Sir Timothy Augustine Coghlan (9 June 1856 – 30 April 1926) was an Australian statistician, engineer, economic historian and diplomat. He held the post of New South Wales government statistician for 19 years, and served various periods as Agent-General for New South Wales in London from 1905 to his death in 1926.Neville Hicks, 'Coghlan, Sir Timothy Augustine (1855–1926)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 8, MUP, 1981, pp 48–51.
Early life Coghlan was born in Sydney, the second son of Thomas Coghlan of Irish Roman Catholic extraction. He was educated at Cleveland Street Public School and Sydney Grammar School, and in 1873 joined the public works department, becoming assistant-engineer of harbours and rivers in 1884.
Other work In December 1905, Coghlan was offered the chance to become the inaugural Commonwealth Statistician, heading the newly created Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. In February 1906, he informed Prime Minister Alfred Deakin that he could not accept the offer due to his obligations to the Premier of New South Wales, Joseph Carruthers. He later told Deakin that Carruthers had threatened to withdraw his pension entitlements if he accepted the federal position.
In 1912 he represented New South Wales at the First International Eugenics Conference in London.
On 15 December 1914, Banjo Paterson reports he was in London when he:
It has been said of his work Labour and Industry in Australia from the first Settlement in 1788 to the Establishment of the Commonwealth in 1901:
Coghlan was serving as Agent-General when he died suddenly at London on 30 April 1926. His funeral was held at St Mary's, Cadogan Street.
In 1897 he married Helen Donnelly (d. 1936), the daughter of Denis Donnelly, who survived him with a son, Austin, and a daughter, Eden. Coghlan left them an estate of the value of £43,197. Coghlan was awarded the Imperial Service Order (ISO) in 1903, was knighted in 1914 and created a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1918.
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