1881 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1881 in Australia.
Incumbents
Governors
Governors of the Australian colonies:- Governor of New South Wales – Lord Augustus Loftus
- Governor of Queensland – Sir Arthur Kennedy
- Governor of South Australia – Sir William Jervois
- Governor of Tasmania – Major Sir George Strahan
- Governor of Victoria – George Phipps, Marquess of Normanby
- Governor of Western Australia – Sir William Robinson
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 till 24 June then Sir John Cox Bray
- Premier of Tasmania – William Giblin
- Premier of Victoria – Graham Berry until 9 July then James Service
Events
- 28 June – The Art Gallery of South Australia opened by Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence.
Census
In the mid-19th century the colonial statisticians encouraged compatibility between the colonies in their respective censuses, and in 1881 a census was held simultaneously in each of the colonies. This was part of a census of the British Empire. The questions posed in the colonies were not uniform.The population of Australia was 2,250,194.
| NSW | Vic | Qld | Tas | SA | NT | WA | Australia |
| 751,468 | 862,346 | 213,525 | 115,704 | 276,414 | 9,797 | 29,708 | 2,250,194 |
Northern Territory was counted within South Australia and was 3,451 plus 6,346 Aboriginals in settled districts. The population of Western Australia did not include full-blood Aborigines.
The population of greater Melbourne was 282,947 and of Sydney was 224,939.
Sport
Zulu wins the Melbourne CupBirths
- 10 January - Leslie Rainey, cricketer, footballer and tennis player.
- 6 April - Frank Leslie Thomson Wilmot, Australian poet.
- 11 September - William Jolly, first Lord Mayor of Brisbane.
- 28 October - Vin Coutie, footballer.
Deaths
- 2 August - Marcus Clarke, author