James Munro (7 January 1832 – 25 February 1908) was a Scottish born Australian businessman and colonial politician, and the 15th Premier of Victoria.[1][2] He is best known as one of the leading figures in the land boom of the 1880s and especially the subsequent crash of the early 1890s, where his Christian morals were seen to clash with his business activities.
James Munro was born in Armadale, Sutherland, Scotland, to Donald Munro and his wife, Georgina.[3] 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.[1] After a primary education at a village school in Armadale, Sutherland he left home for Edinburgh and joined a firm of publishers.[3] In December 1853, he married 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.[3] In the 1860s, he expanded into banking and 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. In 1881, he resigned from the Victorian Permanent Building Society to set up the twin institutions of the Federal Building Society and the Federal Bank of Australia, mostly investing in land, in which he also invested.
He was also a leading temperance advocate and prominent in the Presbyterian church. In the boom years of the 1880s, the idea of "temperance hotels", that provided accommodation, dining rooms etc., but did not serve alcohol, was taken up with gusto in Australia, where they were usually called Coffee Palaces, and Munro was leading exponent. In 1886, he was a partner in a company that bought the recently built Grand Hotel (later to become the Hotel Windsor) in Spring Street, and turned it into a coffee palace. It was more than doubled its size in 1888, and Munro had a major shareholding at least five other large coffee palaces.[4]
Political career
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.[4]
Munro's government was generally liberal, but was weakened by the absence of Alfred Deakin, the leading Victorian liberal, who chose to concentrate on the campaign for Federation of Australia. It was quite unable to cope with the accelerating financial collapse which began almost as soon as it took office. The crash climaxed in early 1893 with the failure of a number of banks. Munro's own companies were part of the problem as the bottom fell out of the land market, and in November 1892 the Federal Building Society went into voluntary liquidation,[5] with the Federal Bank closing the doors on 30 January 1893.
Financial ruin
In February 1892 Munro, who was deeply in debt, asked his Cabinet to appoint him Victorian Agent-General in London. He then resigned as Premier and immediately took ship from Port Melbourne. When the news broke there was a storm of protest, led by the many investors whose savings had been wiped out in Munro's companies. Eventually Munro's successor, William Shiels, agreed to recall him from London. To his credit, he returned voluntarily to Victoria, where he was declared bankrupt in February 1893, with personal debts of £97,000. His companies left debts of over £600,000 – a staggering amount at that time. A few weeks later he was attacked and beaten unconscious in a Melbourne street by a man who had been ruined in the crash.[6]
Legacy
Munro has gone down in history as the most notorious of the corrupt Victorian politicians of the Land Boom period. The fact that he was an evangelical Christian who loudly criticised the morals of others has seen him branded a hypocrite as well. In fact it was never proved that he was personally guilty of corruption – unlike the four members of Parliament who eventually went to jail, or the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Sir Matthew Davies, who fled the colony in disgrace and narrowly escaped jail. His business practices were dubious, but usually within the very loose legal framework of business regulation of the time. After being discharged from bankruptcy he finished his days as an estate agent in Armadale.[4]
References
^ abBurke, Bernard (1970). Burke's Colonial Gentry. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry. Vol. 1 and 2. Baltimore Genealogical Pub. Co. pp. 638–639.
^ abcMitchell, Ann M., "Munro, James (1832–1908)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 11 January 2020
^"FEDERAL BUILDING SOCIETY". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900). 2 November 1892. p. 2. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
^"MR. JAMES MUNRO ASSAULTED". Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946). 22 April 1893. p. 26. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
Geoff Browne, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985
Don Garden, Victoria: A History, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984
Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972
Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992
james, munro, australian, politician, james, munro, january, 1832, february, 1908, scottish, born, australian, businessman, colonial, politician, 15th, premier, victoria, best, known, leading, figures, land, boom, 1880s, especially, subsequent, crash, early, 1. James Munro 7 January 1832 25 February 1908 was a Scottish born Australian businessman and colonial politician and the 15th Premier of Victoria 1 2 He is best known as one of the leading figures in the land boom of the 1880s and especially the subsequent crash of the early 1890s where his Christian morals were seen to clash with his business activities James Munro15th Premier of VictoriaIn office 5 November 1890 16 February 1892Preceded byDuncan GilliesSucceeded byWilliam ShielsPersonal detailsBorn7 January 1832Sutherland ScotlandDied25 February 1908 1908 02 25 aged 76 SpouseJane Macdonald Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 3 Financial ruin 4 Legacy 5 References 6 External linksEarly life EditJames Munro was born in Armadale Sutherland Scotland to Donald Munro and his wife Georgina 3 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 1 After a primary education at a village school in Armadale Sutherland he left home for Edinburgh and joined a firm of publishers 3 In December 1853 he married 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 3 In the 1860s he expanded into banking and 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 In 1881 he resigned from the Victorian Permanent Building Society to set up the twin institutions of the Federal Building Society and the Federal Bank of Australia mostly investing in land in which he also invested He was also a leading temperance advocate and prominent in the Presbyterian church In the boom years of the 1880s the idea of temperance hotels that provided accommodation dining rooms etc but did not serve alcohol was taken up with gusto in Australia where they were usually called Coffee Palaces and Munro was leading exponent In 1886 he was a partner in a company that bought the recently built Grand Hotel later to become the Hotel Windsor in Spring Street and turned it into a coffee palace It was more than doubled its size in 1888 and Munro had a major shareholding at least five other large coffee palaces 4 Political career EditMunro 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 4 Munro s government was generally liberal but was weakened by the absence of Alfred Deakin the leading Victorian liberal who chose to concentrate on the campaign for Federation of Australia It was quite unable to cope with the accelerating financial collapse which began almost as soon as it took office The crash climaxed in early 1893 with the failure of a number of banks Munro s own companies were part of the problem as the bottom fell out of the land market and in November 1892 the Federal Building Society went into voluntary liquidation 5 with the Federal Bank closing the doors on 30 January 1893 Financial ruin EditIn February 1892 Munro who was deeply in debt asked his Cabinet to appoint him Victorian Agent General in London He then resigned as Premier and immediately took ship from Port Melbourne When the news broke there was a storm of protest led by the many investors whose savings had been wiped out in Munro s companies Eventually Munro s successor William Shiels agreed to recall him from London To his credit he returned voluntarily to Victoria where he was declared bankrupt in February 1893 with personal debts of 97 000 His companies left debts of over 600 000 a staggering amount at that time A few weeks later he was attacked and beaten unconscious in a Melbourne street by a man who had been ruined in the crash 6 Legacy EditMunro has gone down in history as the most notorious of the corrupt Victorian politicians of the Land Boom period The fact that he was an evangelical Christian who loudly criticised the morals of others has seen him branded a hypocrite as well In fact it was never proved that he was personally guilty of corruption unlike the four members of Parliament who eventually went to jail or the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Sir Matthew Davies who fled the colony in disgrace and narrowly escaped jail His business practices were dubious but usually within the very loose legal framework of business regulation of the time After being discharged from bankruptcy he finished his days as an estate agent in Armadale 4 References Edit a b Burke Bernard 1970 Burke s Colonial Gentry A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry Vol 1 and 2 Baltimore Genealogical Pub Co pp 638 639 Munro R W ed 1947 Clan Munro Annual 2 Clan Munro Association 15 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b c Serle Percival 1949 Munro James Dictionary of Australian Biography Sydney Angus and Robertson a b c Mitchell Ann M Munro James 1832 1908 Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University retrieved 11 January 2020 FEDERAL BUILDING SOCIETY South Australian Register Adelaide SA 1839 1900 2 November 1892 p 2 Retrieved 11 January 2020 MR JAMES MUNRO ASSAULTED Australasian Melbourne Vic 1864 1946 22 April 1893 p 26 Retrieved 11 January 2020 Geoff Browne A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament 1900 84 Government Printer Melbourne 1985 Don Garden Victoria A History Thomas Nelson Melbourne 1984 Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament 1856 1900 Australian National University Press Canberra 1972 Raymond Wright A People s Counsel A History of the Parliament of Victoria 1856 1990 Oxford University Press Melbourne 1992 Serle Percival 1949 Munro James Dictionary of Australian Biography Sydney Angus and Robertson Mitchell Ann M Munro James 1832 1908 Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University ISSN 1833 7538 Retrieved 27 August 2013 External links EditJames Munro ElectricScotland com Genealogy of James MunroPolitical officesPreceded byDuncan Gillies Premier of Victoria1890 1892 Succeeded byWilliam ShielsParliament of VictoriaPreceded byJohn Burtt Member for North Melbourne1874 1877 Succeeded byJohn LaurensNew division Member for Carlton1877 1880 Succeeded byJohn GardinerPreceded byJoseph Storey Member for North Melbourne1881 1883 Succeeded byJames RosePreceded byGeorge Cunningham Member for Geelong1886 1892 Succeeded byJohn Rout Hopkins Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Munro Australian politician amp oldid 1134720725, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
