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Adye Douglas
17th Premier of Tasmania
In office August 15, 1884 – March 8, 1886
Preceded by	William Giblin
Succeeded by	James Agnew
Constituency	Launceston, Westbury, Norfolk Plains, Fingal
Born	May 31, 1815 Thorpe-next-Norwich, Norfolk, England  United Kingdom
Died	April 10, 1906 Hobart, Tasmania  Australia
Nationality	English
Political party	Seperationist
Spouse	Martha Matilda Collins (née Rolls), Charlotte Richards, Ida Richards
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Anglican

Adye Douglas Tasmanian Tigers
Batting style	Right-Hand Batsman
Bowling type	Right-Arm Medium
	First Class	"A" Matches
Matches	1	0
Runs scored	6	0
Batting average	3.00	0.00
100s/50s	0/0	0/0
Top score	6	0
balls bowled		0
Wickets		0
Bowling average	0.00	0.00
5 wickets in innings	0	0
10 wickets in match	0	0
Best bowling	0/5	0/0
Catches/stumpings	0/0	0/0
As of March 24, 2007 Source: Cricinfo.com

Sir Adye Douglas (born Thorpe-Next-Norwich, 31 May 1815 – died Hobart, 10 April 1906) was an Australian lawyer and politician, and first class cricket player, who played one match for Tasmania. He was Premier of Tasmania from August 15, 1884 to March 8, 1886.

The son of Captain Henry Osborne Douglas, and his wife Eleanor, Douglas was born in Thorpe, Norfolk, England of Scottish descent. His father was an officer in the army, but his grandfather, Billy Douglas was an admiral and five uncles were post-captains. He was educated in Hampshire and Caen, France, before doing his articles with a Southampton law firm. He migrated to Van Diemens Land (now Tasmania)aboard the Louisa Campbell in 1839. He was soon admitted to the Supreme Court of Tasmania, but soon went to Victoria where he ran a sheep farm near Kilmore with his brother.

He soon tired of farming, and in 1842 he returned to Launceston, where he established his own law firm, which still operates today.

Douglas was very interested in the development and welfare of the colony, and was a supporter of both the establishment of local responsible government and the name change from Van Diemens Land to Tasmania. He was also a strong advocate of the Anti-Transportation League.

Ayde Douglas played his only first class cricket match at South Yarra Ground, Melbourne, on the 29 and 30 March 1852 for Tasmania against Victoria. He scored a duck in the first innings, and 6 in the second. He also took 0/5 off 2 overs in Victoria's second innings.

He was elected as an alderman of Launceston in 1852, and served until 1884, including two terms as mayor from 1865–1866, and 1880–1882.

In 1856 he was one of the first representatives elected to Tasmania's new House of Assembly, but was soon frustrated by lack of support. He resigned in 1857 to travel in North America, France, and England, before soon returning to Tasmania.

Whilst abroad, Douglas had been impressed by the development of railways in those places, and felt strongly that Tasmania needed to develop its own railways. He failed to gain support for the development of a Hobart to Launceston railway, but did push through a Launceston to Deloraine railway.

Douglas was a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1862 until 1884, when he became a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council instead. He served as Premier of Tasmania from 1884 until 1886.

Douglas represented Tasmania at the Federal Council of Australasia, where he not only supported the creation of a federation, but wanted to go further and promoted the establishment of an Australian Republic.

He resigned as Premier in 1886 to take up a post as Tasmanian Agent-General in London, but was soon recalled due to problems with his railway associations in Tasmania. He returned to the Tasmanian Legislative Council from 1890 to 1904, and was knighted in 1902, being described as "The first amongst the Tasmanians", by then Governor of Tasmania, Captain Sir Arthur Havelock.

Douglas had three sons and a duaghter in the 1840's. He married Martha Matilda Collins in 1858, but they had no children. In 1873, he married Charlotte Richards, and they had a daughter Eleanor, before she died in 1876. In 1877, he married Charlotte's sister, Ida in Adelaide, and they had four sons, and four daughters.

Sir Ayde Douglas died on April 10, 1906, in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 90 years and 314 days.

• Parliamentary Library profile
• Cricinfo Profile
• P. T. McKay, F. C. Green, 'Douglas, Sir Adye (1815 - 1906)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 87-88.
• Serle, Percival (1949). "Douglas, Adye". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. 

v • d • e Premiers of Tasmania
Champ | Gregson | Weston | Smith | Chapman | Whyte | Dry | Wilson | Innes | Kennerley | Reibey | Fysh | Giblin | Crowther | Douglas | Agnew | Dobson | Braddon | E. Lewis | Propsting | Evans | Earle | Solomon | Lee | Hayes | Lyons | McPhee | Ogilvie | Dwyer-Gray | Cosgrove | Brooker | Reece | Bethune | Neilson | Lowe | Holgate | Gray | Field | Groom | Rundle | Bacon | Lennon