1808 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch - George III

  Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Captain William Bligh, then Major George Johnston, then Major Joseph Foveaux
• Lieutenant-Governor of Southern Van Diemen's Land – David Collins
• Lieutenant-Governor of Northern Van Diemen's Land – William Paterson

  Events

• 26 January – John Macarthur is arrested sparking the Rum Rebellion. Military officers supporting Macarthur arrest Governor Bligh.
• 2 February – William Paterson sails to Sydney from Port Dalrymple, Van Diemen's Land to take over the administration of New South Wales following the removal of Bligh.

  Exploration and settlement

• First settlement at Kingston, Van Diemen's Land.

  Births

• 23 September – William Henty, one of the Henty brothers : he took a leading part in the legal disputes over the settlement.

  Deaths

• 19 June – Alexander Dalrymple, who had strongly opposed the establishment of New South Wales in A Serious Admonition to the Public on the Intended Thief-Colony at Botany Bay.
• 3 September – Philip Gidley King, third Governor of New South Wales.