James Munro (Australian politician)
| James Munro | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 15th Premier of Victoria | |
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In office 5 November 1890 – 16 February 1892 |
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| Preceded by | Duncan Gillies |
| Succeeded by | William Shiels |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 January 1832 Sutherland, Scotland |
| Died | 25 February 1908 (aged 76) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Macdonald |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
James Munro (7 January 1832 – 25 February 1908), Australian colonial politician, was the 15th Premier of Victoria.
James Munro was born in Armadale, Sutherland, Scotland, to Donald Munro and his wife, Georgina. James Munro's grandparents were an Alexander Munro of the family of Foulis, Ross-shire and Barbara Mackay, a relative of the chief of Clan Mackay. After a primary education at a village school in Armadale, Sutherland he left home for Edinburgh and joined a firm of publishers. He married in December 1853, Jane Macdonald, and had a family of four sons and three daughters. In 1858 he emigrated to Victoria where he set up a printing business. In the 1860s he expanded into banking and then promoting building societies. In 1865 he founded the Victorian Permanent Building Society of which he was manager for 17 years. By 1870 he was a very wealthy man, and he continued to engage in speculation, particularly in land, after entering politics, as was then the common practice. He was also a leading temperance advocate and prominent in the Presbyterian church.
Munro was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as one of two members for North Melbourne in 1874. In 1877 he was elected for the new seat of Carlton, then for North Melbourne again in 1881, where he was defeated in 1883. In 1886 he was elected as one of the three members for Geelong, retaining his seat until he resigned in 1892.
Initially a liberal, Munro was Minister for Public Instruction in the first government of the radical leader Graham Berry, but became increasingly conservative in the 1880s and did not hold office in Berry's later governments. He was also preoccupied with business in these years, since his companies, the Federal Bank and the Federal Building Society, were leading players in the speculative Land Boom that gripped the colony. Unlike many of the Land Boomers, he had a reputation for stern Scots integrity, and as the Boom faded in 1890 he emerged as leader of the opposition to the government of Duncan Gillies. In November he moved a successful no-confidence motion in the Gillies government and became Premier — he was the third Scottish-born Premier in succession.
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