The following lists events that happened during 1900 in Australia.

Incumbents Monarch – Queen Victoria Governor-General – John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun (from 29 October 1900) Note: Legislation enabling the federation of Australia had been passed in the colonies and the United Kingdom, but proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia was not set to occur until 1 January 1901. Although this meant that there was no Prime Minister of Australia in 1900, the role of Governor-General was established prior to proclamation through letters patent.

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. (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)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) 29 April – Amelia Best, politician (died 1979) 4 July – Belinda Dann, centenarian, longest-lived member of the Stolen Generation (died 2007). 29 July – Mary V. Austin, community worker and political activist (died 1986) 1 August – Otto Nothling, rugby union and cricket player (died 1965)Otto Ernest Nothling (1900–1965) 16 August – Ida Browne, geologist and palaeontologist (died 1976) 9 October – Frank O'Grady, Australian public servant (d. 1981) 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) Albert Hawke, Premier of Western Australia (1953–1959) (died 1989) 10 December – Eric Costa, politician (died 1976)

Deaths 17 July – Thomas McIlwraith, former Queensland premier (born 1835) 22 August – Dagmar Berne, medical doctor and the first female student to study medicine in Australia (born 1866) 17 November – John Ferris, Australian cricketer (born 1867)

Population

3,765,339

See also List of Australian films before 1910

References