Henry Wyndham Palmer elected Member for Kennedy. Served 28 November 1878 – 5 October 1883
Francis Horace Stubley elected Member for Kennedy. Served 28 November 1878 – 5 October 1883
The Queensland geological surveyor, Robert Logan Jack, reported on the Bowen River coal field.
Burdekin Delta Sugar Co. formed by R.W. Graham and A.C. MacMillan.
Cyclone hits Cairns.
Tinaroo tin field (Herberton) discovered by John Atherton.
Cairns Hospital opened.
By the end of the year there were 12 ore processing mills working in the Charters Towers district. Several of them, including the Venus (1872-1972), were at Millchester Creek.
A Papal brief appointed Dr John Cani Vicar-Apostolic of North Queensland, headquartered at Cooktown.
Cooktown's residents set aside funds for a botanic garden.
Port Douglas Roads Board was established.
Catholic chapel opens in Georgetown.
Georgetown school reopens.
Ingham township was surveyed.
Two bodies, believed to be the survivors of the wreck of the Riser, which foundered on Kings Reef were found near Kurrimine Beach, prompting the name Murdering Point becoming associated with modern day Kurrimine Beach.