Governors of the Australian colonies:
Governor of New South Wales - Lord Augustus Loftus
Governor of Queensland - Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy GCMG CB/Sir Anthony Musgrave GCMG
Governor of South Australia - Sir William Jervois then Sir William Robinson
Governor of Tasmania - Major Sir George Strahan
Governor of Victoria - George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby
Premiers of the Australian colonies:
Premier of New South Wales - Sir Henry Parkes until 5 January then Alexander Stuart
Premier of Queensland - Thomas McIlwraith until 13 November then Samuel Griffith
Premier of South Australia - John Cox Bray
Premier of Tasmania - William Giblin
Premier of Victoria - Bryan O'Loghlen until 8 March then James Service
The J. Boag & Son brewery is established in Launceston, Tasmania.
12 June - The first Australasian headquarters of the Salvation Army opened in Melbourne.
14 June - A rail service between Sydney and Melbourne commences when the NSW and Victorian rail systems are joined at Albury.
1 October - Sydney Boys High School is founded in Sydney, New South Wales. It is the first boys public school in Australia.
26 November - An Australasian Inter-Colonial Conference is held in Sydney. Federation and annexation of surrounding islands are discussed by the Australian colonies, New Zealand and Fiji.
Exploration and settlement
Boundary rider Charles Rath discovers the Line of Lode, a massive silver deposit near the town of Broken Hill, New South Wales.
Martini-Henry wins the Melbourne Cup
30 January - England defeats Australia 2-1 in the 1882-83 Test cricket series, reclaiming "The Ashes" of English cricket.
2 November -The Northern Rugby Union (later renamed Queensland Rugby Union) is formed at a meeting in Brisbane
12 April - Dally Messenger, rugby footballer (died 1959)
15 April - Stanley Bruce (died 1967), 8th Prime Minister of Australia
30 May - Sandy Pearce (died 1930), rugby league footballer and boxer
1 July - Micky Dore (died 1910), rugby league footballer
1 September - Robert Graves (died 1958), rugby footballer
12 December - William Baylebridge (died 1943), poet and short story writer
5 January - Charles Tompson (born 1806), poet
18 August - Roger William Bede Vaughan (born 1834), Archbishop of Sydney
