James Mitchell (1789 or 1792 – 1 February 1869) was a Scottish-born Australian surgeon, businessman and politician.

He was born in Fife to farmer David Mitchell and Margaret Low.^[1] He arrived in Sydney on 15 July 1820.^[1] He married Augusta Maria Scott on 22 August 1833 and fathered three children.^[1] One of them was David Scott Mitchell. On 1 February 1869 he died at his house in Cumberland and received a private funeral at Rockwood Cemetery.^[1]

In 1810 he joined the Army Medical Corps.^[2] With the army he spent nine years travelling around Spain, America, the Netherlands, the West Indies, and Australia.^[1] He served in several battles in the Peninsular War, Napoleonic Wars and American War including the Battle of New Orleans.^[1] He served in a Military hospital in Brussels during the Battle of Waterloo.^[1]

In 1813 he became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.^[1] He served as Assistant Surgeon of the 48th Regiment, including two visits to Australia.^[1] In 1823 he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Colonial Medical Staff and sent to work at Sydney Civil Hospital^[1] He was in charge of the hospital from 1825 until 1837 and was officially appointed surgeon on 1 January 1829.^[2] He was appointed the doctor to look after convicts at the Hyde Park barracks.^[2] He only lasted a few weeks due to being suspended for refusal to attend a flogging.^[2] A court of inquiry found him guilty of disobedience and his name was removed from the list of colonial surgeons.^[2] In 1845 he was elected to the medical board and became the president in 1852.^[3]

Mitchell was granted two lots, both 2,000 acres in Burragorang and Glendon Brook.^[1] He owned 1,300 acres of land in Gosford.^[1] He owned house of his estate Cumberland Place and in Hutchinson Street Surry Hills.^[1] He had land at Hunters Hills and Cooks River.

In 1833 he became a director of the Bank of Australia until it failed in 1843.^[1] In 1843 he was appointed chairman of the Board of the Committee of Works.^[1] In 1852 he became a director of the Australian Mutual Provident Society.^[1] In 1853 he invested in Hunter River Railway Company.^[1] In 1853 he established the Newcastle Coal and Copper Co leasing his property at Burwood.^[2] He invested the Commercial Banking Company, the Australian Gas Light Company and the Australasian Stream Navigation.^[1] He became a director of the Australian Gas Light Company and appointed deputy chairman of directors for the Sydney Ferry Company.^[1]

He was a non-elective member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1855 to 1856 and a member of the reconstituted body from 1856 to 1861 and from 1861 to 1869, when he died.^[4]

He was a foundation member of the Australian Club which was formed on 29 May 1838.^[1] In 1838 he financed the Newcastle Mechanics Institute.^[1] In 1840 he established a school in Sydney on behalf of the Propagation of Christian Knowledge.^[1] Between 1853 and 1869 he served a trustee for the Australian Museum.^[3] He helped the Royal Exchange raise funds to support immigration.^[1] He was a member of the Central Committee of the Australian Immigration Association.^[1] He served as commissioner to the justice of peace.^[3] He was a benefactor of St Paul's College at the University of Sydney.^[3]

• Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877, State Library of Queensland- includes digitised correspondence and letters written by Mitchell to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales on matters relating to the Moreton Bay settlement