1886 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1886 in Australia.
Incumbents
Premiers
- Premier of New South Wales – John Robertson then Patrick Jenning
- Premier of Queensland – Samuel Griffith
- Premier of South Australia – John Downer
- Premier of Tasmania – Adye Douglas then James Agnew
- Premier of Victoria – James Service then Duncan Gillies
Governors
- Governor of New South Wales – Lord Carrington
- Governor of Queensland – Anthony Musgrave
- Governor of South Australia – William Robinson
- Governor of Tasmania – George Strahan
- Governor of Victoria – Henry Brougham Loch, 1st Baron Loch
- Governor of the Crown Colony of Western Australia – Sir Frederick Broome
Events
- 25 January – The first assembly of the Federal Council of Australasia is held in Hobart.
- 30 May – The SS Ly-Ee-Moon sinks off Green Cape, New South Wales, with the loss of 71 persons.
- 12 June – William Spence chairs a meeting of shearers in Ballarat, Victoria at which the Australian Shearers Union is formed, an ancestor of the Australian Workers' Union.
Undated
- Queen Victoria grants the Cocos (Keeling) Islands to the Clunies Ross family.
Sport
- November – Arsenal wins the Melbourne Cup
- England defeats Australia 3–0 in The Ashes
Births
- 3 January – Arthur Mailey, cricketer and journalist
- 4 May – Aubrey Abbott, politician and administrator of the Northern Territory
- 28 November – Margaret McIntyre, politician