The following lists events that happened during 1804 in Australia.

Incumbents

*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 ...

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies: * Governor of New South Wales – Captain Philip King * Lieutenant-Governor of Southern Van Diemen's Land – David Collins * Lieutenant-Governor of Northern Van Diemen's Land – William Paterson

Events

* 4 March – The

Castle Hill convict rebellion The Castle Hill convict rebellion was an 1804 convict rebellion in the Castle Hill area of Sydney, against the colonial authorities of the British colony of New South Wales. The rebellion culminated in a battle fought between convicts and the ...

, also known as the Battle of Vinegar Hill, takes place: 200 convicts, mostly Irish, rebel. Fifty-one convicts are punished, and nine hanged. * 3 May – An Aboriginal food hunting party is attacked by settlers and soldiers at

Risdon Cove Risdon Cove is a cove located on the east bank of the Derwent River, approximately north of Hobart, Tasmania. It was the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, the island state of Australia. The cove was name ...

. Eyewitness estimates of the death toll from the massacre vary from three or four to fifty. * 16 September – A government-owned

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

is opened at

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

as a means of controlling the consumption of

spirits Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

. * 4 November – In a letter to

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...

, Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed "Australia" or "Terra Australis" (from the Latin "australis" meaning "of the south").

Exploration and settlement

*15 February – Lieutenant-Governor David Collins lands at

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

(

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

). Unhappy with the area as a site for a settlement, Collins sends his surveyor, George Prideaux Harris, and harbour master William Collins in search of an alternative site. Harris and Collins recommend Sullivan's Cove. *24 March – The settlement at the Hunter River, also known as the Coal River, is officially named

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

.Settlement at Coal Harbour and Hunter’s River to be named Newcastle
''Limits of Settlement and Governorship, &c.'', University of Newcastle, 24 September 1804. *8 May – Lieutenant-Governor Collins establishes the settlement at Sullivan's Cove on the Derwent River.1803–1850s, British outpost
''Tasmanian Year Book 2005'', Australian Bureau of Statistics, 21 November 2006. *15 June – The name "

Hobart Town Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

", after the Colonial Secretary

Lord Hobart Robert Hobart, 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire, (6 May 17604 February 1816), styled Lord Hobart from 1793 to 1804, was a British Tory politician. Life Buckinghamshire was born at Hampden House, the son of George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire ...

, is adopted as the name for the new colony at Sullivan's Cove. *5 November – Lieutenant-Colonel William Paterson arrives at Outer Cove, leading the ''Buffalo'', the '' Lady Nelson'' and two schooners, under instructions from London to form a settlement in the north of Van Diemen's Land.

Births

* 5 October – Robert Campbell, politician (died 1859)

Deaths

* 21 March –

James Bloodsworth James Bloodsworth (7 March 1759 – 21 March 1804) was a convict sentenced for the theft of one game cock and two hens at Esher, Surrey. James was a master bricklayer and builder responsible for the construction of most of the buildings in the co ...

(born 1759), convict and bricklayer * 27 December –

George Barrington George Barrington (14 May 1755 – 27 December 1804) (real name Walden) was an Irish-born pickpocket, popular London socialite, Australian pioneer (following his transportation to Botany Bay), and author. His escapades, arrests, and trials ...

(born 1755), convict and police officer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1804 in Australia Australia Years of the 19th century in Australia