James Purcell (25 November 1874 – 5 November 1953) was an Australian businessman of the early 20th century, mainly active in the

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

industry on the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Early life

Born in the town of Drayton, Purcell assisted his father, a farm-hand, in raising and farming

dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was mad ...

. In 1897, he purchased land of his own near Westbrook and began dairy farming.

Public roles

Purcell was a founding member of The Downs Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd, the Queensland Butter Board, and was a member of the Queensland Dairy Products Stabilisation Board, serving as its chairman from 1930 to 1950, and also served as Vice-President of the Queensland Council of Agriculture. He also served as Chairman of the Clifton Shire Council from 1911 to 1912.

Later life

Purcell died at his home in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

on 5 November 1953 following a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, James Australian food industry businesspeople People from the Darling Downs 1874 births 1953 deaths