Sir Robert David Garrick Agnew,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(21 September 1930 – 3 August 1987) was an Australian competition

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and businessman. As a swimmer Agnew represented Australia at the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

and

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

, as well as the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

. After retiring from swimming he entered business, becoming involved in the resources industry in Western Australia.

Early life

Agnew was born 21 September 1930 in the Perth suburb of Nedlands to Robert and Jean Agnew (née Dorothy Jean McHarg Wilson). As a boy he attended

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

where he was a year below then-future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

. After graduating he attended the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

(UWA) from 1949 studying engineering. In 1950 received an offer to attend

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

on an athletic scholarship where he would swim alongside his Australian rival

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

. He eventually chose to attend

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. His passage to America involved working in the engine room of a ship between

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. He was a member of the Ohio State branch of

Phi Beta Kappa Society The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ar ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1952. Two years later he finished a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1954.

Swimming

As a 17-year-old Agnew went to the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

in London, competing in the 400-metre and 1500 metre freestyle events though he did not make it past the heats. He was the men's 440 yards freestyle champion and was part of the 4×220 yards freestyle relay team that came second at the

in Auckland, New Zealand. At the

in Helsinki, he again competed in the 400 and 1500-metre events, again not advancing past the preliminary heats. Agnew retired from swimming 1954, citing a desire to enter business.

Business

Agnew spent time in 1954 working in Manila with Gus Trippe, an American he met at Harvard. On returning to Perth in 1955, Agnew was part of a partnership, including Trippe, that purchased a steam boat to ship live cattle from

Anna Plains Station Anna Plains Station is a cattle station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Location The station is situated on the Western Australian coast south of Broome. It lies in the Shire of Broome in the Kimberley region and in the Dampie ...

in northwest Western Australia to The Philippines. This was the first time cattle had been shipped live out of the state. He soon extended his business interests to mining salt and iron ore. He formed a partnership with

Harold Clough Harold may refer to: People * Harold (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Harold (surname), surname in the English language * András Arató, known in meme culture as "Hide the Pain Harold" Arts a ...

during the 1970s. In 1977 Mount Enid Mining Company, controlled by Agnew, sold its interests in the Robe River mining project for over A$21 million. In 1980, Agnew led a group proposing the establishment of a new Australian trading bank. This resulted in the opening of

Australian Bank Australian Bank (ABL) was an Australian retail bank that operated between 1981 and 1989. It was established by Perth businessman Garrick Agnew (its first chairman) and Sydney-based Mark Johnson (its first CEO). Johnson was also a co-founder of ...

in early 1981, with Agnew as its first chairman.

Game fishing

Agnew was a keen fisherman. He regularly made a trip of over from Perth to Cairns to catch large fish. In 1983 he set a Western Australian record when he caught a Pacific blue marlin. He was inducted into the

International Game Fish Association The International Game Fish Association (''IGFA'') is the leading authority on angling pursuits and the keeper of the most current World Record fishing catches by fish categories. Fishermen who are sport fishers are careful to follow their string ...

Hall of Fame in 2003.

Honours

Agnew became a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1978. In 1982 Agnew was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

for "service to industry & commerce". A street, Agnew Way, in Subiaco is named in his honour. In 2009 Agnew was inducted into the Swimming Western Australia Hall of Fame.

Death

Agnew died in 1987 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

after swimming at the UWA swimming pool. His ashes were interred at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnew, Garrick 1930 births 1987 deaths Australian male freestyle swimmers Ohio State Buckeyes men's swimmers Harvard Business School alumni Olympic swimmers of Australia Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1950 British Empire Games Swimmers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Swimmers from Perth, Western Australia Australian fishers Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Perth Modern School Australian mining entrepreneurs Australian expatriates in the United States Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming 20th-century Australian people Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games