1906 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch – Edward VII
• Governor General – Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
• Prime Minister – Alfred Deakin
• Chief Justice – Samuel Griffith

  State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Joseph Carruthers
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Price
• Premier of Queensland – Arthur Morgan, then William Kidston
• Premier of Tasmania – John Evans
• Premier of Western Australia – Cornthwaite Rason, then Newton Moore
• Premier of Victoria – Thomas Bent

  State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Harry Rawson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte
• Governor of Queensland – Frederic Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Gerald Strickland
• Governor of Western Australia – Admiral Sir Frederick Bedford
• Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Reginald Talbot

  Events

• 27 January – A cyclone damages Cairns and Innisfail in Queensland.
• 6 February – The world's first surf lifesaving club is formed at Bondi Beach.
• 5 May – The first electric trams begin running in Melbourne from St Kilda to Brighton.
• 16 June – The town of Roma, Queensland becomes the first town in Australia to be lit and powered by natural gas, however the gas reserve only lasts ten days.
• 16 July – The Australian Army Cadet Corps is formed.
• 1 September – Control of British New Guinea is formally transferred to Australia from Britain.
• 12 December – 1906 Australian federal election: The government of Prime Minister Alfred Deakin is returned to power, however voter turn-out is low.

  Science and technology

• 12 July – The first wireless radio transmission is made from the Australian mainland between Point Lonsdale, Victoria and Devonport, Tasmania.

  Arts and literature

Film

• 26 December – The national premiere of The Story of the Kelly Gang, generally regarded as the world's first feature length film, takes place at the Athenaeum Hall in Melbourne.

  Sport

• 26 January – New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield.
• 26 April – 2 May – The 1906 Intercalated Games are held in Athens, Greece – Australia wins three bronze medals.
• 22 September – Carlton wins the VFL grand final, beating Fitzroy 15.4 to 6.9.
• 6 November – Poseidon wins the Melbourne Cup.

  Births

• 18 January – Hedley Bunton, missionary
• 19 January – Rachel Cleland, community worker
• 5 February – Alexander Spence, soldier
• 16 May – Ernie McCormick, cricketer
• 27 May – Raymond Ferrall, businessman, author and cricketer
• 17 July – Dunc Gray, Olympic cyclist
• 12 August – Harry Hopman, tennis player and coach
• 22 August – Lotus Thompson, silent film actress
• 31 August – Edwin Sherbon Hills, geologist
• 2 October – Thomas Hollway, Premier of Victoria
• 21 November – Tom Clarke, VFL footballer for Essendon
• 30 November – Mabel Miller, lawyer and politician
• 3 December – Frank Packer, media proprietor and father of Kerry Packer
• 9 December – Douglas Nicholls, Aboriginal pastor and Governor of South Australia
• 22 December – Clive Turnbull, Tasmanian author and journalist

  Deaths

• 1 January – Hugh Nelson, Premier of Queensland
• 4 January – Jessie Rooke, Tasmanian temperance campaigner and suffragette
• 14 January – Henry Yelverton, politician
• 5 March – Hugh Ramsay, artist
• 7 March – Frederick William Haddon, journalist
• 14 March – George Selth Coppin, actor and politician
• 10 April – Sir Adye Douglas, 17th Premier of Tasmania
• 16 April – William Farrer, agronomist and wheat breeder
• 6 August – George Waterhouse, 6th Premier of South Australia
• 8 August – William Purkiss, West Australian politician
• 3 September – Sir Samuel Davenport, South Australian politician
• 6 October – James Bonwick, writer
• 31 October – Charles Troedel, printer
• 2 November – Henry Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden, Governor of New South Wales