Agent-General for New South Wales

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Agent-General of New South Wales
Incumbent
Stephen Cartwright OAM
since 1 October 2021
AppointerGovernment of New South Wales
First holderWilliam Colburn Mayne

The Agent-General for New South Wales is the representative of the State of New South Wales in the United Kingdom. The position is appointed by and the expenses and salaries paid by the state government to represent their commercial, legal, and diplomatic interests in Britain and to the British government and Whitehall.

The first agent-general was appointed in 1864 as a representative of the then-colonial government, and apart from a short period between 1932 and 1934, the position was held continuously until 1993 after which it was abolished. The position was revived in 2021, and is currently held by former Investment NSW CEO Stephen Cartwright, as both Agent General to the UK, and the state's Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner to Europe and Israel.[1]

History[]

The New South Wales Office in London was one of several overseas offices established by the colonies of Australia to represent their interests. The London Office was established after the appointment of the first Agent-General on 1 May 1864. In June 1932, the Agent-General's Office was abolished as a cost-cutting measure and was replaced by the New South Wales Government Offices, London, to be headed by an "Official Representative".[2] The title was renamed Agent-General in 1937, but was left vacant from 1939 to 1946 due to the Second World War. From 1972 to 1993, the Agent-General's Office was located in separate premises from Australia House, at the nearby address of 66 The Strand, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1972.[3][4]

In October 1992, the position of NSW Agent-General in London was abolished by the Fahey government. This occurred following an expenses scandal by the last Agent-General, Neil Pickard, who had been appointed as a consolation for losing his seat in parliament.[5] Following its abolition, Fahey noted to Parliament: "It was abundantly clear to me, to all Cabinet and to all Government that we no longer needed an agent-general's office in London. That was a throwback to colonial days - to the days when it was important to have garden parties and to participate in ceremonies. Quite frankly, little or no benefit accrued to New South Wales by participating in such a process."[6] The Agent-General's Office was replaced by the NSW Government Trade and Investment Office, London, which had no ceremonial function, but focused on the promotion of investment and trade in the UK and Europe.[7] The NSW Government of Gladys Berejiklian considered reviving the Agent-General position in late-2019, noting that "We know the post-Brexit environment is going to be very different and NSW can gain a lot of opportunities in business from the UK".[8][9]

The position was revived in 2021, with an expanded remit to additionally cover Europe and Israel.[1]

List of Agents-General[]

Agents-General Term start Term end Time in office Notes
William Mayne 10 November 1864 1871 6 years [10][11]
Charles Cowper 6 December 1870 19 October 1875 4 years, 317 days [12][13]
William Forster 8 February 1876 7 October 1879 3 years, 241 days [14][15]
Alexander Stuart 25 November 1879 April 1880 142 days [16][17][18]
Sir Saul Samuel 11 August 1880 1 October 1897 17 years, 51 days [19]
Sir Daniel Cooper, Bt 1 October 1897 27 March 1899 1 year, 177 days [20][21]
Sir Julian Salomons 27 March 1899 14 May 1900 1 year, 48 days [22][23][24][25]
Henry Copeland 14 May 1900 18 July 1903 3 years, 65 days [26][27][28][29]
The Earl of Jersey 18 July 1903 1 April 1905 1 year, 257 days [30][31][32]
Sir Timothy Coghlan 1 April 1905 26 May 1915 10 years, 55 days [33][34][35]
Bernhard Wise 26 May 1915 21 September 1916 1 year, 118 days [36][37][38]
Sir Timothy Coghlan 21 September 1916 2 May 1917 223 days [39]
Sir Charles Wade 2 May 1917 15 March 1920 2 years, 318 days [40][41][42]
David Hall 17 March 1920 6 May 1920 50 days [43][44][45]
Sir Timothy Coghlan 6 May 1920 20 April 1925 4 years, 349 days [46][47]
Sir Arthur Cocks 20 April 1925 21 September 1925 154 days [48][49][50][51]
Sir Timothy Coghlan 21 September 1925 30 April 1926 221 days [52][53]
Edward McTiernan (acting) 2 May 1926 14 June 1926 43 days [54][55]
The Viscount Chelmsford 14 June 1926 14 April 1928 1 year, 305 days [56][57][58][59]
Sir George Fuller 14 April 1928 14 April 1931 3 years, 0 days [60][61][62]
Albert Willis 14 April 1931 30 July 1932 1 year, 107 days [63][64][65][66][2]
(Official Representative) 15 February 1934 26 January 1937 2 years, 346 days [67][68][69]
26 January 1937 27 May 1938 1 year, 121 days [70][71][72]
20 June 1938 November 1939 1 years [73][74][75][76]
Jack Tully 1 June 1946 1 July 1954 8 years, 30 days [77][78][79]
Francis Buckley 1 July 1954 24 September 1965 11 years, 85 days [80][81][82]
Abe Landa 24 September 1965 5 November 1970 5 years, 42 days [83][84][85][86]
5 November 1970 18 January 1973 2 years, 74 days [87][88]
Sir Davis Hughes 18 January 1973 December 1977 4 years [89][90][91][92][93]
18 January 1978 April 1980 2 years [94][95]
Jack Renshaw April 1980 January 1983 2 years [96]
Reginald Watson January 1983 March 1986 3 years [97]
Kevin Stewart March 1986 February 1989 2 years [98]
February 1989 August 1991 2 years [99]
Neil Pickard August 1991 4 March 1993 1 years [100][101][102][103]
Stephen Cartwright OAM 1 October 2021 Incumbent 113 days [1]

References[]

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