1856 in Australia

The following lists events that happened during 1856 in Australia.

Decades:

Incumbents

6 January â French musician and composer Nicolas-Charles Bochsa dies in Sydney.
7 February â Tasmanian Electoral Act introduced the secret ballot, which was known elsewhere, in particular in the United States as the "Australian ballot"
19 March â The Electoral Act 1856 introduced the secret ballot in Victoria
2 April â South Australia introduced the secret ballot
11 April â At a public meeting in Melbourne, Dr Thomas Embling repeated the slogan "eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest".
22 May â First Parliament of New South Wales opened by the governor, Sir William Denison
24 June â Queen Victoria makes Norfolk Island a separate settlement from Tasmania to be administered by the Governor of New South Wales.
23 September â The town of Perth, Western Australia, is proclaimed a City by letters patent from Queen Victoria.
25 November â The first Parliament of Victoria is officially opened by the Acting Governor Edward Macarthur.^[1]

1 January â The name Tasmania officially adopted to replace Van Diemen's Land which was felt to have too many convict connotations.
8 June â Pitcairn Islanders arrived on Norfolk Island; the last convict had left and the island was no longer a penal colony. Queen Victoria granted the island to the Pitcairners as a home. Bounty Day is celebrated each year in Norfolk Island to commemorate the event.
Suburb of Goodna founded in Queensland, Australia â Originally part of NSW, its 150-year anniversary was celebrated in 2006.

30 January â William Buckley, convict (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1780)
3 May â John Wollaston, settler and clergyman (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1791)
17 October â William Allen, philanthropist and businessman (born in the United Kingdom) (b. 1790)