The following lists events that happened during 1823 in Australia.

Incumbents

*Monarch –

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies: *

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

– Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane * Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania – Colonel William Sorell

Events

* The British Government, with the ''New South Wales Judicature Act'', establishes the first Legislative Council in Australia, an advisory body of five appointed citizens. The Governor, Thomas Brisbane, has power of veto. * 15 February – Surveyor James McBrien at the Fish River near Bathurst discovers gold. It is the first known report of gold, though it is not made public, the

Australian gold rushes During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of Ne ...

do not begin until 1851. * 19 July – ** The

Supreme Court of Civil Judicature of New South Wales The Supreme Court of Civil Judicature of New South Wales was a court established in the early 19th century in the colony of New South Wales. The colony was subsequently to become a state of Australia in 1901. The court had jurisdiction to deal wit ...

is abolished by the Third Charter of Justice; it was replaced by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. ** The

Governors Court The Governors Court was a court established in the early 19th century in the colony of New South Wales. The colony was subsequently to become a state of Australia in 1901. The court had jurisdiction to deal with civil disputes where the amount i ...

is abolished by the Third Charter of Justice; it was replaced by the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

. ** The

Lieutenant Governor's Court The Lieutenant Governor's Court was a court established in the early 19th century in the colony of Van Diemen's Land which subsequently became Tasmania, a state of Australia. The court had jurisdiction to deal with civil disputes where the amount ...

is abolished by the Third Charter of Justice; it was replaced by the

Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and de ...

. * 11 December – Richmond Bridge, the oldest bridge in Australia still in use, had its foundation stone laid. * The Vice Admiralty Court is established. * The

Bank of Van Diemen's Land Founded in 1823, the Bank of Van Diemen's Land was the first financial institution to be established in Van Diemen's Land. Affectionally referred to as the old bank, the Bank of Van Diemen's Land traded for 68 years before becoming the first maj ...

is established, it is

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 sepa ...

first commercial financial institution.

Exploration and settlement

* 5 June – A path through the Liverpool Range, now known as Pandora's Pass, is found by Allan Cunningham. * 31 October –

John Oxley John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley (1784 – 25 May 1828) was an explorer and surveyor of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He served as Surveyor General of New South Wales and is perhaps best known for his two exp ...

explores the Tweed River. * 2 December –

become the first European to navigate the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

Arts and literature

* William Charles Wentworth publishes the first book of Australian verse, ''Australasia: A Poem'', in London.

Births

* Unknown –

Frank McCallum Francis McNeiss McNeil McCallum (Captain Melville) (c 1823- 10 August 1857) was a Scottish-born Australian notorious bushranger during the early part of the Victorian Gold Rush in Australia. Transportation After being convicted under the alias ...

, bushranger (born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) (d.

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Janua ...

)

Deaths

* 5 January – George Johnston (b. 1764), marine and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales * 7 November –

Thomas Laycock Thomas Laycock (1786 – 7 November 1823) was an English soldier, explorer, and later businessman, who served in North America during the War of 1812, but is most famous for being the first European to travel overland through the interior of Ta ...

(b. 1786), explorer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1823 in Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Years of the 19th century in Australia