1789 in Australia

1789 in Australia

1786 • 1787 • 1788 • 1789 (1789) • 1790 • 1791 • 1792

Other events of 1789 • Timeline of Australian history

Leaders

• Governor of New South Wales – Captain Arthur Phillip
• Governor of Norfolk Island – Philip Gidley King
• Commanding officer of the colony's marine presence – Major Robert Ross

Events

• January – A convict uprising on Norfolk Island is easily crushed.
• April – An outbreak of smallpox at the Sydney Cove settlement kills many local Eora Aboriginals, including Arabanoo.
• 29 April – The Mutiny on the Bounty occurs; Captain William Bligh and 18 others are cast adrift.
• 4 June – The first Government House is completed.
• 4 June – Australia's first theatrical performance The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar staged with convicts acting in the roles.
• 12 June – Phillip leads an expedition to Broken Bay (departed from Sydney on the 6th), and discovers the Hawkesbury River.
• 27 June – Captain Watkin Tench and party discover the Nepean River
• 5 October – The first ship built in the colony, Rose Hill Packet, begins service on the Parramatta River.
• 21 November – James Ruse, a convict, provisionally given land at Parramatta to establish Experiment Farm.
• 25 November – For the purposes of understanding Aboriginal culture, Phillip captures Bennelong and Colebec.
• December – First successful harvest at Parramatta

Births

• 1 May – George Fife Angas
• 5 November – William Bland

Deaths

• 18 May – Arabanoo, cultural mediator between the British settlers and Eora Aboriginals

References

• Australian Encyclopedia 6th edition Australian Geographic Terrey Hills NSW 1996 Volume 1 Chronology page 25
• Barker, Anthony (1996). What Happened When. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86373-986. 
• National Library of Australia. "The World Upside Down: Australia 1788 – 1830". http://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/upsidedown/index.html.