|
James Thomas Walker (20 March 1841 – 18 January 1923) was a Scottish-born Australian banker and politician. Walker was born in Scotland but spent his early childhood in New South Wales, before returning to Scotland with his family to study finance. Joining the Bank of New South Wales, he returned to Australia and held various financial positions in New South Wales and Queensland. Gaining a public reputation for financial expertise, he was active in the Federationist cause and was a delegate to the 1897 Constitutional Convention, where he was a significant figure in the development of Commonwealth finance schemes. After assisting the successful "Yes" campaign for the 1898 referendum, he was elected to the Senate in 1901 as a Free Trader. As a senator, Walker continued to focus on finance, although his views on social policy sometimes saw him on the outside of his party. He supported the White Australia policy but disagreed with key elements, and was a leader in opposition to the dictation test, by which a potential immigrant was required to pass a test in any European language before their application was accepted. He also campaigned for a transcontinental railway and for a capital city to be located on federal territory. Attempts to guide financial reform through the parliament as a backbench senator led to frustration, and Walker retired due to ill health in 1913 with his legislation unpassed. ==Early life and career== Walker was born on Leith Walk in Edinburgh to grazier John William Walker and his wife Elizabeth, ''née'' Waterston. The family migrated to New South Wales in 1844 and settled on Castlereads Station near Boorowa. In 1849, John Walker sold the property to Hamilton Hume and returned to Scotland. James was educated at the Edinburgh Institution and King's College London before returning to Edinburgh in 1857.〔 After several years in Scotland working first for the paper manufacturers Cowan & Sons, and then for stockbroker Robert Allan, he joined the Bank of New South Wales' London branch in March 1860; his cousin, Thomas Walker, was one of the bank's directors.〔 In January 1862 he departed for Melbourne on ''Swiftsure'' and was posted to the bank's Sydney office.〔 Walker was then sent by the bank to Rockhampton in Queensland, where he worked as an accountant until 1866 when he was appointed manager of the Townsville branch.〔 In 1867 he was transferred to the Toowoomba branch, which he managed until 1878 when he was promoted assistant inspector in Brisbane.〔 He married Janette Isabella Palmer on 16 April 1868 at Range View. In 1885 he resigned from the Bank of New South Wales to become the first manager of the Royal Bank of Queensland, but in 1887 he returned to New South Wales to manage the estate of Eadith Walker, the daughter of his late cousin Thomas.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Walker (Australian politician)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|