James Cuming

James Cuming Jr. (1861–1920) was an Australian industrial chemist and business executive. The son of James Cuming (1835–1911), he managed and later chaired Cuming, Smith & Co. during its expansion into large-scale superphosphate production from imported rock, helped organise price-and-marketing compacts that stabilised the fertiliser trade in Victoria, and held senior roles in manufacturers’ and chemical industry bodies.

Early life and education James Cuming Jr. was born in 1861 at Portland, Maine, United States, the second son of James Cuming (1835–1911) and Elizabeth (née Smith). The family moved to Melbourne in 1862.

Cuming also introduced employee welfare measures, including sickness and retirement benefits, in an attempt to preserve paternalist relations within a rapidly industrialising business.

As president of the Victorian Chamber of Manufactures from 1917 to 1920 he became a prominent public advocate for local industry during wartime and the immediate post-war transition. His published addresses argued for protective tariffs and for employer-supported welfare schemes for workers; contemporary reports summarised his 1919 annual address under the headline “Manufacturers and the Tariff”. He also represented manufacturers in meetings with the Prime Minister in 1917 and issued statements on the industrial unrest of that year in his capacity as president.

He also served as president of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce, a role noted in the University of Melbourne’s regulation establishing the James Cuming Memorial Scholarships.

He served as president of the Old Melburnians in 1918–19 and supported the society’s wartime memorial hall and endowment appeal for former students who served.

Cuming also contributed to scientific education at the University of Melbourne, endowing the James Cuming Prize in 1910 for achievement in agricultural chemistry; the family firm later funded a lecture theatre and laboratory in his memory. During his presidency of the Old Melburnians (1918–19), the society publicly launched a memorial hall and endowment appeal for former students who served in the war. After his death, his company financed a lecture theatre and research laboratory in the University of Melbourne’s School of Chemistry as a memorial. In his memory, members of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce endowed the James Cuming Memorial Scholarships at the University of Melbourne in 1930, funded at £2,028 11s 10d and awarded on Chemistry assessments; the School of Chemistry continues to offer the scholarships.

Personal life On 3 February 1885 he married Alice, daughter of W. M. Fehon. They had six children; the eldest son, William Fehon Cuming (1886–1933), succeeded him as general manager of Cuming, Smith & Co.