Barrett, James W. Sir

Sir James William Barrett was born at Emerald Hill, South Melbourne Australia, the first child of physician James Barrett, formerly of Oxfordshire, England. Barrett's mother died when he was 12. He was educated at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and Carlton College. In 1876 he attended the University of Melbourne. In 1881 he received his M.B. degree and became a resident medical officer at the Melbourne Hospital. In 1883 he published his first paper, Typhoid Fever in Victoria. He then went to attend King's College in London, and received his M.R.C.S. degree in 1884. He taught at King's College, Moorfields Ophthalmic Hospital and elsewhere, and visited Austria and Germany. He researched and published papers on the anatomy of the mammalian eye.

In 1886 Barrett returned to Australia and opened a private practice. He returned to the University of Melbourne, and received his M.D. in 1888. He resumed his research into eyes and also married. In 1897 he became a lecturer at the University of Melbourne. In 1901 he was elected to the university council, and he became interested in medical education.

When World War I began, Barrett became honorary secretary of the Australian Red Cross and joined the Australian Imperial Force with the rank of major. He was posted at the hospital in Heliopolis, Egypt. In 1931 he became vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne, deputy chancellor in 1934, and chancellor in 1935. He retired from teaching in 1937, but was an unpopular administrator.