James Graham (5 February 1819 – 31 July 1898) was a merchant and politician in colonial

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, a member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

Early life

Graham was born in

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

, County Clare, Ireland, the son of Dr. James Moore Graham and his wife Anna Maria, ''née'' Ievers. Graham was educated at Ennis College and Madras Academy,

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...

, after the family moved to Fife in 1832.

Colonial Australia

Graham junior arrived in Sydney in 1839 and travelled overland to the

Port Phillip District The Port Phillip District was an administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales from 9 September 1836 until 1 July 1851, when it was separated from New South Wales and became the Colony of Victoria. In September 1836, NSW Colonial Sec ...

. On 29 August 1853 Graham was nominated to the unicameral Victorian Legislative Council along with several others due to the expansion of the Council. Graham held this position until resigning in July 1854. Graham was elected to Central Province in the Council in January 1867, a seat he held until transferring in November 1882 to

South Yarra Province South Yarra Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council from November 1882 until May 1904. South Yarra Province was created in the redistribution of provinces in 1882 when the Central and Eastern Provinces were abolished. ...

. Graham was a member of the Royal commission in the Federal Union in 1870. Graham died in

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

on 31 July 1898. He had married Mary Alleyne, ''née'' Cobham on 24 September 1845 and together they had 18 children, eight dying young.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, James 1819 births 1898 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council People from County Clare Irish emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians