James Maxwell (died 1792) was an officer in the British Marines and member of Australia's First Fleet which established a penal colony in New South Wales in 1788.
A long-serving Marine officer prior to joining the Fleet, Maxwell arrived in the colony and served there for some 6 months but was incapacitated by a combination of dysentery and a disease of the optic nerves.
As the oldest lieutenant and the longest serving at that rank, he was listed first among his peers in the returns of Marine officers aboard the Fleet.
On 24 June 1787 he was aboard the transport ship Prince of Wales when he was greeted with insolence and disobedience by Marine privates Arthur Dougherty and Robert Ryan.
[7] Kennedy was held in legcuffs for three weeks, then court martialled and transferred to the Alexander - a hardship post as that vessel suffered from fever, overcrowding and an overflowing bilge.