Sir James Burns

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

(10 February 184622 August 1923) was a noted businessman, shipowner and philanthropist in Australia. In particular, he is known as the co-founder of

Burns Philp Burns Philp (properly Burns, Philp & Co, Limited) was a major Australian shipping line and merchant that operated in the South Pacific. In later years the company was a major player in the food manufacturing business. Since its Delisting (stoc ...

and Company, a shipping and trading company, and for establishing the Burnside Presbyterian Homes for Children in

North Parramatta North Parramatta is a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. North Parramatta is north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta. History T ...

(now known as UnitingCare Burnside), a children and family welfare organisation.

Early life

Burns was born at

Polmont Polmont () is a village in the Falkirk council area of Central Scotland. It lies towards the east of the town of Falkirk, north of the Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal, which runs adjacent to the village. Due to its situation in Central Sco ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the son of a merchant, David Burns, and educated at Newington Academy and the Royal High School in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He migrated to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in 1862 and worked for three years in Western Queensland as a jackaroo. In 1865 he formed a

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

store, Burns & Scott, in partnership with his brother, and established the first stores in

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

and nearby One Mile Creek and Kilkivan in 1867, when gold was found there. He then sold his interests and returned to

in 1870 after the death of his father. He briefly visited France as an observer and assistant in relief efforts after the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

of 1871 before returning to Queensland.

Business and other activities

In 1871, Burns returned to

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...

to establish a new trading company in

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. He later loaned

Robert Philp Sir Robert Philp, (28 December 1851 – 17 June 1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908. Early life Philp was born in G ...

enough money to become a partner in the enterprise. The company thrived through ownership of sail and steam powered trading ships, initially leased to ensure a steady supply of goods between Queensland and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. This formed the basis of the Queensland Steam Shipping Company Limited, later amalgamated into

, which remains as a major trading company today. The shipping expanded into various ports in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

and the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

, and the company branched into various trading endeavours throughout the following decades. In addition to establishing Burns Philp, his business interests include serving as chairman of the (North) Queensland Insurance Co. Ltd in 1886–1923, the New South Wales Mortgage, Land, and Agency Co. and the Solomon Islands Development Co. Ltd. He was also a director of the

Australian Mutual Provident Society AMP Limited (formerly Australian Mutual Provident Society) is an Australian financial services company that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It offers superannuation and investment products, financial advice and banking services through '' ...

, the Sydney Exchange Co., the

Bank of North Queensland The Bank of North Queensland was formed in 1887 in Townsville with branches in Sydney and London. In 1893 there were branches in: Ayr, Cairns, Charters Towers, Cooktown, Herberton, Normanton, Rockhampton and Thursday Island and agencies at Mar ...

, and various collieries, as well as owning extensive Queensland pastoral properties. Burns served on a royal commission of inquiry into railway administration in 1906 and was appointed to the

Legislative Council of New South Wales The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

in 1908. He joined the

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

troop of the

1st Royal New South Wales Lancers The 1st Royal New South Wales Lancers was an Australian Army light cavalry (reconnaissance) regiment. Its complicated lineage includes the New South Wales Lancers which was first formed as a colonial unit in 1885 as the New South Wales Cavalry, a ...

as a trooper in June 1891 and was immediately promoted Captain, and became Major in January 1896. From September 1897 to June 1903 he commanded the regiment as its Lieutenant-Colonel. He was promoted to Colonel in July 1903 and commanded the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade until January 1907, when he retired. Burns was president of the Caledonian Society for twenty years. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Burns helped establish a scheme for insuring enlisted men with dependants, personally contributing £2000 a year during the duration of the war.

Later life

From the 1880s, Burns was based at a property known as Gowan Brae, north of

. He retired from government and business activities due to ill health in 1908, and lived at Gowan Brae from that time on. Shortly afterwards, he approached the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian and Reformed denomination in Australia. The PCA is the largest conservative, evangelical and complementarian Christian denomination in Australia. The Presby ...

, suggesting that they establish a Presbyterian home for children. In 1910 he endowed some of the Gowan Brae property, to establish the Presbyterian Homes for Children (later renamed Burnside and currently known as UnitingCare Burnside), and was chairman of its board for ten years. It became his passion in his "retired" years, as he made numerous contributions towards new homes and the children. His business and government connections ensured that donations from other sources were also forthcoming, with houses named after sponsors and officially opened by dignitaries. Burns continued to live at Gowan Brae until his death and was buried there in a family cemetery, which now lies within The King's Schools grounds. He left the property to his son, James, but suggested that, should James not need the property, it should be given to the (then) Burnside Presbyterian Orphans Homes. James honoured this request, and the property was donated. Much of the land has since been sold or leased to other organisations, or as residential developments. The property immediately around Gowan Brae is now owned by The King's School, while sections of the property are now owned by the

Redeemer Baptist School Redeemer Baptist School, commonly known as Redeemer, is a Baptist private school in North Parramatta, Sydney, Australia. It was founded in 1981 and now has over 400 students. History The school was founded in 1981 in the context of the Christ ...

and

Tara Anglican School for Girls Tara Anglican School for Girls (commonly referred to as Tara) is an independent Anglican single-sex, early learning, primary, secondary, day, and boarding school for girls, located in North Parramatta, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wa ...

, with some still owned by the Synod of New South Wales and the ACT of the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

for Burnside's own operations and the synod's activities such as the archives, Camden Library and the Uniting Theological College.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns, James 1846 births 1923 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Australian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Scottish businesspeople Australian Presbyterians Scottish Presbyterians People from Polmont People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Australian company founders Ship owners Scottish emigrants to Australia