1856 in Australia

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 1856
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Decades:
  • 1830s
  • 1840s
  • 1850s
  • 1860s
  • 1870s
See also:

The following lists events that happened during 1856 in Australia.

Incumbents[]

Governors[]

Governors of the Australian colonies:

  • Governor of New South Wales – Sir William Denison
  • 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 – Stuart Donaldson from 6 June to 25 August then Charles Cowper to 2 October then Henry Parker
  • Premier of Queensland – office not created until 1859
  • Premier of South Australia – Boyle Travers Finniss from 24 October
  • Premier of Tasmania – William Champ from 1 November
  • Premier of Victoria – Dr William Haines
  • Premier of Western Australia – office not created until 1890

Events[]

  • 6 January – French musician and composer Nicolas-Charles Bochsa dies in Sydney.
  • 7 February – introduced the secret ballot, which was known elsewhere, in particular in the United States as the "Australian ballot"
  • 19 March – The Electoral Act 1856 introduced the secret ballot in Victoria
  • 2 April – South Australia introduced the secret ballot
  • 11 April – At a public meeting in Melbourne, Dr Thomas Embling repeated the slogan "eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest".
  • 22 May – First Parliament of New South Wales opened by the governor, Sir William Denison
  • 24 June – Queen Victoria makes Norfolk Island a separate settlement from Tasmania to be administered by the Governor of New South Wales.
  • 23 September – The town of Perth, Western Australia, is proclaimed a City by letters patent from Queen Victoria.
  • 25 November – The first Parliament of Victoria is officially opened by the Acting Governor Edward Macarthur.[1]

Exploration and settlement[]

  • 1 January – The name Tasmania officially adopted to replace Van Diemen's Land which was felt to have too many convict connotations.
  • 8 June – Pitcairn Islanders arrived on Norfolk Island; the last convict had left and the island was no longer a penal colony. Queen Victoria granted the island to the Pitcairners as a home. Bounty Day is celebrated each year in Norfolk Island to commemorate the event.
  • Suburb of Goodna founded in Queensland, Australia – Originally part of NSW, its 150-year anniversary was celebrated in 2006.

Births[]

  • 25 January – Sir John Hoad, 4th Chief of the General Staff (d. 1911)
  • 8 March – Tom Roberts, artist (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1931)
  • 12 March – Rosetta Jane Birks, suffragist (d. 1911)
  • 3 August – Alfred Deakin, 2nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1919)
  • 19 September – Sir Arthur Morgan, 16th Premier of Queensland (d. 1916)
  • 9 October – Sir Thomas Ewing, New South Wales politician (d. 1920)
  • 3 December – George Leake, 3rd Premier of Western Australia (d. 1902)

Deaths[]

  • 30 January – William Buckley, convict (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1780)
  • 3 May – John Wollaston, settler and clergyman (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1791)
  • 17 October – William Allen, philanthropist and businessman (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1790)

References[]

  1. ^ "THE NEW PARLIAMENT". The Argus. Melbourne. 26 November 1856. p. 4. Retrieved 16 February 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
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