1904 in Australia

1904 in Australia
Monarchy	Edward VII
Governor-General	Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, then Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
Prime minister	Alfred Deakin, Chris Watson, George Reid
Population	3,941,208
Elections	Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia

See also: 1903 in Australia, other events of 1904, 1905 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch – Edward VII
• Governor-General – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson (until 21 January), then Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
• Prime Minister – Alfred Deakin (until 27 April), Chris Watson (until 18 August), then George Reid

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – John See (until 14 June), Thomas Waddell (until 29 August), then Joseph Carruthers
• Premier of South Australia – John Jenkins
• Premier of Queensland – Arthur Morgan
• Premier of Tasmania – William Propsting (until 12 July), then John Evans
• Premier of Western Australia – Walter James (until 10 August), then Henry Daglish
• Premier of Victoria – William Irvine (until 16 February), then Sir Thomas Bent

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Harry Rawson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Herbert Chermside (until 10 October)
• Governor of Tasmania – Captain Sir Arthur Havelock (until 16 April), then Sir Gerald Strickland (from 28 October)
• Governor of Western Australia – Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford
• Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Reginald Talbot (from 25 April)

Events

• 6 January – The Tasmanian government replaces the state's Central Board of Health with a Public Health Department.
• 13 January – The flag of South Australia is officially gazetted as the current design.
• 23 January – A by-election is held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Ryde. It is won by Edward Terry for the Liberal Reform Party.
• 29 February – Women's suffrage is granted in Tasmania.
• 1 June – A general election is held in Victoria. Incumbent premier Sir Thomas Bent is returned with an increased majority.
• 20 June – The P&O ship SS Australia is wrecked at the entrance to Port Phillip. There is no loss of life.
• 12 November – John Drayton is imprisoned under parliamentary privilege provisions in Western Australia.
• 1 December – Ipswich, Queensland is proclaimed as a city.

Arts and literature

Main article: 1904 in Australian literature

• 12 January – Melbourne businessmann Alfred Felton leaves a large bequest to the Art Gallery of Victoria.
• Hans Heysen wins the Wynne Prize with Mystic Morn
• The Austral Hall Toowoomba was officially opened on 5 November 1904 by Sir Hugh Nelson, Lieutenant Governor of Queensland for The Austral Society.

Sport

• September – The Australasian Lawn Tennis Association is formed in Sydney.
• 1 November – Acrasia wins the Melbourne Cup.
• New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield.
• Two Australians, Corrie Gardner and Leslie McPherson, compete in athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics. They do not return with any medals

Births

• 7 April – Roland Wilson, economist
• 8 April – John Antill, musician and composer (died 1986)
• 29 May – Hubert Opperman, cyclist and politician (died 1996)

Deaths

• 8 January – Alfred Felton (born 1831), entrepreneur and philanthropist
• 25 January – Graham Berry (born 1822), Premier of Victoria
• 2 February – Edward Braddon (born 1829), Premier of Tasmania
• 5 August – George Dibbs (born 1834), Premier of New South Wales
• 17 December – William Shiels (born 1848), Premier of Victoria

See also

• 1904
• 1900–1909