Sir Arthur Renwick (30 May 1837 – 23 November 1908) was an Australian physician, politician and philanthropist.

Early life

Renwick was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the son of George Renwick, a bricklayer, and his wife Christina, ''née'' Condie. His parents travelled as bounty immigrants aboard the ''Helen'', arriving in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia on 21 July 1841. His father was Mayor of Redfern from February 1862 to February 1864 and from February 1867 until February 1872. Renwick was educated at Redfern Grammar School and was one of the early students of the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, where he matriculated in 1853 and graduated

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1857. Renwick then studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

where he graduated M.B. (1860),

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

(1861), and

F.R.C.S. Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roy ...

, Edinburgh. Renwick did further courses in Glasgow, London and Paris.

Medical career

Renwick then returned to Sydney in 1862, living in Redfern where he established a rapidly growing practice, becoming eventually one of the leading physicians and the first president of the local branch of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

. In 1868, Renwick married Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. John Saunders, at the Redfern Congregational Church. Renwick also became an examiner in medicine at the University of Sydney, and in 1877 was elected to its senate.

Politician and philanthropist

Renwick attempted to enter the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

for the university seat at the by-election in August 1879 but was defeated by

Edmund Barton Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton (18 January 18497 January 1920) was an Australian politician, barrister and jurist who served as the first prime minister of Australia from 1901 to 1903. He held office as the leader of the Protectionist Party, before ...

, however he was elected a member for East Sydney at the by-election in December 1879. He became

Secretary for Mines The position of Secretary for Mines was an office in the United Kingdom Government, associated with the Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for ...

in the third ministry of

Sir Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australi ...

on 12 October 1881, but lost his seat at the election held in December 1882. He was elected for Redfern in October 1885, and was Minister of Public Instruction in the ministry of Sir Patrick Jennings from 26 February 1886 to 19 January 1887. In this year he was nominated to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and was a member for the remainder of his life, though never in office again. As a politician he was one of the earliest to realise the responsibility of the state towards the poor. Renwick authored the Benevolent Society's incorporation act, he founded the state children's relief department, and as president of the original committee he had much to do with the bringing in of old-age pensions in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. In spite of his heavy workload as a physician, he gave much time to Sydney hospital, was its president for 29 years, was also president for about the same period of the Benevolent Society of New South Wales, and he took much interest in the Deaf Dumb and Blind Institution, and the Royal Hospital for Women at

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

. He became a member of the senate of the

in 1877, and was vice-chancellor on several occasions. He was an early advocate for the foundation of a medical school at the university, and in 1877 donated £1000 to found a scholarship in the faculty of medicine. After the medical school was established in 1883 he provided the west stained-glass window in the upper hall of the medical school building. Renwick took the greatest interest in all movements for the welfare of the community, and his ability as an organiser led to his acting as a commissioner for New South Wales for the international exhibition in Melbourne in 1880, and in similar positions for exhibitions held at Amsterdam in 1883, Chicago in 1893 and Adelaide in 1887. He was knighted in 1894. His skill for business led to his being placed on the boards of various important financial companies, but his really important work was his philanthropy. Renwick died at Sydney of heart disease on , he was survived by his wife, five sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renwick, Arthur 1837 births 1908 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Australian Knights Bachelor Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Vice-chancellors of the University of Sydney 19th-century Australian politicians Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Ministers for education (New South Wales)