James Willson Agnew
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Sir James Agnew KCMG |
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| 16th Premier of Tasmania | |
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In office 8 March 1886 – 29 March 1887 |
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| Preceded by | Adye Douglas |
| Succeeded by | Philip Fysh |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
2 October 1815 Ballyclare, Co. Antrim, Ireland, UK |
| Died | 8 November 1901 (aged 86) Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Louisa Mary Fraser Blanche Legge |
Sir James Willson Agnew, KCMG (2 October 1815 – 8 November 1901) was an Irish-born Australian politician, who was Premier of Tasmania from 1886 to 1887.
Agnew was born in Ballyclare, Ireland and educated at London, Paris and Glasgow; 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), but not enjoying the life, went to Melbourne, where he was offered the position of private secretary to John Franklin, then governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). He sailed for Hobart 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 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, 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.
Agnew retired from his medical profession and was elected by Hobart to the Tasmanian Legislative Council in 1877. He was a member of the Philip Fysh 'Fysh-Giblin' ministry in that year, without portfolio, and was also in the William Giblin ministry which succeeded it, and in the second Giblin ministry from October 1879 to February 1881.
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