Sir James Willson Agnew (2 October 1815 – 8 November 1901) was an Irish-born Australian politician, who was

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...

from 1886 to 1887.

Early life

Agnew was born in

Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 10,850 according to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is part of, and ...

, Ireland and educated at London, Paris and

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 ...

; he qualified for the medical profession, M.R.C.S.(London) in 1838, and M.D.(Glasgow) 1839. Soon after he went to Australia, arriving at Sydney before the end of 1839. He decided to settle in the west of Port Phillip District (now the Western district of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

), but not enjoying the life, went to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, where he was offered the position of private secretary to

John Franklin Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...

, then governor of

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(now

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

). He sailed for

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

in 1841 and found that the position had been filled. He was, however, soon appointed assistant surgeon at the Cascades Peninsula. Later in 1841 he was appointed assistant surgeon to the Saltwater River probation station, located on the

Tasman Peninsula The Tasman Peninsula, officially Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart. The Tasman Peninsula lies south and west of Forestier Peninsu ...

In 1845 he transferred to the General Hospital at Hobart, later becoming colonial surgeon. This was followed by private practice in Hobart for 36 years. He had joined the Tasmanian Society, afterwards the

Royal Society of Tasmania The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom, and its mission was the advancement of knowledge. The work of the Royal Society of Tasmania includes: * Promoting Tasmanian hist ...

, in 1841, and in that year contributed an article to its journal on the "Poison of the Tasmanian Snakes". In March 1851 he was elected a member of the council and remained on the council until his death some 50 years later. He had abandoned practising medicine when he took up political life full-time in 1877. He was honorary secretary from 1861 to 1893, and for several years a vice-president.

Political career

Agnew retired from his medical profession and was elected by Hobart to the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two Chambers of parliament, chambers of the Parliament, the other being the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly. Both ho ...

in 1877. He was a member of the

Philip Fysh Sir Philip Oakley Fysh (1 March 1835 – 20 December 1919) was an English-born Australian politician. He arrived in Tasmania in 1859 and became a leading merchant in Hobart. He served two terms as premier of Tasmania (1877–1878, 1887–1892) ...

'Fysh-Giblin' ministry in that year, without portfolio, and was also in the

William Giblin William Robert Giblin (4 November 1840 – 17 January 1887) was Premier of Tasmania (Australia) from 5 March 1878 until 20 December 1878 and from 1879 until 1884. Early life Giblin was born at Hobart, Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania), son of W ...

ministry which succeeded it, and in the second Giblin ministry from October 1879 to February 1881. Agnew was then absent from the colony on a long visit to Europe. After his return he was elected to the

in 1884, and on 8 March 1886 he took over from

Adye Douglas Sir Adye Douglas (31 May 1815 – 10 April 1906) was an Australian lawyer and politician, and first class cricket player, who played one match for Tasmania. He was Premier of Tasmania from 15 August 1884 to 8 March 1886. Early life The so ...

and formed a ministry in which he was premier and chief secretary. At the age of 70 years and 157 days, Agnew was the oldest person ever to become Premier of Tasmania. His ministry lasted a little more than 12 months and he resigned his post and political life on 29 March 1887. His last years were spent at Hobart where he died on 8 November 1901.

Legacy

Agnew was created

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

in July 1894, formalized in January 1895. He married Louisa Mary Fraser in 1846, who died in 1868. He remarried in 1878 to Blanche Legge. There were several children by the first marriage, of whom only a daughter survived him. Agnew was a founder and fostered the

and gave many volumes to its library, he was much interested in the museum and botanical gardens and the public library, of which he was chairman. Agnew was the founding President of

The Art Society of Tasmania ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

, serving for seventeen years. Agnew joined the council of the Royal Society of Tasmania in 1851 and was honorary secretary in 1861–81 & 84–94; was chairman of the boards that administered the

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

and

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

, a member of the council of education and for a short term he was a member of the council of the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

Arms

References

Sources

* * * *Australian Encyclopædia (1912 - third edition revised 1927) published by Angus & Robertson Limited, Sydney (page 40) Additional resources listed by ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'': *E. L. Piesse, ''The Foundation and Early Work of the Society: With Some Account of Earlier Institutions and Societies in Tasmania'' (Hobart, 1913); F. C. Green (ed), ''A Century of Responsible Government 1856-1956'' (Hobart, 1956); ''Mercury'' (Hobart), 9, 11 November 1901; correspondence file under James Agnew (Archives Office of Tasmania). {{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, James Wilson 1815 births 1901 deaths Premiers of Tasmania Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Politicians from Hobart People from Ballyclare Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Irish emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Politicians from County Antrim

Early life

Political career

Legacy

Arms

See also

References

Sources