Sir James William Blair (16 May 187018 November 1944) was an Australian politician, lawyer and judge. He was a successful politician, being elected to the Queensland Parliament on several occasions. He held the office of Attorney-General of Queensland and was also the Minister for Mines and introduced many successful law reforms measures in Queensland. In latter life, he took up an appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and went on to become the Chief Justice of that court. Blair took on many civic roles including that of Chancellor of the University of Queensland.
His biographer states that Blair was thought of as a "dandy" because he wore a white gardenia in his coat buttonhole and a silk handkerchief protruding from his breast pocket. Blair was said to be witty, possess a delightful personality, a gift of speech, and a love of humour, although author Frank Hardy is accused of referring to Blair as "venal" through veiled references in the book "Power Without Glory".
Early years
Blair was born at Coalfalls, Ipswich, Queensland on 16 May 1870. He was the son of Gordon Blair and Julie Blair (née Droughton). He was first educated by his mother but he later attended Ipswich West State School. He later attended Ipswich Grammar School between 1882 and 1888. He read for the preliminary Queensland Bar examinations in Brisbane. Blair lived at Swanwick's in Norman Park at the time and was called to the Queensland Bar on 6 March 1894.
Blair shared chambers with the Queensland Attorney General of the time, Thomas Joseph Byrnes. Blair appeared as junior counsel in many significant cases. One of those was the appeal to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland by Patrick Kenniff and James Kenniff. Both had been convicted of murdering a property owner and a police constable after the homestead they were staying in was burnt to the ground. The appeal did not succeed and Patrick Kenniff was executed soon after and his brother went on to serve a gaol term.
Political career
Blair's association with Byrnes led to his interest in politics. Blair contested the 1902 Queensland state election as an independent candidate for Ipswich. He was one of two elected to represent Ipswich in that election. Blair captured the hearts of the electorate by putting up heart shaped signs saying "Give Jimmy a vote" or "In the hearts of the people". In the Queensland Legislative Assembly, he opposed Sunday trading for pubs and hotels, restricted hours for bars, prohibition of the sale of tobacco to children and the stringent enforcement against gambling. He also sought the takeover of private schools by the Government and the provision of more scholarships after their takeover.
In 1903, at the age of 33, Blair was invited to become Attorney-General of Queensland after Sir Arthur Morgan became Premier of Queensland after the Liberal-Labour coalition victory. One of Blair's first acts was to abolish the office of sheriff. This led to the sacking of Arthur Hoey David (also known as author Steele Rudd). This led to many vicious personal attacks on Blair in Steele Rudd's Magazine. The office of sheriff was quickly restored when it was realized how much the sheriff actually did. In 1904, Blair additionally became the Minister for Mines. In 1905, Blair introduced the Worker's Compensation Act 1905 (Qld), a major change to workplace safety laws in Queensland. Previous efforts at reform in this area had stalled and this legislation changed the focus from the regulation of safety to instead requiring employers to compensate employees for workplace accidents. He introduced the Children's Court Act 1907 (Qld) providing for the first specialized children's courts in Queensland. These courts were a great success. These specialized children's courts continue to exist in modern times. However, he was unable to gather support for changes to mining laws or to education. As joint editor, he published an annotated version of the Workers Compensation legislation in 1906. He also jointed revised the "Queensland Police Code and Justices' Manual of the Criminal Law" written by Robert Archibald Ranking. He continued in his executive offices after William Kidston became Premier in 1906. He lost those offices in 1907 when Sir Robert Philp became Premier, but was eventually re-appointed after Kidston regained the premiership in 1908.