James Mirams
James Mirams | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Lambeth, London, England |
| Died | June 21, 1916 (aged 77) Moonee Ponds, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, politician, accountant, author |
| Years active | 1857–1916 |
| Known for | Victorian Legislative Assembly member; promoter of Premier Permanent Building Society; involvement in 1880s property boom and subsequent financial scandal |
James Mirams (2 January 1839 – 21 June 1916) was an Australian entrepreneur and politician who was imprisoned due to fraudulent activities.
Early years
Born in Lambeth, London, Mirams was the son of Revd. James Mirams, a Congregational minister and former missionary in Berbice, British Guiana. His father participated in the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention held in London. James Mirams Jr. received his education at a school located in Chishill, Essex.
Professional life
Mirams began his career as an ironmonger in Royston before relocating to Melbourne in 1857, coinciding with his father’s appointment at the Independent Church, Collins Street. After an unsuccessful dairy farming venture in Braybrook, he transitioned to teaching in Fitzroy, eventually becoming a bookseller and stationer based in Collingwood.
In 1874, he took on the role of promoter and secretary for the Premier Permanent Building, Land, and Investment Association. Throughout the property boom of the 1880s, Mirams engaged in speculative enterprises such as the Freehold Farms Co. and Essendon Land and Tramway Co. Ltd. As a proponent of Sabbatarianism and temperance, he also co-promoted the elaborately designed Federal Coffee Palace, inaugurated during the 1888 Centennial Exhibition.
Political involvement
After multiple attempts, Mirams secured election to the Victorian Legislative Assembly representing Collingwood in 1876, serving until 1886, then served as member for Williamstown from 1887 to 1889. He opposed plural voting rights, advocated for remuneration of members, favored uniform electorates, and was instrumental in founding the Liberal party aligned with radical premier Graham Berry. Mirams was an outspoken opponent of the Victorian Legislative Council during the constitutional crisis between 1877 and 1880 and was a dedicated protectionist, acting as secretary for both the Victorian Protection League and National Reform and Protection League.
Despite his early prominence, Mirams’ inflexible positions constrained his political achievements. He had disputes with Berry over compromises that resolved the constitutional crisis and criticized the coalition Conservative-Liberal government formed in 1883.
Financial ruin
During the late 1880s Land Boom, it emerged that the Premier Building Society had surpassed its legal borrowing limit of three times its paid-up capital by heavily relying on its own loans as collateral. Due to poor management and risky speculation, Mirams resigned from his secretary position in November 1888, marking the beginning of the boom’s collapse. The Premier Building Society failed just over a year later.
Mirams declared insolvency in 1890 with debts amounting to £373,485 against land holdings valued around £1,000,000. His estate managed to pay only 2d. in the £1. He was found guilty of issuing a fraudulent balance sheet intended to deceive creditors and served a one-year prison term. Following his release, he maintained his innocence and unsuccessfully pursued libel action against The Argus.
Later years
In subsequent years, Mirams worked as an accountant and authored A Generation of Victorian Politics published in 1900. He unsuccessfully contested seats for the inaugural Commonwealth Parliament in 1901 and later ran as a Labor candidate for Evelyn in the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1912.
James Mirams passed away in Moonee Ponds in 1916.