1839 in Australia
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 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2012) |
The following lists events that happened during 1839 in Australia.
Incumbents[edit]
Governors[edit]
Governors of the Australian colonies:
- Governor of New South Wales - Sir George Gipps[1]
- Governor of South Australia - Lieutenant Colonel George Gawler
- Governor of Tasmania - Sir John Franklin
- Governor of Western Australia - Captain James Stirling then John Hutt
Events[edit]
- 3 January - John Hutt becomes Governor of Western Australia
- 15 January - The first US consul, J. H. Williams, takes residence in Sydney
- 6 February - The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser are published for the first time by John Pascoe Fawkner
- 16 February - Kiama is proclaimed a town
- 19 March - Settlement begins at Port Lincoln
- 3 April - William Light is replaced by Charles Sturt as Surveyor-General of South Australia
- 13 April - Albury is proclaimed a village
- 24 April - Braidwood is proclaimed a town
- 1 May - Edward John Eyre explores the area north of Adelaide until 29 June, during the expedition he discovers Lake Torrens
- June - Up to 40 Aboriginals as killed in the Campaspe Plains massacre, which was a reprisal raid against Aboriginal resistance to the invasion and occupation of the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurung lands.
- 20 June - A settlement is founded at Victor Harbor
- 27 July - The Adelaide River is discovered
- 9 September - Port Darwin is named by John Lort Stokes on HMS Beagle
- Undated (mid 1939) - 35 to 40 Aboriginals of the Tarnbeere Gundidj clan of the Djargurd Wurrung are killed in the Murdering Gully massacre.
- Undated - An unknown number of Aboriginals are killed in the Blood Hole massacre
Exploration and settlement[edit]
- Edward John Eyre explores areas to the far north and west of Adelaide during his two expeditions.
Settlements[edit]
- Alberton, South Australia
- Albury, New South Wales
- Balhannah, South Australia
- Blakiston, South Australia
- Brunswick East, Victoria
- Burnside, South Australia
- Carcoar, New South Wales
- Findon, South Australia
- Gumeracha, South Australia
- Hahndorf, South Australia
- Hope Valley, South Australia
- Mandurama, New South Wales
- Mount Barker, South Australia
- Nairne, South Australia
- Penwortham, South Australia
- Seymour, Victoria
- St Kilda, Victoria
- Strathalbyn, South Australia
- Tusmore, South Australia
Arts and literature[edit]
- First mechanics' institute was founded at Melbourne
Births[edit]
- 14 March – George Adams, publican and lottery promoter (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1904)
- 18 April – Henry Kendall, author and bush poet (d. 1882)
- 30 April – Sir Francis Suttor, New South Wales politician and pastoralist (d. 1915)
- 10 May – Thomas Joseph Carr, Catholic archbishop (born in Ireland) (d. 1917)
- 29 May – Ned Gregory, cricketer (d. 1899)
- 19 June – Howard Willoughby, journalist and war correspondent (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1908)
- 1 July – William George Lawes, minister, missionary and public lecturer (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1907)
- 2 September – Elias Solomon, Western Australian politician (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1909)
- 9 December – Norman Selfe, civil engineer (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1911)
- 19 December – Charles Dempster, Western Australian politician and explorer (d. 1907)
- Unknown – George Rignold, actor (born in the United Kingdom) (d. 1912)
Deaths[edit]
- 6 May – John Batman, explorer, grazier and entrepreneur (b. 1801)[2]
- 27 June – Allan Cunningham (botanist), botanist and explorer (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1791)
- 24 July – Sir Richard Spencer, naval officer and settler (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1779)
- 6 October – William Light, military officer and surveyor (born in Malaysia) (b. 1786)
- 9 October – James Oatley, watchmaker and convict (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1769)
References[edit]
- ^ McCulloch, Samuel Clyde. "Gipps, Sir George (1791–1847)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
- ^ Brown, P. L. "Batman, John (1801–1839)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- Barker, Anthony (1996). What Happened When. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-9866.
