedition sets off from Royal Park, Melbourne at about 4pm watched by around 15,000 spectators.
- 12 November - The Victorian College for the Deaf is opened in a small house in Peel Street Windsor.
- 12 December - Initial riots on the Lambing Flat goldfields near present-day Young, New South Wales.
Births
- 6 April – Henry Willis, New South Wales politician
- 20 June – Jack Worrall, Australian rules footballer, cricketer and journalist
- 23 June – Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer, evolutionary biologist, anthropologist, and ethnologist
- 27 July – Carty Salmon, Victorian politician
- 25 August – Charles McDonald, Queensland politician
- 6 September – May Jordan McConnel, trade unionist and suffragist
- 25 September – John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, 1st Governor-General of Australia
- 7 November – Edward Millen, New South Wales politician
- 18 November – Charles Kenningham, opera singer and actor
- 7 December – Sir Joseph Cook, 6th Prime Minister of Australia
- Unknown – Thomas Kennedy, Victorian politician