1880 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1880 in Australia.
Incumbents
Governors
Governors of the Australian colonies:- Governor of New South Wales – Sir Augustus Loftus
- Governor of Queensland – Sir Arthur Kennedy
- Governor of South Australia – Sir William Jervois
- Governor of Tasmania – Frederick Weld until 5 April, vacant thereafter
- Governor of Victoria – George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
Premiers
Premiers of the Australian colonies:- Premier of New South Wales – Sir Henry Parkes
- Premier of Queensland – Thomas McIlwraith
- Premier of South Australia – William Morgan
- Premier of Tasmania – William Giblin
- Premier of Victoria –
- * until 5 March – Graham Berry
- * 5 March-3 August – James Service
- * starting 3 August – Graham Berry
Events
- 22 January – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland.
- 20 January – Bushranger Captain Moonlite hanged in Sydney.
- 31 January – The Bulletin magazine is first published.
- May – School is made compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 in New South Wales.
- 28 June – Ned Kelly captured at Glenrowan, Victoria.
- 1 October – The Melbourne International Exhibition is opened at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton.
- 10 October – Geologist Lamont Young and four others disappear on a boat trip north from Bermagui, New South Wales.
- 11 November – Bushranger Ned Kelly is hanged.
- 23 November – Redmond Barry, the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to be hanged, dies just twelve days after Kelly was hanged.
Science and technology
- 2 February – The first successful shipment of frozen beef and mutton from Australia arrived in London aboard the SS Strathleven.
- August – The first telephone exchange in Australia opened in Melbourne.
Sport
Grand Flaneur wins the Melbourne Cup.- England defeat Australia by 5 wickets in a Cricket Test held at The Oval.
Births
- 2 January – Charlie Frazer, politician
- 15 April – Doug McLean, Sr., rugby footballer
- 8 August – Earle Page, the eleventh Prime Minister of Australia
- 10 December – Jessie Aspinall, doctor, first female junior medical resident at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- 11 December – Frank Tarrant, cricketer
Deaths
- 20 January – Captain Moonlight, bushranger, hanged
- 2 May – Tom Wills, cricketer and founder of Australian rules football, suicide
- 26 June – Aaron Sherritt, bushranger, shot by Joe Byrne
- 28 June – Joe Byrne, bushranger,
- 28 June – Steve Hart, bushranger,
- 28 June – Dan Kelly, bushranger and the younger brother of Ned Kelly,
- 29 July - Charles Hervey Bagot, South Australian pastoralist, mine owner and parliamentarian
- 27 September - Charles Hardwicke, Tasmanian explorer
- 27 October – Samuel Gill, artist
- 11 November – Ned Kelly, bushranger, hanged
- 23 November – Redmond Barry, Judge