Robert David Garrick Agnew CBE MBA (1930 - 1987)

Born 21 Sep 1930 in Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Margaret (Ahern) Agnew — married 29 Nov 1986 in Mosman Park, Western Australia, Australia

Died 3 Aug 1987 at age 56 in Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

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Biography

Garrick Agnew CBE MBA is Notable.

Sir Robert David Garrick Agnew was born on 21st September 1930 in Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia. Garrick, as he was known, was the son of Robert Gordon Carlisle Agnew and Dorothy Jean Wilson. He attended Perth Modern School, Subiaco, and in 1949 entered the University of Western Australia (UWA), Crawley, to study engineering.

Garrick was a champion freestyle swimmer, winning the Gold Medal in the 440-yards freestyle at the 1948 London Olympic Games, both the 440-yards and the 880-yards finals at the 1950 Australian championships, and the Gold Medal for the 440-yards freestyle at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand. That year, he secured a sporting scholarship to the Ohio State University, where he majored in psychology and earned his Bachelor of Science (BS) two years later. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he competed in the 1500-metres event. He undertook postgraduate studies at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration, earning his MBA in 1954; before returning Perth.

He formed Garrick Agnew Pty Ltd and went into business as an ore broker.

Garrick married Fay Ma-belle Ferguson, a stenographer, on 4th April 1959 at the Perth Society of the New Church, Adelaide Terrace.

In 1966 he established an evaporative salt and gypsum mine at Shark Bay, near Carnarvon. In 1970 the Agnew group of companies merged with Clough Holdings Pty Ltd to form Agnew Clough Ltd, with Garrick as chairman.

His wife passed away in 1981 and his younger daughter in 1983. Making this time very bitter-sweet, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1978 and was created Knight Bachelor in 1982.

Garrick married a second time, to Elizabeth Ahern, a divorcee and interpreter, on 29th November 1986 in St Columba’s Presbyterian Church, Mosman Park. Elizabeth became entitled as Lady Agnew.

Aged 56 years, he passed away of a heart attack on 3rd August 1987 in the swimming complex of the UWA. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Western Australia Death Index #103113/1987; registered at Perth

See also

• Wikidata: Item Q5523974, en:Wikipedia
• McIlwraith, John. 'Agnew, Sir Robert David Garrick (1930–1987)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2007; accessed online 14 May 2023.