Incumbents

• Monarch
  Monarchy in Australia
  The Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
  
   – King Edward VII
  Edward VII of the United Kingdom
  Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
  
  
• Governor-General
  Governor-General of Australia
  The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
  
   – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
  Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
  Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC , the second Governor-General of Australia, was born at Chapel House, Twickenham, in Surrey, England. Named after his father's late friend Arthur Hallam, he was the elder son of Alfred Tennyson, the most popular and prominent poet of late Victorian...
  
   (until 21 January), then Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
  Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
  Henry Stafford Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote GCMG, GCIE, CB, PC , known as Sir Henry Northcote, Bt, between 1887 and 1900, was a Conservative politician and colonial administrator...
  
  
• Prime Minister
  Prime Minister of Australia
  The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
  
   – George Reid
  George Reid (Australian politician)
  Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
  
   (until 5 July), then Alfred Deakin
  Alfred Deakin
  Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
  
  

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Carruthers
  Joseph Carruthers
  Sir Joseph Hector McNeil Carruthers KCMG was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales.According to Percival Serle, few premiers of New South Wales succeeded in doing so much distinguished work...
  
  
• Premier of South Australia – John Jenkins
  John Jenkins (Australian politician)
  John Greeley Jenkins was an American-Australian politician and Premier of South Australia.Jenkins was the fourth son of Evan Jenkins and Mary Davis of South Wales, was born in Pennsylvania. He was educated at the Wyoming Seminary, Pa., and after working on his father's farm, became in 1872 a...
  
   (until 1 March), then Richard Butler
  Richard Butler (Australian politician)
  Sir Richard Butler was an Australian politician and Premier of South Australia.-Early life:Butler was born at Stadhampton, near Oxford, England, elder son of Richard Butler, pastoralist, and his wife Mary Eliza, née Sadler. The family emigrated to South Australia, arriving in Adelaide on 8 March...
  
   (until 26 July), then Thomas Price
  Thomas Price
  Thomas Price was a stonecutter, teacher, lay preacher, businessman, stonemason, clerk-of-works, union secretary, union president and politician...
  
  
• Premier of Queensland – Arthur Morgan
  Arthur Morgan (Queensland politician)
  Sir Arthur Morgan was the Premier of Queensland, Australia from 1903 to 1906.Morgan was born in Warwick, Queensland, the fourth son of James Morgan and his wife Kate, née Barton...
  
  
• Premier of Tasmania – John Evans
  John Evans (Australian politician)
  Sir John William Evans, CMG was an Australian politician, a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly and Premier of Tasmania from 11 July 1904 to 19 June 1909.-Early life and nautical career:...
  
  
• Premier of Western Australia
  Premier of Western Australia
  The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
  
   – Henry Daglish
  Henry Daglish
  Henry Daglish was the sixth Premier of Western Australia and the state's first Labor Premier.Henry Daglish was born in Ballarat West, Victoria on 18 November 1866. He was educated in Geelong, and attended Melbourne University...
  
   (until 25 August), then Cornthwaite Rason
  Cornthwaite Rason
  Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason , better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia....
  
  
• Premier of Victoria – Thomas Bent
  Thomas Bent
  Sir Thomas Bent KCMG , Australian politician, was the 22nd Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most colourful and corrupt politicians in Victorian history....
  
  

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Admiral Sir Harry Rawson
  Harry Rawson
  Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, GCB, GCMG RN , is chiefly remembered for overseeing the British Benin Expedition of 1897 that burned and looted the city of the Kingdom of Benin, now in Nigeria...
  
  
• Governor of South Australia – Sir George Ruvthen Le Hunt
  George Le Hunte
  Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte KCMG was Governor of South Australia from 1 July 1903 until 18 February 1909, soon after federation of Australia....
  
  
• Governor of Queensland – Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford
  Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford
  Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland , Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913, and Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the Montagu-Chelmsford...
  
   (from 30 November)
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Gerald Strickland
  Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland
  Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, 6th Count of Catena, GCMG was a Maltese and British politician and peer, who served as Prime Minister of Malta, Governor of the Leeward Islands, Governor of Tasmania, Governor of Western Australia and Governor of New South Wales.-Early...
  
  
• Governor of Western Australia
  Governor of Western Australia
  The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
  
   – Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford
  Frederick Bedford
  Admiral Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford GCB, GCVO was Governor of Western Austria from 24 March 1903 to 22 April 1909.-Naval career:Bedford joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14, and later served in the Crimean War....
  
  
• Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Reginald Talbot
  Reginald Talbot
  Major-General Sir Reginald Arthur James Talbot, KCB was a British military officer, Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons, and Governor of Victoria in Australia.-Early life:...
  
  

Events

• 1 March – John Jenkins
  John Jenkins (Australian politician)
  John Greeley Jenkins was an American-Australian politician and Premier of South Australia.Jenkins was the fourth son of Evan Jenkins and Mary Davis of South Wales, was born in Pennsylvania. He was educated at the Wyoming Seminary, Pa., and after working on his father's farm, became in 1872 a...
  
   resigns as Premier of South Australia to become Agent-General for South Australia in London
  London
  London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
  
  . He is replaced by Richard Butler
  Richard Butler (Australian politician)
  Sir Richard Butler was an Australian politician and Premier of South Australia.-Early life:Butler was born at Stadhampton, near Oxford, England, elder son of Richard Butler, pastoralist, and his wife Mary Eliza, née Sadler. The family emigrated to South Australia, arriving in Adelaide on 8 March...
  
  .
• 12 May – The first meeting of the Australian Council of Defence takes place between the Minister for Defence
  Minister for Defence (Australia)
  The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
  
  , the Treasurer
  Treasurer of Australia
  The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
  
  , the Inspector-General Army, the Chief of Intelligence, and the Director of the Naval Forces.
• 18 May – A state election takes place in Queensland
  Queensland
  Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
  
  , returning the government of Arthur Morgan
  Arthur Morgan (Queensland politician)
  Sir Arthur Morgan was the Premier of Queensland, Australia from 1903 to 1906.Morgan was born in Warwick, Queensland, the fourth son of James Morgan and his wife Kate, née Barton...
  
  . Women are able to vote
  Women's suffrage
  Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
  
   in Queensland state elections for the first time.
• 24 May – Empire Day
  Commonwealth Day
  Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations held on the second Monday in March, and marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by HM Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth High...
  
   is first celebrated in Australia.
• 28 May – The town of Maryborough
  Maryborough, Queensland
  Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
  
   in Queensland
  Queensland
  Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
  
   experiences an outbreak of pneumonic plague
  Pneumonic plague
  Pneumonic plague, a severe type of lung infection, is one of three main forms of plague, all of which are caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is more virulent and rare than bubonic plague...
  
  .
• 5 July – Alfred Deakin
  Alfred Deakin
  Alfred Deakin , Australian politician, was a leader of the movement for Australian federation and later the second Prime Minister of Australia. In the last quarter of the 19th century, Deakin was a major contributor to the establishment of liberal reforms in the colony of Victoria, including the...
  
   resumes office as Prime Minister of Australia
  Prime Minister of Australia
  The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
  
   after George Reid
  George Reid (Australian politician)
  Sir George Houstoun Reid, GCB, GCMG, KC was an Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales and the fourth Prime Minister of Australia....
  
   is unable to form a stable ministry.
• 26 July – A state election is held in South Australia
  South Australia
  South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
  
  . The Labor Party
  Australian Labor Party
  The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
  
   led by Thomas Price
  Thomas Price
  Thomas Price was a stonecutter, teacher, lay preacher, businessman, stonemason, clerk-of-works, union secretary, union president and politician...
  
   forms a minority government
  Minority government
  A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
  
  .
• 6 September – Last sighting of the clipper
  Clipper
  A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century that had three or more masts and a square rig. They were generally narrow for their length, could carry limited bulk freight, small by later 19th century standards, and had a large total sail area...
  
   ship Loch Vennachar
  Loch Vennachar
  Loch Vennachar was a three-masted iron sailing ship that operated between Great Britain and Australia between the late 19th century and 1905. The name was drawn from Loch Venachar, a lake which lies to the south-west of the burgh of Callander, in the Stirling region of Scotland...
  
  which sinks off Kangaroo Island
  Kangaroo Island
  Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
  
  , killing 32 people. Only one body was found.

Sport

• 1 February – New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
  Pura Cup
  The Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
  
  
• 15 July – Australia first competes in the Davis Cup
  Davis Cup
  The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
  
  , in a combined Australasian team
  Australia Davis Cup team
  The Australian Davis Cup team is the second most successful team ever to compete in the Davis Cup, winning the coveted title on 23 separate occasions, second behind the United States with 32....
  
   with New Zealand.
• 30 September – Fitzroy
  Fitzroy Football Club
  The Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
  
   wins the VFL
  1905 VFL season
  Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1905.-Premiership season:In 1905, the VFL competition consisted of eight teams of 18 on-the-field players each, with no "reserves", although any of the 18 players who had left the playing field for any reason could later resume...
  
   premiership.
• 7 November – Blue Spec wins the Melbourne Cup
  Melbourne Cup
  The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
  
  .
• Australia loses cricket series to England 0-2

Births

• 15 February – Heathcote Howard Hammer
  Heathcote Howard Hammer
  Major General Heathcote Howard Hammer CBE, DSO & Bar was a senior officer in the Australian Army, seeing service during the Second World War. Born on 15 February 1905 in Southern Cross, Western Australia, he later lived in Bendigo, Victoria and married Mary Hammer...
  
  , brigadier
• 1 April – Paul Hasluck
  Paul Hasluck
  Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
  
   (d. 1993), Governor General of Australia
• 1 August – Eddie Gilbert
  Eddie Gilbert (cricketer)
  Eddie Gilbert was a Queensland Aboriginal cricketer. He was an exceptionally fast bowler.-Early years:...
  
   (d. 1978), cricketer

Deaths

• 15 January – George Thorn
  George Thorn
  George Henry Thorn was a Premier of Queensland, Australia.Thorn was born in Sydney, New South Wales, a son of George Thorn, one of the founders of the city of Ipswich and a member of the first Queensland legislative assembly. He was schooled at The King's School, Parramatta and the University of...
  
   (b. 1838), Premier of Queensland
• 6 May – Robert Herbert
  Robert Herbert
  Sir Robert George Wyndham Herbert, GCB , was the first Premier of Queensland, Australia.-Early years:Born in Brighton, England, Herbert was the only son of the Hon. Algernon Herbert, a younger son of the first Earl of Carnarvon. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford...
  
   (d. 1831), Premier of Queensland
• 25 June – Augustus Gregory
  Augustus Gregory
  Sir Augustus Charles Gregory KCMG. was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions.-Early years:...
  
   (b. 1819), explorer
• 30 October – Boyd Dunlop Morehead (b. 1843), Premier of Queensland
• 29 December – Victor Daley
  Victor Daley
  Victor James William Patrick Daley was an Australian poet.He was born at the Navan, County Armagh, Ireland, and was educated at the Christian Brothers at Devonport in England. He arrived in Australia in 1878, and became a freelance journalist and writer in both Melbourne and Sydney...
  
  (b. 1858), poet