James Macpherson Grant (1822 – 1 April 1885) was an Australian solicitor who defended the

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

rebels and a politician who was a member of the

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

and 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 and legal career

Grant was born at

Alvie Alvie ( gd, Albhaidh) is a small crofting hamlet, a working Scottish highland Estate (land), estate and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish, located on the south shore of Loch Alvie in the Badenoch and Strathspey area of Inverness-shire, wi ...

, Inverness-shire,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, son of Louis Grant and his wife Isabella, ''née'' McBean. He obtained some schooling at Kingdenie and emigrated to Sydney with his parents in 1836 and was articled to Chambers and Thurlow, solicitors. In 1844 he paid a visit to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and served as a volunteer in the

Flagstaff War The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of Hō ...

against the

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

s. Returning to Australia he was admitted to practise as an attorney and solicitor in 1847, and became a partner of Mr Thurlow. In 1850, with a partner, he chartered a vessel and took supplies to California, and in June 1851 was still at San Francisco. Grant returned to Australia on receiving news of the discovery of gold in Victoria and in 1853 was a successful miner at

Bendigo, Victoria Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban populat ...

. He was practising as a solicitor at

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 ...

in 1854, and showed much sympathy for the diggers (miners) at the time of the

Eureka rebellion The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

in December 1854. The

mayor of Melbourne This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Melbourne, a Local government in Australia, local government area of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Mayors (1842–1902) Lord mayors (1902–1980) The title of "Lord ...

, John Thomas Smith, had called a meeting at the town hall to concert measures for keeping law and order. Grant and Dr J. H. Owens issued a placard asking the public not to go to the town hall, but to attend an open-air meeting on the present site of

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. Th ...

. About 5000 people attended. Grant was one of the speakers and a committee was appointed to interview the governor. At the trial of the

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

miners Grant acted as their attorney without fee.

Political career

In 1855 Grant was elected a member of the

for Sandhurst, and when responsible government was established in 1856, was elected a member of the Legislative Assembly for Sandhurst Boroughs (based around current Bendigo). Grant did not stand at the 1859 Sandhurst Boroughs election, but, in October 1959, was elected for Avoca and held this seat until his death. Grant joined the

Richard Heales Richard Heales (22 February 1822 – 19 June 1864), Victorian colonial politician, was the 4th Premier of Victoria. Heales was born in London, the son of Richard Heales, an ironmonger. He was apprenticed as a coachbuilder and migrated to Victor ...

ministry in February 1861 as

Vice-President of the Board of Land and Works The Board of Land and Works was a board that throughout its existence, was responsible for matters involving public works, public lands, railways, main roads, bridges, Melbourne sewage and water supply, rural water supply, aboriginal welfare, an ...

and

Commissioner of Public Works The Walsh Act is a legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commissi ...

, and resigned with Heales in November. Grant was commissioner for railways in the

James McCulloch Sir James McCulloch, (18 March 1819 – 31 January 1893), British colonial politician, was the fifth Premier of Victoria. Early life McCulloch was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of George McCulloch, a quarry master a ...

ministry from June 1863 to September 1864 and then became president of the board of lands and works and commissioner of crown lands and survey from September 1864 to May 1868. In 1865 Grant succeeded in passing a land act which promised to be little more successful than previous acts, the conditions being too exacting for poor men. One clause, however, which had been meant to apply to goldfield areas, allowed selectors to take up at a rental of two shillings an acre. Grant interpreted this very liberally and many applicants were allowed to hold four licences and thus farms of were established. However, in May 1869, Grant brought in a new land bill which allowed the selection of up to with conditions of residence, cultivation and improvement at a yearly payment of two shillings an acre, with liberal terms to convert into freehold. Grant was then holding the same position in the second McCulloch ministry as in the previous one, and went out of office in September 1869. The act, however, came into force on 1 February 1870 and, though amended by later governments, was the basis of all subsequent land settlement in

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 ...

. Grant earned great popularity from it, and was afterwards presented with a testimonial of £3000 raised by public subscription. He again held the lands portfolio in the Charles Duffy ministry from June 1871 to June 1872, was minister of justice in the first

Graham Berry Sir Graham Berry, (28 August 1822 – 25 January 1904), Australian colonial politician, was the 11th Premier of Victoria. He was one of the most radical and colourful figures in the politics of colonial Victoria, and made the most determined e ...

ministry for a few weeks in 1875, held the same position in the second Berry ministry from May 1877 to March 1880, and was chief secretary and minister of public instruction in the

Bryan O'Loghlen Sir Bryan O'Loghlen, 3rd Baronet (pronounced and sometimes spelt Brian O'Lochlen) (27 June 1828 – 31 October 1905), Australian colonial politician, was the 13th Premier of Victoria. Biography O'Loghlen was born in County Clare, Ireland, a y ...

ministry from July 1881 to March 1883. He was able to do valuable work at the education department by insisting on the importance of merit in considering promotions. Grant had a stroke of paralysis in November 1884 and died on 1 April 1885, leaving a widow, a son and three daughters. Grant was buried in

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of four Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other nec ...

after a service at Elsternwick Presbyterian Church. A grant of £4000 was subsequently voted by parliament to his family. Grant was regarded as having a genial nature and was generally liked. Although not a great orator, Grant had a clear grasp of questions which commanded attention and was also a thorough and hard-working administrator. His land act cleared up what seemed to be an almost hopeless position, and had great influence in the development of Victoria.

References

* *Geoffrey Bartlett, 'Grant, James Macpherson (1822–1885)',

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 4, MUP, 1972, pp 283–284. Retrieved 21 April 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, James Macpherson 1822 births 1885 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Vice-Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Presidents of the Board of Land and Works Chief Secretaries of Victoria Australian solicitors Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century Australian politicians Burials at Melbourne General Cemetery People from Badenoch and Strathspey Ministers for Public Works (Victoria)