People Australia

Jim Cairns, 1975

National Archives of Australia, A6135:K19/3/75/16

James Ford (Jim) Cairns (1914-2003) police officer, university lecturer and politician 

Birth: 4 October 1914 at Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, son of James John Cairns (c.1879-before 1939) municipal officer, born at Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and Letitia, née Ford (1894-1964), born at Kirkham, Lancashire, England. Marriage: 7 February 1939 at the office of the Government Statist, Melbourne, to Gwendolyn Olga (Katie) Robb (1913-2000), born at Nimbin, New South Wales. Death: 12 October 2003 at Narre Warren, Melbourne. 

• His mother was the main breadwinner in his family with his father being absent. Jim spent much of his childhood on his grandparents' dairy farm at Sunbury near Melbourne. He was a good scholar and a champion schoolboy athlete.
• Became a junior clerk upon leaving school. Joined Victorian Police Force in 1935. Studied at night and gained Master of Commerce and PhD at the University of Melbourne. Studied on Nuffield scholarship at Oxford.
• Returned to Australia and lectured on economic history in 1951-1955.
• Elected Australian Labor Party member for Yarra, in the House of Representatives in 1955 and became member for Lalor in 1969 after an electoral redistribution.
• Minister for secondary industry and overseas trade 1972-1974, when Whitlam government was elected into office. Advocated opening links with China. Deputy prime minister and treasurer 1974 to 1975.
• Appointed Junie Morosi as his private secretary in 1974 which broke with the tradition of appointing a treasury official in the role. Their relationship sparked much speculation and controversy in the media.
• Dismissed as treasurer in June 1975 due to the Labor government's unorthodox pursuit of overseas loans at the time and the speculation about his relationship with Morosi. He did no confirm their relationship as lovers until about 2003 as his wife had been living and in ill-health at the time of their affair.
• Dismissed as deputy prime minister in July 1975 for misleading Parliament "over offering a commission for raising loan funds". Left parliament in 1977 and continued as an activist.
• Had established a society that fostered understanding and friendships between Australian-born and Asian-born students in early 1950s at Melbourne University. Led 100,000 protesters in Melbourne against the Vietnam War in 1970 at the first moratorium campaign.
• Participated in protests against military build-up in the Persian Gulf in 1990 up until 2002 when the (second) US invasion of Iraq was impending.
• Wrote fourteen books, self-publishing many of them. Set up a stall at Melbourne's Victoria Markets for many years to engage people in discussion.
• Cause of death: pneumonia. 

Sydney Morning Herald, 13 October 2003, p 14.