1909 in Australia
Monarch	Edward VII
Governor-General	William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
Prime Minister	Alfred Deakin
Population	4,272,439
Elections	Queensland, Tasmania

See also: 1908 in Australia, other events of 1909, 1910 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

• Monarch – King Edward VII
• Governor-General – William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
• Prime Minister – Andrew Fisher (until June 2), then Alfred Deakin

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Charles Wade
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Price (until 5 June), then Archibald Peake
• Premier of Queensland – William Kidston
• Premier of Tasmania – John Evans (until 19 June), then Sir Elliott Lewis (until 20 October), then John Earle (until 27 October), then Sir Elliott Lewis
• Premier of Western Australia – Sir Newton Moore
• Premier of Victoria – Sir Thomas Bent (until 8 January), then John Murray

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Admiral Sir Harry Rawson (until March 24), then Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford (from May 28)
• Governor of South Australia – Sir George Le Hunte (until January 2), then Sir Day Bosanquet (from March 29)
• Governor of Queensland – Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford (until May 26), then Sir William MacGregor (from December 2)
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Gerald Strickland (until May 20), then Sir Harry Barron (from September 29)
• Governor of Western Australia – Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford (until April 23), then Sir Gerald Strickland (from May 31)
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael

Events

• January 8 – Sir Thomas Bent retires as Premier of Victoria, and is replaced by John Murray.
• March 9 – Electric trams begin operation in Adelaide.
• March 31 – Victoria is the last Australian state to grant women's suffrage.
• April 30 – Tasmania begins to use the Hare-Clark single transferable vote method in the 1909 general election.
• May 26 – The Protectionist Party and the Free Trade Party merge to form the Fusion Party), led by Alfred Deakin.
• June 2 – The Labor government of Andrew Fisher is ousted from office by Alfred Deakin's Fusion Party, and Deakin becomes Prime Minister for the third time.
• June 5 – Steam trams begin operation in Rockhampton, Queensland.
• August 18 to August 21 – Disastrous floods strike Victoria.
• October 6 – Martha Rendell becomes the last woman to be hanged in Western Australia.
• October 9 – John Earle becomes Premier of Tasmania, leading Tasmania's first Labor government, however Earle's minority government only lasts a week.
• December 10 – The University of Queensland is established.
• December 14 – New South Wales passes law ceding land to the Commonwealth for construction of the national capital, Canberra.
• December 21 – British Field Marshal Lord Kitchener arrives in Darwin after an invitation from Alfred Deakin to review Australia's military and defence plans.
• December 24 – Former Prime Minister Sir George Reid resigns from Parliament to become Australia's first High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Science and Technology

• July 16 – The first powered aeroplane flight in Australia is made.

Sport

• January 29 – New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
• June 15 – Representatives from England, Australia and South Africa meet at Lord's and form the Imperial Cricket Conference.
• August 21 – Andrew Wood wins the inaugural men's national marathon title, clocking 2:59:15 in Brisbane. The race was the Australasian Championships, but it was not considered the official national championship by the Australian Athletics Union.
• August 31 – The first interstate ice hockey competition is held in Melbourne.
• October 29 – The South Melbourne Swans defeat the Carlton Blues 4.14 (38) to 4.12 (36) in the 1909 VFL Grand Final.
• November 2 – Prince Foote wins the Melbourne Cup.

Births

• January 19 – Leon Goldsworthy, explosives expert (d. 1994)
• February 8 – Elisabeth Murdoch, philanthropist
• February 13 – Reginald Ansett, businessman and aviator (d. 1981)
• March 2 – Percival Bazeley, scientist (d. 1991)
• March 19 – Nell Hall Hopman, tennis player (d. 1968)
• March 26 – Chips Rafferty, actor (d. 1971)
• April 9 – Robert Helpmann, dancer and choreographer (d. 1986)
• May 23 – William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, Governor General of Australia (d. 1991)
• June 15 – Cyril Walsh, High Court judge (d. 1973)
• June 20 – Errol Flynn, Australian actor (d. 1959)
• June 23 – Keith Virtue, aviator (d. 1980)
• July 6 – Eric Reece, Premier of Tasmania (d. 1999)
• September 9 – Decima Norman, athlete (d. 1983)
• September 10 – Dorothy Hill, geologist (d. 1998)
• December 3 – Stanley Burbury, Governor of Tasmania (d. 1995)

Deaths

• February 9 – Charles Conder, artist (b. 1868)
• March 4 – Max Hirsch, economist (b. 1852)
• March 14 – William Charles Kernot, engineer (b. 1845)
• April 6 – Sir Julian Salomons, chief justice and politician (b. 1836)
• April 18 – William Saumarez Smith, Anglican archbishop (b. 1836)
• April 28 – Henry D'Esterre Taylor, banker and Federationist (b. 1853)
• May 31 – Thomas Price, Premier of South Australia (b. 1852)
• June 29 – Sir George Shenton, first Mayor of Perth (b. 1842)
• July 23 – Sir Frederick Holder, Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
• August 8 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun (b. 1842)
• September 18 – Mary Lee, suffragette and social reformer (b. 1821)
• October 6 – Martha Rendell, last woman to be hanged in WA (b. 1871)
• November 10 – George Essex Evans, poet (b. 1863)
• December 6 – Sir William Henry Bundey, judge and politician (b. 1838)

See also

• 1909
• 1900s