James Menzies

James Menzies (9 August 18621 November 1945) was an Australian businessman and politician who served in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1911 to 1920, representing the district of Lowan. Before entering politics, he ran the general store in Jeparit, Victoria. He was the father of Robert Menzies, the longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia. Early life Menzies was born in Ballarat West, Victoria, one of the nine surviving children of Elizabeth (née Band) and Robert Menzies. His parents were both Scottish immigrants, meeting soon after their arrival in Australia in 1854 and marrying the following year. His father – born in Renfrewshire – was drawn to Ballarat by the Victorian gold rush, and worked initially as a miner and later as a machinery salesman. His sudden death from pneumonia in 1879 thrust his family into poverty. Menzies had little formal schooling, but was a keen reader. At the time of his father's death, he had just begun an apprenticeship as a coach-painter. After a period as a journeyman, he was able to open his own coach-painting firm. One of his neighbours around that time was Hugh Victor McKay, the inventor of the Sunshine Harvester (the first commercially viable combine harvester). He painted McKay's first model, and some accounts credit him with suggesting the name "Sunshine". In the late 1880s, Menzies closed his own business and joined the Phoenix Foundry as its chief locomotive painter. In 1893, Menzies moved to the small Wimmera township of Jeparit, where he took over the general store that had previously been owned by his brother-in-law Sydney Sampson. The move was prompted by his desire to relocate to a warmer climate for health reasons, though it may have also been related to the ongoing banking crisis. Menzies and his family lived in quarters at the back of the store, which "survived rather than prospered". He looked after the grocery and saddlery, while his wife managed the millinery, drapery, and dressmaking sections. He supplemented the family's income by acting as an agent for insurance firms and stock and station agencies, and also made occasional hawking trips to remote outposts.