See also: 1788 in Australia other events of 1789, 1790 in Australia and the 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.
• April 29 - The Mutiny on the Bounty occurs; Captain William Bligh and 18 others are cast adrift.
• June 4 - The first Government House is completed.
• June 4 - Australia's first theatrical performance The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar staged with convicts acting in the roles.
• June 12 - Phillip leads an expedition to Broken Bay (departed from Sydney on the 6th), and discovers the Hawkesbury River.
• June 27 - Captain Watkin Trench and party discover the Nepean River
• October 5 - The first ship built in the colony, Rose Hill Packet, begins service on the Parramatta River.
• November 21 James Ruse, a convict, provisionally given land at Parramatta to establish Experiment Farm.
• November 25 - For the purposes of understanding Aboriginal culture, Phillip captures Bennelong and Colebec.
• December First successful harvest at Parramatta.

Births

• May 1 - George Fife Angus
• November 5 - William Bland

Deaths

• May 18 - 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".