Adam Jameson (5 May 1860 – 12 March 1907) was a Scottish-born

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

who was a member of parliament and government minister in both the Australian state of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and the

Transvaal Colony The Transvaal Colony () was the name used to refer to the Transvaal region during the period of direct British rule and military occupation between the end of the Second Boer War in 1902 when the South African Republic was dissolved, and the ...

(in present-day South Africa).

Early life

Jameson was born in

Pathhead Pathhead () is an area of Kirkcaldy, in Fife, Scotland. Pathhead was an independent village before it was incorporated into the Royal burgh of Kirkcaldy. In Jan Blaeu's map of Scotland from the 17th century reference is made to the village of P ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Scotland, where his father, Charles Adam Jameson, was a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

minister. He attended Craigmount School, Edinburgh, before going on to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating M.B., C.M. in 1883. After a brief period at Chalmers Hospital, Banff, Jameson left for Western Australia, arriving in 1884. In 1889, he married Ethel Mary Hensman, the daughter of Alfred Hensman (a former Attorney-General of Western Australia).Adam Jameson
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 15 June 2016. Jameson left for Europe in 1893, on a health trip, and lived in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

until his wife's death in 1897. That same year he received his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh, and then returned to Australia.

Australian politics

Jameson first attempted to enter politics at the 1890 general election, the first to be held for the Legislative Assembly. He was defeated by

William Silas Pearse William Silas Pearse (21 May 1838 – 30 December 1908) was an Australian businessman, pastoralist, and politician who served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1872 to 1880 a ...

in the seat of North Fremantle. In 1899, Jameson was appointed chairman of a

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

into the prisons system in Western Australia. He was elected to parliament at the 1900 Legislative Council elections, as one of three members for the newly created

Metropolitan-Suburban Province The Metropolitan-Suburban Province was a three-member electoral province of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the metropolitan region of Perth. It was created by the ''Constitution Acts Amendment Act 1899'', and became effect ...

. In

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying la ...

's first government, which lasted from June to November 1901, Jameson served as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. When Leake returned as

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

in December 1901, he was made Minister for Lands. He remained in the position under

Walter James Walter James may also refer to: * Walter James (actor) (1882–1946), American film actor * Walter James (Australian politician) (1863–1943), Australian politician and the fifth Premier of Western Australia * Walter James, 1st Baron Northbourne ...

(who became premier in July 1902 following Leake's death in office), but resigned from both parliament and the ministry in January 1903 in order to go to South Africa.

South African politics

The

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

from 1901 to 1902 was Sir

Arthur Lawley Arthur Lawley, 6th Baron Wenlock, (12 November 1860 – 14 June 1932) was a British colonial administrator who served variously as Administrator of Matabeleland, Governor of Western Australia, Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal Colony, Trans ...

, who left office when he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal. In late 1902, Lawley offered Jameson the position of Commissioner of Lands in his government, which would also make him an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' member of the Transvaal Legislative Council. Jameson accepted the position, which he took up the following year. Outside of his friendship with Lawley, he also had another connection with South Africa – his second cousin,

Leander Starr Jameson Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, (9 February 1853 – 26 November 1917), also known as Starr Jameson, was a British colonial politician, who was best known for his involvement in the ill-fated Jameson Raid. Early life and family He w ...

, was a Prime Minister of the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

."SOUTH AFRICAN RAILWAY DISASTER."
''The Daily News'', 15 March 1907. Jameson served in the ministry until early 1907, when

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

was implemented, and received a substantial pension after his retirement.

Death

After leaving South Africa, Jameson intended to take a brief trip to London, and then to retire to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. He left

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

in March 1907, taking an overnight train to

Lourenço Marques Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. However, recent heavy rainfall had washed away a

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

on the line near

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

, and caused the train to derail. Jameson and eleven others were killed in the accident. He was survived by his three daughters, living in London, and a sister, who was married to

John Foulkes John Charles Griffiths Foulkes (22 March 1861 – 4 December 1935) served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia, as a member of the Legislative Council from 1894 to 1896 and as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1902 to 1 ...

(an MP in Western Australia)."THE LATE DR. ADAM JAMESON"
''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'', 20 April 1907.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jameson, Adam 1860 births 1907 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Kirkcaldy Railway accident deaths in South Africa Settlers of Western Australia Scottish emigrants to Australia Scottish emigrants to South Africa 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Transvaal people People educated at Craigmount School