Agnes Busby (1800 – 13 October 1889) was an early European settler in Australia and New Zealand married to James Busby, the first British Resident of New Zealand.

Early life

Agnes Busby was born to John and Jessie (née Campbell) Dow in Scotland in 1800 and emigrated to the Hunter River area of New South Wales in 1830 with her parents, her brother John, and her sister Susannah. At a party at Potts Point, Sydney, she met James Busby, and in November 1832 they married at Segenhoe in the Hunter Region.

Life in New Zealand

In 1833, James was appointed the British Resident of New Zealand, and he and Busby moved to Waitangi to take up the position. James arrived in May and Busby in July 1833, already some months pregnant. They arrived to a poor situation - the house was "ruinous", there were problems with hiring domestic staff, supplies of household goods were limited and deliveries infrequent, and Waitangi itself was an isolated outpost. In fact, the house was in such a poor state that the Busbys moved out to stay with the missionary Henry Williams for a period of months while workers repaired it, returning in January 1834. In letters to his family at this time, James described his wife's life as "slavish" - "I often think she is a little lonely here, although she never complains".

Agnes is a 1998 German novel by Peter Stamm and was considered to be his literary debut. The book was first published in German on August 1, 1998 through Arche Verlag and follows a romance between a nameless older man and Agnes, a young woman that is almost half his age. Of the book, Stamm commented that he saw the book's landscape and climate as an important way of setting the tone for the novel and its characters.

The book has been adapted into a radio play and in 2012, Agnes was adapted into a stage play by Christian Papke.

Synopsis

The Agnes was a wooden carvel cutter built in 1853 in Sydney Harbour. It was lost at Newcastle Bight, New South Wales, on 13 July 1860, when it was blown ashore in a gale whilst travelling between Newcastle and Sydney. The ship master was Henry Hardy.

Coordinates: 32°48′S 152°00′E / 32.8°S 152°E / -32.8; 152

Agnes of Essex, Countess of Oxford (c. 1151 – c. 1212) was the daughter of a royal constable Henry of Essex and his second wife, Alice de Montfort. She was betrothed at age three to Geoffrey de Vere, brother of the first Earl of Oxford, and turned over to be raised by the Veres soon thereafter. Agnes later rejected the match with Geoffrey and by 1163 was married to his eldest brother Aubrey de Vere III, 1st Earl of Oxford, as his third wife.

In 1163, Agnes's father was accused of treason and lost a judicial duel. After her father's disgrace and the resulting forfeiture of lands and offices, the earl sought to have his marriage annulled. Agnes fought his action. On 9 May 1166, she appealed her case from the court of the bishop of London to the pope (the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, being in exile at the time). While the case was pending in Rome, the earl reportedly kept Agnes confined in one of his three castles, for which the bishop of London Gilbert Foliot reprimanded Aubrey.Pope Alexander III ruled in her favor, thus establishing the canon law right and requirement of consent by females in betrothal and the sacrament of marriage.