James Inglis

James Inglis (24 November 1845 – 15 October 1908) was a colonial tea planter, merchant, writer who worked in India before serving as a politician in colonial New South Wales. He was involved in tea trade between India and Australia. He also wrote poetry, books on travel and sport hunting.

Biography

Inglis was the son of Rev. Robert Inglis, M.A. of the Free Church and Helen née Brand, born at Edzell, Forfarshire, Scotland. He was educated at University of Edinburgh. He visited New Zealand in 1864 to join the gold rush at Timaru, went to India at the end of 1866 where his brother Alexander was a Calcutta tea merchant. He settled there as an indigo planter and indulged in sport in his spare time and wrote under the pen name "Maori". He served as a Famine Commissioner in Bhagalpur in 1875, and Executive Commissioner for the Government of India to the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880–81. He suffered from rheumatism from 1877 and left to Australia to write for the Pioneer Mail newspaper. He also became a correspondent for the Echo and Sydney Mail. He married Mary née Nichol in 1879 and worked with Cowan and Co. He worked as an agent for trade between India and Australia becoming agent in Sydney for the Indian Tea Association. In 1883 he joined W. P. Brown to set up Inglis, Brown and Company. In 1884 he was involved in introducing Indian plants of economic value into Australia. In 1886 he became a vice president of the Free Trade Association. He became a representative in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for New England in 1885, and was Minister of Public Instruction in the Parkes ministry (1887–1889) from January 1887 to January 1889.