1861 in Australia

• Monarch - Victoria

Governors of the Australian colonies:

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir William Denison, then John Young, 1st Baron Lisgar{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=John M. |title=Young, Sir John (1807–1876) |url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/young-sir-john-4905 |website=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=1 March 2019}}
• Governor of Queensland – Sir George Bowen{{cite web |title=Governors of Queensland - Government House Queensland |url=http://www.govhouse.qld.gov.au/the-governor-of-queensland/governors-of-queensland.aspx |website=www.govhouse.qld.gov.au |access-date=1 March 2019}}
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Richard G. MacDonnell{{cite web |last1=Manhood |first1=C. C. |title=MacDonnell, Sir Richard Graves (1814–1881) |url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/macdonnell-sir-richard-graves-4084 |website=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=1 March 2019}}
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Henry Young{{cite web |title=Previous Governors and Lieutenant-Governors of Tasmania |url=https://www.govhouse.tas.gov.au/governor/previous-governors-and-lieutenant-governors-tasmania-old |website=Government House Tasmania |access-date=1 March 2019 |language=en |date=31 January 2017 |archive-date=17 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141117181342/http://www.govhouse.tas.gov.au/governor/previous-governors |url-status=dead }}
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Henry Barkly{{cite web |title=Sir Henry Barkly {{!}} British colonial administrator |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-Barkly |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=1 March 2019 |language=en}}
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir Arthur Kennedy.

Premiers of the Australian colonies:

• Premier of New South Wales – John Robertson, then Charles Cowper{{cite web |last1=Ward |first1=John M. |title=Cowper, Sir Charles (1807–1875) |url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cowper-sir-charles-3275 |website=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=1 March 2019}}
• Premier of Queensland – Robert Herbert{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Tony |title=Queensland's first premier in 1859 was most likely gay |url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/queensland-s-first-premier-was-most-likely-gay-20170929-p4yw71.html |website=Brisbane Times |access-date=1 March 2019 |language=en |date=30 September 2017}}
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Reynolds, then George Waterhouse{{cite web |last1=Tregenza |first1=Jean F. |title=Waterhouse, George Marsden (1824–1906) |url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/waterhouse-george-marsden-4806 |website=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=1 March 2019}}
• Premier of Tasmania – William Weston, then Thomas Chapman{{cite web |title=Premiers of Tasmania |url=http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/datasheets/Premiers_Table.htm |website=www.parliament.tas.gov.au |access-date=1 March 2019}}
• Premier of Victoria – Richard Heales, then John O'Shanassy{{cite web |last1=Ingham |first1=S. M. |title=O'Shanassy, Sir John (1818–1883) |url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oshanassy-sir-john-4347 |website=Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |access-date=1 March 2019}}

• 13 May – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales.{{cite web |title=Young man who saw stars |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/how-john-tebbutt-an-amateur-stargazer-from-windsor-became-the-centre-of-the-worlds-astronomy-universe/news-story/7780200227eca261028abd023679afe9?nk=34f64d63f06c7ac787b9a2232125c0b4-1551442038 |website=www.dailytelegraph.com.au |access-date=1 March 2019 |language=en |date=12 May 2016}}
• 30 June – Lambing Flat riots of Lambing Flat (Young), New South Wales{{cite web |title=Lambing Flat Riots {{!}} Summary & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Lambing-Flat-Riots |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=1 March 2019 |language=en}}
• 6 July – Robert Palin is hanged in Western Australia following the use of Ordinance 17 Victoria Number 7 to secure the capital punishment of a convict for a crime not normally punishable by death.{{cite Q |Q133820754 |mode=cs1 |last=Erickson |first=Rica |author-link=Rica Erickson |chapter=The Unwanted |pages=157–223 |editor-last=Erickson |editor-first=Rica |editor-link=Rica Erickson }}
• 8 July – The Geelong College is established by Reverend Alexander James Campbell in Newtown, Victoria.{{cite web |title=Municipality of Newtown, Victoria |url=https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/2308 |website=Museums Victoria Collections |access-date=1 March 2019}}
• October – Robertson land acts passed by Parliament of New South Wales.{{cite book |last1=Boucher |first1=Leigh |last2=Russell |first2=Lynette |title=Settler Colonial Governance in Nineteenth-Century Victoria |date=2015 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=9781925022353 |page=192 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_L-UCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA192|language=en}}
• 17 October – 19 white colonists, including Horatio Wills owner of station, are murdered in the Cullin-la-ringo massacre. It is the single largest massacre of colonists by Aboriginal people in Australian history. In the weeks afterwards, police, native police and civilian posses hunted down and killed up to 370 members of the Gayiri Aboriginal tribe.

• 24 May – National Gallery of Victoria founded{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Geoffrey Robert |last2=Victoria |first2=National Gallery of |title=Art of Glass: Glass in the Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria |date=1998 |publisher=Macmillan Education AU |isbn=9780958574310 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laWX3BnLENgC&pg=PA11|language=en}}

• 7 November – The first Melbourne Cup is held. It is won by Archer. (List of Melbourne Cup winners).{{cite web|title=National Museum of Australia - Melbourne Cup |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/melbourne-cup |website=www.nma.gov.au |access-date=1 March 2019 |language=en}}

• 12 January – Jack Moses, bush poet (d. 1945)
• 22 January – Sir George Fuller, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
• 6 February – Sir Alexander Matheson, 3rd Baronet, Western Australian politician (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1929)
• 21 February – George Elmslie, 25th Premier of Victoria (d. 1918)
• 10 March – Sir John Longstaff, painter and war artist (d. 1941)
• 19 May – Dame Nellie Melba, opera singer (d. 1931)
• 11 June – Sir Alexander Peacock, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
• 12 June – James Gardiner, Western Australian politician (born in New Zealand) (d. 1928)
• 13 June – Kate Dwyer, educator, suffragist and labour activist (d. 1949)
• 22 June – John Lemmone, flautist, composer and manager (d. 1949)
• 2 August – Edith Cowan, Western Australian politician and social reformer (d. 1932)
• 27 August – James Ronald, Victorian politician (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1941)
• 14 September – Margaret Francis Ellen Baskerville, sculptor, water colourist, and educator (d. 1930)
• 18 September – Dame Eadith Walker, heiress and philanthropist (d. 1937)
• 6 October – Thomas Brown, New South Wales politician (d. 1934)
• 2 December – James White, sculptor (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1918)
• Unknown – Jim Page, Queensland politician (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1921)

• 15 March – James Clow, Presbyterian minister and settler (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1790)
• 28 June
• Robert O'Hara Burke, explorer (born in Ireland) (b. 1821)
• William John Wills, explorer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1834)
• 21 October – Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur, New South Wales politician and businessman (born and died in the United Kingdom) (b. 1788)

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{{Years in Australia}}

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Australia

Category:Years of the 19th century in Australia