Robert Jamison
Encyclopedia
Robert Jamison was an Australian pastoralist and politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
from 1856 until 1860.
a surgeon on the First Fleet
and was the son of Sir John Jamison
a prominent Sydney physician and one time member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
. He was born at the family's extensive estate on the Nepean River
and was educated at Sydney College
. He inherited a share of his father's estate in 1844 and worked for a short while as he Clerk of the Legislative Council. Jamison acquired extensive pastoral property on the Namoi River
and by 1850 was independently wealthy. He was active on the bench of magistrates.
. He retained the seat unopposed at the next election in 1858 and successfully contested the new seat of Nepean
when Cook and Westmoreland was abolished at the 1859 election. He was defeated in 1860 and retired from public life. Jamison did not hold parliamentary or ministerial office.
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
from 1856 until 1860.
Early life
Jamison was the grandson of Thomas JamisonThomas Jamison
Thomas Jamison was a prominent surgeon, government official, mercantile trader and land owner of Sydney, Australia. Jamison was also a member of the First Fleet expedition of 11 ships which founded the Australian colony of New South Wales in 1788...
a surgeon on the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
and was the son of Sir John Jamison
John Jamison
Sir John Jamison was an important Australian physician, pastoralist, banker, politician, constitutional reformer and public figure....
a prominent Sydney physician and one time member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
. He was born at the family's extensive estate on the Nepean River
Nepean River
The Nepean River is a river in the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia.The headwaters of the Nepean River rise near Robertson, about 100 kilometres south of Sydney and about 15 kilometres from the coast. The river flows north in an unpopulated water catchment area into Nepean Dam, which...
and was educated at Sydney College
Sydney Grammar School
Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
. He inherited a share of his father's estate in 1844 and worked for a short while as he Clerk of the Legislative Council. Jamison acquired extensive pastoral property on the Namoi River
Namoi River
The Namoi River is a major tributary of the Darling River in inland New South Wales, Australia.- Course :The headwaters of the Namoi, including the Macdonald River, the Peel River, the Cockburn River and the Manilla River, rise on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range on the Northern...
and by 1850 was independently wealthy. He was active on the bench of magistrates.
State Parliament
In 1856, at the first election held under responsible self-government, Jamison was elected as one of the two members in the Legislative Assembly for Cook and WestmorelandElectoral district of Cook and Westmoreland
Cook and Westmoreland was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales in the first and second Parliaments , named after Cook and Westmoreland counties in the Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon areas. It was largely replaced by Hartley...
. He retained the seat unopposed at the next election in 1858 and successfully contested the new seat of Nepean
Electoral district of Nepean (New South Wales)
Nepean was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1859, and named after the Nepean River. It was abolished in 1904 with the downsizing of the Assembly after Federation. Nepean was recreated in 1927 and abolished again in...
when Cook and Westmoreland was abolished at the 1859 election. He was defeated in 1860 and retired from public life. Jamison did not hold parliamentary or ministerial office.