James William Blair KCMG (1870 - 1944)

Born 16 May 1870 in Coalfalls, Queensland (Australia)

Ancestors

Husband of May Christina (Gibson) Blair — married 29 Feb 1912 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Died 18 Nov 1944 at age 74 in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

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Biography

James Blair KCMG is Notable.

Sir James William Blair KCMG was an Australian barrister, judge, politician and automotive pioneer. Elected to the Queensland Parliament he held the ministerial offices of Attorney-General, Mines and Public Instruction. He became a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and, later, Chief Justice of Queensland and Lieutenant Governor. He made a 5,632-kilometre (3,500-mile) motor trip in 1908 through outback Queensland in his 1905 Panhard, educating himself in the needs of remote districts, and attractring world-wide interest. He was a Chancellor of the University of Queensland.

James Blair KCMG was born in the Colony of Queensland (1859-1900)

James Blair KCMG has Scottish Ancestors.

James Blair KCMG has Irish ancestors.

James William Blair was born on 16th May 1870 in Coalfalls, Ipswich, Queensland (Australia). He was the son of Scots-born Gordon Blair, a customs officer, and Irish-born Julie Droughton. ^[1] After being home educated by his mother for several years, he attended Ipswich West State School and Ipswich Grammar School, graduating in 1888.

James was a Barrister and Judge; becoming Chief Justice of Queensland

He read for the preliminary Queensland Bar examinations in Brisbane and was called to the Queensland Bar on 6th March 1894. James shared chambers with the Queensland Attorney General of the time, Thomas Joseph Byrnes; appearing as junior counsel in many significant cases.

James' association with Byrnes led to an interest in politics, successfully contesting the 1902 Queensland state election as an independent candidate for Ipswich. In the Queensland Legislative Assembly, he opposed Sunday trading for pubs and hotels, restricted hours for bars, prohibition of the sale of tobacco to children, stringent enforcement against gambling and the takeover of private schools by the government.

In 1903, at the age of 33, James was appointed Attorney-General of Queensland after the Liberal-Labour coalition victory. One of his first acts was to abolish the office of sheriff, which led to the sacking of Arthur Hoey David (better known as author Steele Rudd). The office of sheriff was quickly restored when it was realized how much the sheriff actually did. In 1904, James additionally became Minister for Mines. He introduced the Children's Court Act 1907 (Qld) providing for the first specialised children's courts in Queensland. However, he was unable to gather support for changes to mining laws.

During the parliamentary recess in 1908, James made a 5,632-kilometre (3,500-mile) motor trip through outback Queensland in his 1905 Panhard with four companions. The trip enabled him to educate himself in the needs of remote districts, and attracted world-wide interest as automotive pioneering. Given the condition of the roads—where they existed—it was a remarkable achievement; James felt he had demonstrated 'the utility of motor transit in the heart of Queensland'.

Soon after, however, he was removed from his ministerial roles to allow for coalition members to be appointed (he had remained independent).

Aged 42 years, James married (May) Christina Gibson, nineteen years his junior, on 29th February 1912 – Leap Day – in St Andrew's Church of England (now Anglican Church), South Brisbane. ^[2] The couple did not have children.

At the general election that year, James stood as a Government candidate for Ipswich. He was elected and returned to the ministry as Secretary for Public Instruction; holding office until 1915. In parliament, he introduced law changes to raise the age of consent from 14 to 17 years of age. In 1915, he lost his seat in parliament at the general election, and returned to private practice as a barrister.

In 1922, James was again offered an appointment as a judge on the Northern Queensland bench (he had declined an offer in 1908 so as to remain in Brisbane). This time he accepted and he and his family moved to Townsville. He subsequently moved to the Central Queensland bench in 1923, based at Rockhampton. He was appointed Chief Justice of Queensland on 24th April 1925. He was re-appointed to the senate of the University of Queensland (he had served on the senate in 1915-1916) in 1926 and became chancellor in 1927. He moved immediately to improve the university's primitive accommodation and by 1930 had accepted a gift of 81 hectares (200 acres) at St Lucia from Dr J O Mayne. The work of creating a new campus occupied much of his time.

In the New Year Honours 1930, he was created Knight Bachelor as Chief Justice of Queensland. ^[3]

James became joint patron of the Brisbane branch of the Ipswich Grammar School Old Boys' Association in 1932. He held office also in both the Queensland Scottish Union and the Queensland Irish Association. He later also served as president of Queensland Rugby Union.

James acted as deputy Governor of Queensland for brief periods whilst Chief Justice. He also served as Administrator of Queensland pending the arrival of the new governor in April 1932. He was appointed lieutenant-governor on 31st May 1933.

James was created Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in George V's Silver Jubilee King's Birthday Honours in 1935, as Chief Justice of Queensland. ^[4]

He retired as Chief Justice in mid May 1940 but remained as lieutenant-governor and chancellor of the university.

Aged 74 years, he passed away of cerebro-vascular disease on 18th November 1944 in the the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, South Brisbane. Following a State Funeral in St John's Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane, he was buried in Bulimba Cemetery (now called Balmoral Cemetery). ^[5] He was survived by Christina, who passed in 1966.

The State primary school, in Sadliers Crossing, Ipswich, is called Blair State School in honour of Sir James Blair, who was instrumental in its establishment.

Sources

1. ↑ birth record is yet to be located
2. ↑ Queensland Marriage Index #1912/B/11342
3. ↑ Australian Honours: Knight Bachelor; accessed 14 Mar 2024
4. ↑ Australian Honours: KCMG; accessed 14 Mar 2024
5. ↑ Queensland Death Index #1944/B/68605

See

• Gill, J C H. 'Blair, Sir James William (1870–1944)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1979; accessed online 14 Mar 2024.
• Wikipedia: James Blair; accessed 14 Mar 2024.