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← 1902 1901 1900 1903 in Australia → 1904 1905 1906
Decades:	1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s
See also:	Other events of 1903 Timeline of Australian history

The following lists events that happened during 1903 in Australia.

Incumbents

• Monarch – Edward VII
• Governor General – John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun (until 29 January), then Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
• Prime Minister – Edmund Barton (until 24 September), then Alfred Deakin
• Chief Justice – Samuel Griffith (from 5 October)

State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – John See
• Premier of Queensland – Robert Philp (until 17 September), then Arthur Morgan
• Premier of South Australia – John Jenkins
• Premier of Tasmania – Elliott Lewis (until 9 April), then William Propsting
• Premier of Western Australia – Walter James
• Premier of Victoria – William Irvine

State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Admiral Sir Harry Rawson
• Governor of Queensland – Major General Sir Herbert Chermside
• Governor of South Australia – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson (until 17 July)
• Governor of Tasmania – Captain Sir Arthur Havelock
• Governor of Western Australia – Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford (from 24 March)
• Governor of Victoria – Sir George Clarke (until 24 November)

Events

• 20 February – The Flag of Australia, altered so that the stars of the Southern Cross (except the smallest one) have seven points each, is approved by Edward VII.
• 6 April – South Australian Government prospecting expedition, was the first major expedition Herbert Basedow participated in. Its purpose was to inspect the Musgrave, Mann and Tomkinson ranges and neighbouring areas for signs of gold and other mineral deposits.
• 6 October – The High Court of Australia convenes for the first time.
• 24 November – Sir George Clarke retires as Governor of Victoria. Sir John Madden, the lieutenant governor, acts in his place until the appointment of a new governor.
• 28 November – The oil tanker SS Petriana strikes a reef at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. Two days later, its cargo of 1,300 tonnes of crude oil is released, causing the first major oil spill in Australia.
• 16 December – Australia's second federal election is held, the first in the world in which women were permitted to vote and stand for parliament. The incumbent Protectionist Party led by Alfred Deakin defeated the opposition Free Trade Party led by George Reid. Selina Anderson, Vida Goldstein, Nellie Martel, and Mary Moore-Bentley become the first women in the British Empire to stand for a national parliament; none are successful.
• 18 December – The first train runs from Rockhampton to Brisbane.

Arts and literature

• Edward Officer wins the Wynne Prize with Glenora
• The Austral Society was founded due to the influence of The Toowoomba poet George Essex Evans

Sport

• Lord Cardigan wins the Melbourne Cup
• New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield

Births

• 10 January – Pud Thurlow, cricketer (d. 1975)
• 21 January – Sir John Eccles, neurophysiologist and Nobel recipient (d. 1997)
• 22 April – Daphne Akhurst, tennis player (d. 1933)
• 22 June – Sir Garfield Barwick, 7th Chief Justice of Australia (d. 1997)

Deaths

• 2 January – Sir Frederick Sargood, Victorian politician (born in the United Kingdom and died in New Zealand) (b. 1834)
• 9 February – Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, 8th Premier of Victoria (born in the United Kingdom and died in France) (b. 1816)
• 12 September – Duncan Gillies, 14th Premier of Victoria (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1834)

See also

• 1903
• 1900–1909

References

1. "South Australian Government prospecting expedition, 1903" (PDF).
2. "Petriana, 28 November 1903". Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Retrieved 15 March 2020.

v t e Years in Australia (1788–present)
18th century	1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800
19th century	1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Timeline of Australian history

• 1903 in Australia
• 1903 by country
• Years of the 20th century in Australia