James Fletcher (August 1834 – 19 March 1891) was an Australian coalminer and owner, newspaper proprietor and politician, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. Fletcher was born in Dalkeith, East Lothian, Scotland to parents of William Fletcher and Anne Fletcher. Migrated to Australia in February 1851, first working in the goldfields and later in the Newcastle area as a coalminer. He married Isabella Birrell in 1854. He was responsible in setting up Australia's Agricultural Co's sick and accident fund. In 1860 he was elected chairman of the new Hunter River Miners' Association, which soon became involved in New South Wales's first serious industrial action, when the mine owners tried unsuccessfully to reduce payments to miners by twenty percent. The union then attempted to e