James Macarthur Onslow

Early life

James William Macarthur-Onslow was born on 7 November 1867 at Camden Park Estate, near Menangle, New South Wales, the son of Captain Arthur Alexander Walton Onslow and his wife Elizabeth née Macarthur, the granddaughter of wool pioneer John Macarthur. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School. After his father died in 1882 and his mother Elizabeth changed her name to Macarthur-Onslow and in 1887 she took her children to the United Kingdom to complete their education while she studied dairy farming.

Macarthur-Onslow read law at Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degrees in 1890. He returned to Australia in 1891. He married Enid Emma Macarthur, the granddaughter of Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur in 1897. - James' great-grandfather and Enid's great-grandfather were brothers.

Military career

Macarthur-Onslow was commissioned captain of the Camden Squadron of the New South Wales Mounted Rifles in 1892. In 1894 he was selected by commandant of the military forces in New South Wales, Colonel Edward Hutton, for training in India with the 11th Hussars, the Royal Artillery, and the 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps of the British Army. He served in India from 1894 to 1895, seeing active service in the Chitral Expedition.

In 1900 he made his own way to South Africa in 1900 to participate in the Boer War, where he served as aide-de-camp to Hutton, who was now a major general. He participated in operations in the Orange Free State from February to May 1900, including the actions at Vet River and Zand River, and operations in the Transvaal from May to November 1900. For this service, he was mentioned in despatches by Field Marshal Lord Roberts. He returned to Australia in March 1901, but was later appointed to command the 5th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse.

He served as aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of Australia, the Earl of Hopetoun in 1902. He commanded the 2nd Light Horse Regiment from July 1903 until December 1907 when he was promoted to colonel on assuming command of the 1st Light Horse Brigade. He was on the unattached list in January 1910. Although too old for active service during the Great War, Macarthur-Onslow held the rank of Colonel with the Sea Transport Service of the First Australian Imperial Force, commanding troop ships travelling between Australia, the Middle East and Britain between 1915 and 1917. He was aide-de-camp to the Governor-General a second time from 1917 to 1920. He retired with the rank of major general in 1924.

Political career

Macarthur-Onslow served the people of New South Wales as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the seats of Waverley from 1907 to 1913, Bondi from 1913 to 1920, and Eastern Suburbs from 1920 to 1922. He was nominated to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1922, then a lifetime appointment, and served there until 1933, but was largely inactive.

Later life

Macarthur-Onslow served as a director of The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited and The Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited. His other appointments included president of the Australian Club and director of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital 1909 until 1929.

Macarthur-Onslow died at Camden Park and was survived by his wife, his son and his two daughters. His papers are in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.

Family

A small selection of other notable family members includes: