Sir James Alexander Forrest (born in Kerang, Victoria on 10 March 190 – deceased on 26 September 1990 in

Malvern, Victoria Malvern () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington Local government areas of Victoria, loca ...

) was an Australian lawyer, businessman and philanthropist.

Biography

Family

James Alexander Forrest was the third of five children of Scottish-born parents John Forrest and Mary Forrest, née Gray. He married Mary Christina Armit (1913-1995), the granddaughter of Sir Edward Fancourt Mitchell, on 9 December 1939 (or 1935). They had three children: Alexander James "Alex" Forrest (1941-), an engineer; William John "Bill" Forrest (1944-), a solicitor; and Hugh David Forrest, an agricultural scientist.

Education

Forrest was educated at

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

; he attended there from 1920 to 1922. In 1925, he started an articled clerk's course at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

; and, although this course of study did not lead to a law degree, it qualified the student as both a barrister and solicitor in Victoria. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar on 3 March 1930. His admission was moved by both

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and Wilfred Fullagar, and presided over by William Irvine, then the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

Career

Forrest became a prominent lawyer, specializing in corporate law. He was a partner at the firm of Hedderwicks Fookes & Alston, which later merged to become Allens Arthur Robinson. His business grew thanks to his close ties with the Grimwade family, and he was eventually named a director of the Felton Grimwalde & Duerdins Ltd family holding. Jim Forrest was enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in June 1942, and discharged in September 1943. He served as a Flight Lieutenant in RAAF Intelligence during his enlistment, and then worked for the Department of Aircraft Production. Shortly after the war Forrest took up several board directorships of Australian companies : * 1945-1977: Board member of the Australian Mutual Provident Society * 1953-1977: Chairman of Australian Consolidated Industries * 1959-1978: Chairman of the

National Bank of Australasia The National Bank of Australasia was a bank based in Melbourne. It was established in 1858, and in 1982 merged with the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney to form National Australia Bank. History In 1858, Alexander Gibb, a Melbourne gentlema ...

* 1959-1969: Director of the Drug Houses of Australia Ltd * 1961-1977: Director of the AMP Society * 1970-1972: Director of the

Western Mining Corporation Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

* 1971-1980: Chairman of Chase-NBA Group Ltd * 1970-1978: Chairman of

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

Australia From 1961 to 1971, he was a foundation member of the Council of

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. He was a board member of numerous charitable and educational bodies, including the

Royal Children's Hospital The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) is a major children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia. As a major specialist paediatric hospital in Victoria, the Royal Children's Hospital provides a full range of clinical services, tertiary care, as well ...

, Scotch College,

Scouts Australia Scouts Australia is a trading name of The Scout Association of Australia, which is the largest scouting organisation in Australia, with an estimated 55,038 youth participants in 2021, and a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movemen ...

, and an original member of the Victoria Law Foundation.

Recognition

* 1067:

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

for "services to the community". * 1977-1990 fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, after becoming the fourth person inducted into the Fellowship by Special Election. * 1979: Honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) degree by Monash University for service to the law, commerce, and Monash itself. A portrait of Forrest, painted by

William Boissevain William 'Wim' Boissevain (born 23 July 1927) is an Australian painter of Dutch extraction born Willem Geoffrey Boissevain in New York, son of Gideon Walrave 'Gi' Boissevain who was in the Dutch diplomatic service. He studied at the Central Schoo ...

, and donated by Alcoa, now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery at the Old Parliament House.

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

(2003)
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP RECEPTION TO MARK THE OCCASION OF ALCOA GIFTING THREE WORKS TO THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
. Retrieved 5 March 2006. In 1977, '' The Australian Financial Review'' called him « one of the most dominant men among Australian company directors for a quarter of a century ».

References

External links

Grigg, Terry, "Forrest, Sir James Alexander (Jim) (1905–1990)", pp.403-404 in D. Langmore (ed.), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 17: 1981-1990: A-K'', Melbourne University Press, (Carlton), 2007.

Rogers, D.W. (1991), ''James Alexander Forrest 1905-1990", ''Australian Academy of Science''
reprinted from ''Historical Records of Australian Science'', vol.8, no.4, 1991. *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, James 1905 births 1990 deaths People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Lawyers from Melbourne Australian Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science University of Melbourne alumni Academic staff of Monash University Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers 20th-century Australian lawyers People from Kerang 20th-century Australian philanthropists 20th-century Australian businesspeople