John Sydney Hicks (24 March 1864 – 20 April 1931) was a British physician and surgeon. He lived in Australia from 1891 to 1912, and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1901 to 1908, including as a minister in the government of

Hector Rason Sir Cornthwaite Hector William James Rason (18 June 1858 – 15 March 1927), better known as Hector Rason, was the seventh Premier of Western Australia. Early life Rason was born in Cleeve, Somerset, in England on 18 June 1858. He was the son ...

. Hicks was born in Falmouth,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, to Grace (née George) and John Sampson Hicks. He attended

Falmouth Grammar School Falmouth Grammar School was a grammar school in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK from 1887 to 1971. Notable students and staff * John Sydney Hicks * Roger Hosen *Paul Martin *Trevor McCabe *Norman Pounds * Sam Toy *Richard M. Trevethan Squadron Leader ...

before going on to the

London Hospital Medical College Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical school, medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal Un ...

, where he received his M.B. in 1888 and his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. ...

in 1890. He worked as a surgeon and physician at

London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and sp ...

for a period, but in 1891 moved to Australia to take a position as resident medical officer in

Roebourne, Western Australia Roebourne is a town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. In Ngarluma language, Roebourne is called Yirramagardu (Ieramagadu). It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It is loc ...

(a remote town in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

region).John Sydney Hicks
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2016. At the 1901 state election, Hicks was elected to the seat of Roebourne, replacing the retiring Horace Sholl. He initially sat as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

,"ROEBOURNE ELECTORATE."
'' The Western Mail'', 11 May 1901. but later aligned himself with the Ministerialist (or Liberal) faction that came to be led by Hector Rason. When Rason became premier in August 1905, he appointed Hicks as Minister for Commerce and Labour in his new ministry. However, Rason resigned as premier in May 1906, and Hicks was not retained as a minister by the new premier,

Newton Moore Major General Sir Newton James Moore, (17 May 1870 – 28 October 1936) was an Australian politician, businessman and army officer. He served as the eighth Premier of Western Australia from 1906 to 1910 and, following service in the First World ...

. He remained in parliament until the 1908 state election, which he did not contest. Hicks had established a private practice in Guildford (near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

) in 1906. He eventually returned to England, practising at Falmouth (his birthplace) for a while and then retiring to Hertfordshire, where he died in 1931. Hicks had married Margaret Pearce in 1899, with whom he had two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, John Sydney 1864 births 1931 deaths Alumni of the London Hospital Medical College Australian surgeons Australian people of Cornish descent British emigrants to Australia 19th-century English medical doctors 20th-century English medical doctors English surgeons Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Falmouth, Cornwall People educated at Falmouth Grammar School 20th-century surgeons