The following lists events that happened during 1790 in Australia.

Leaders

*Monarch -

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

* Governor of New South Wales – Captain Arthur Phillip * Lieutenant-Governor of Norfolk Island –

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence ...

*Commanding officer of the colony's marine presence – Major Robert Ross

Events

* 28 February – John Irving becomes the first convict to be emancipated in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. * 19 March – HMS ''Sirius'', while transporting supplies to Norfolk Island, becomes wrecked and destroyed on a reef. This destroys many of the colony's supplies, and Phillip is again forced to introduce rationing to avoid

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

. * March – Following the loss of the ''Sirius'', Lieutenant-Governor King returns to Britain to report on the difficulties of the settlements in New South Wales. Marine commander Robert Ross takes control of Norfolk Island in his absence, and under his harsh rule the condition on the island deteriorates. * 17 April – In order to replenish the supplies lost with the ''Sirius'', Phillip sends the colony's only remaining ship ( HMS ''Supply'') to

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

. *3 May –

Bennelong Woollarawarre Bennelong ( 1764 – 3 January 1813), also spelt Baneelon, was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal Australian people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. Bennelong ser ...

escapes. * 3 June – The '' Lady Juliana'' arrives in Port Jackson – the first ship to land on Australian soil since the First Fleet. Much to the colonists' despair, she contains no fresh supplies, only more convicts. * 20 June – The Second Fleet arrives in Port Jackson with much needed supplies. It also carries 759 new convicts and the first detachment of the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying th ...

. * July – The first census taken in the colonies reveals the population of NSW to be 1,715 and Norfolk Island to be 524. * 7 September – Governor Arthur Phillip is speared in the shoulder while speaking with a group of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, due to a misunderstanding. Acting as interpreter,

prevents the situation from escalating and the Aboriginals are permitted to leave in peace. * 18 October – HMS ''Supply'' returns from Batavia with more supplies.

Births

* 12 March –

Edward Charles Close Edward Charles Close (Senior) (12 March 1790 – 7 May 1866) was a British soldier, engineer, New South Wales colonial magistrate, member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, and early European settler in Morpeth.1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman t ...

) * 28 March –

John Wollaston John Wollaston may refer to: * John Wollaston (priest) (1791–1856), Anglican clergyman and settler in Western Australia * John Wollaston (painter) John Wollaston (active between 1742 and 1775) was an English painter of portraits who was acti ...

, Western Australian settler and Anglican clergyman (d.

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

) * 1 May –

James Hurtle Fisher Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1 May 1790 – 28 January 1875) was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of the colony of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident Sou ...

, South Australian pioneer (d.

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

) * 26 May – James Clow, Presbyterian minister and settler (d.

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first stea ...

) * 1 June –

Joseph Anderson Joseph Inslee Anderson (November 5, 1757 – April 17, 1837) was an American soldier, judge, and politician, who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1797 to 1815, and later as the First Comptroller of the United States Treasur ...

, Norfolk Island administrator (d.

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great ...

) * 13 August –

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures of early colonial New South Wales. Throug ...

, explorer and politician (d.

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

) * 8 November –

John Dibbs Captain John Dibbs (8 November 1790–1872) was a master mariner prominent during 1822–1835 in the seas around the colony of New South Wales, New Zealand and the Society Islands (now part of Tahiti). Dibbs was master of the colonial schooner ...

, mariner (d.

) * ''date unknown'' **

William Allen William Allen may refer to: Politicians United States *William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio *William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio *William ...

, joint founder of

St Peter's College, Adelaide , other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter , seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg , seal_size = 150 , image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg , image_size ...

(d.

) **

Saxe Bannister Saxe Bannister (1790 – 16 September 1877) was a writer and the first Attorney-General of New South Wales, Australia. Early life and education Bannister was born in Steyning, Sussex, son of John Bannister. He matriculated at The Queen's Colle ...

, first Attorney General of New South Wales (d.

) **

Andrew Bent Andrew Bent (1790 – 26 August 1851) was a printer, publisher and newspaper proprietor, active in Australia. Early life Andrew Bent was born in St Giles-in-the-Fields London, England. He was baptised in the parish church on 24 October 1791. ...

, newspaper proprietor (d. 1851) **

Thomas Bock Thomas Bock was an English-Australian artist and an early adopter of photography in Australia. Born in England he was sentenced to transportation in 1823. After gaining his freedom he set himself up as one of Australia's first professional ar ...

, artist (d.

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city. * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River open ...

) **

Foster Fyans Foster Fyans (September 1790 – 23 May 1870) was an Irish military officer, penal colony administrator and public servant. He was acting commandant of the second convict settlement at Norfolk Island, the commandant of the Moreton Bay penal se ...

, first mayor of Geelong (d.

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the ...

) ** Joshua Gregory, Western Australian settler (d. 1838) **

Henry Hellyer Henry Hellyer (1790 – September 1832) was an English surveyor and architect who was one of the first explorers to visit the rugged interior of the north west of Tasmania, Australia and made the most comprehensive maps of the area up to that time ...

, Van Diemen's Land explorer (d.

1832 Events January–March * January 6 – Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison founds the New-England Anti-Slavery Society. * January 13 – The Christmas Rebellion of slaves is brought to an end in Jamaica, after the island's white plant ...

) **

Isaac Nathan Isaac Nathan (15 January 1864) was an English composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist, who has been called the "father of Australian music". Early success Isaac Nathan was born around 1791 in the English city of Canterbury to a '' ...

, composer (d. 1864) **

John Joseph Therry John Therry (1790 - 25 May 1864) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest in Sydney, Australia. Early life John Therry was born in Cork and was privately educated at St Patrick's College in Carlow. In 1815 he was ordained as a priest. He did pari ...

, Catholic priest (d. 1864)

Deaths

* 31 March –

Arthur Bowes Smyth Arthur Bowes Smyth (23 August 175031 March 1790) was a naval surgeon, who traveled on ''Lady Penrhyn'' as a part of the First Fleet that established a penal colony in New South Wales. Smyth kept a diary and documented the natural history he enc ...

, First Fleet surgeon (b. 1750)

References

* * {{Oceania topic, 1790 in, countries_only=yes Australia Years of the 18th century in Australia