1900 in Australia

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The following lists events that happened during 1900 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch – Queen Victoria

Note: Australia was not yet federalized in 1900, therefore no prime minister existed.

=Governors of the Australian colonies=

Governor of New South Wales – William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp
Governor of Queensland – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington
Governor of South Australia – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
Governor of Tasmania – Jenico Preston, 14th Viscount Gormanston (until 14 August)
Governor of Victoria – Thomas Brassey, 1st Earl Brassey (until 31 March)
Premier of New South Wales – William Lyne
Premier of South Australia – Frederick Holder
Premier of Queensland – Robert Philp
Premier of Tasmania – Elliott Lewis
Premier of Western Australia – John Forrest
Premier of Victoria – Allan McLean (until 19 November), then George Turner

Events

3 January – Electric lighting is installed on Adelaide streets.
25 January – State Labour politicians meet in Sydney to formally found the federal Labour party.
25 March – The S.S. Glenelg is wrecked off the Victorian coast, resulting in 31 deaths.
March to May – Record rainfall and flooding affect the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia
9 May – The Sierra Nevada is wrecked off Portsea, Victoria; 23 lives are lost.
2 July – Snow falls to extremely low levels in New South Wales, being recorded as low as Forbes.
5 July – The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (UK) is passed.
24 July – Neville Howse rescues a fallen ally under heavy fire during the Second Boer War, becoming the first Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross.
8 August – The first Australian contingents of naval volunteers set sail for China to assist British and international troops during the Boxer Rebellion.
17 October – Natural gas is found at Roma in Queensland
27 October – Notorious murderer Jimmy Governor is apprehended near Wingham, New South Wales.
15 December – Upon his arrival in Australia, the first Governor-General, Lord Hopetoun, commits the so-called Hopetoun Blunder.

Film

14 September – The film Soldiers of the Cross is shown in Melbourne, one of the first films shown in Australia. [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000335/ (IMDb entry)]

Literature

Births

8 January – Merlyn Myer, Australian philanthropist (died 1982)
25 January – Harold Raggatt, public servant (died 1968)
12 February – Sir Ragnar Garrett, army officer (died 1977)[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/garrett-sir-alwyn-ragnar-10279 Sir Alwyn Ragnar Garrett (1900–1977)]
7 March – Sir Lorimer Dods, medical pioneer (died 1981)
29 March – John McEwen, caretaker Prime Minister (1967–1968) (died 1980)
26 April – Alice Berry, social activist (died 1978){{Cite web|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/berry-dame-alice-miriam-9496|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305152309/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/berry-dame-alice-miriam-9496|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-03-05|title=Biography - Dame Alice Miriam Berry - Australian Dictionary of Biography|date=2016-03-05|access-date=2017-10-22}}
29 April – Amelia Best, politician (died 1979){{cite Tas Parliament |id=besta521 |title=1900 |access-date=25 August 2022}}
4 July – Belinda Dann, centenarian, longest-lived member of the Stolen Generation (died 2007).{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-10–25/pilbara-woman-dies-at-107/709046 |title=Pilbara woman dies at 107 |date=25 October 2007 |website=ABC News |access-date=27 June 2018}}
29 July – Mary V. Austin, community worker and political activist (died 1986){{Cite web|url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0008b.htm|title=Austin, Mary Valentine Hall - Woman - The Australian Women's Register|last=Melbourne|first=National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of|website=womenaustralia.info|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-10-20|archive-date=October 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021111452/http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0008b.htm|url-status=live}}
1 August – Otto Nothling, rugby union and cricket player (died 1965)[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/nothling-otto-ernest-11264 Otto Ernest Nothling (1900–1965)]
16 August – Ida Browne, geologist and palaeontologist (died 1976){{Cite web|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-ida-alison-10004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216021835/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/browne-ida-alison-10004|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-02-16|title=Biography - Ida Alison Browne - Australian Dictionary of Biography|date=2017-02-16|access-date=2017-10-22}}
9 October – Frank O'Grady, Australian public servant (d. 1981)

{{citation|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ogrady-francis-phillip-15400|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141121104408/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ogrady-francis-phillip-15400|archivedate=21 November 2014|url-status=live|title=O'Grady, Francis Phillip (1900–1981)|first=Peter|last=Putnis|publisher=Australian National University|work=Australian Dictionary of Biography}}

19 October – Bill Ponsford, cricketer (died 1991)
20 October – Jack Lindsay, writer (died 1990)
3 December
Karna Maria Birmingham, artist, illustrator and print maker (died 1987){{Cite web|url=https://www.daao.org.au/bio/karna-marie-birmingham/personal_details/|title=Karna Marie Birmingham - biography at Design and Art Australia Online|website=daao.org.au|language=en|access-date=2017-10-22|archive-date=October 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022141829/https://www.daao.org.au/bio/karna-marie-birmingham/personal_details/|url-status=live}}
Albert Hawke, Premier of Western Australia (1953–1959) (died 1989)
10 December – Eric Costa, politician (died 1976)