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President, 1 July 1941 to 4 July 1943
Australian Labor Party

A prospector, miner and trade unionist, James Cunningham (1879-1943) entered the Western Australian Parliament and then the Senate championing the cause of workers, particularly miners.

Born at Wirrabara, SA in 1879, Cunningham received little formal education but nevertheless became a renowned speaker and popular figure in the labour movement. Known for his quirk of writing constituents’ concerns on his shirt cuffs for later reference, the staunch Labor man proved a fair and measured President of the Senate.¹

Moving to work on the WA goldfields in 1899, Cunningham soon became active as a trade unionist, later serving as secretary of the Kalgoorlie and Boulder branch of the Federated Miners’ Union (1914-16). He was elected to the WA Legislative Council (1916-22) and then the Legislative Assembly (1923-36), serving as Honorary Minister (1924-27) and Minister for Goldfields and Agricultural Water Supplies (1927-30).

Defeated at the 1936 state election, Cunningham spent almost two years on his farm at Mullewa before filling a casual vacancy in the Senate in 1937. He was Temporary Chair of Committees (1937-40) and briefly Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (1940-41).² In both state and federal parliaments, Cunningham gave voice to the struggles of local primary producers and advocated for electoral reform and the rights of WA in the federation.

Cunningham became President of the Senate in 1941 in unusual circumstances when the absence of two government senators caused a tied ballot. The presidency was then decided by lot, as required by the standing orders, with Cunningham prevailing over his predecessor, John Hayes.³ Traditionally, the presidency was held by a government senator; however, Cunningham, a member of the Opposition, promised to carry out his duties ‘impartially’ and do his ‘best to uphold the dignity of this chamber’.⁴

Dispensing with the wig and gown, Cunningham brought ‘a sturdy measure of common sense’ to the interpretation of standing orders.⁵ In June 1942, he took the unusual step of banning Telegraph journalists from the parliamentary precinct in response to an article critical of him and other senators, which he felt was a ‘deliberate attempt to discredit the Senate … and bring it into contempt’.⁶

Having contracted silicosis while working in the mines, Cunningham died suddenly from coronary-vascular disease in Albury in 1943 on the way to WA to campaign for the upcoming federal election.⁷ Senators remembered him as generous and likeable, with an ‘unfailing willingness to help those … in less fortunate circumstances’.⁸ He was survived by his wife Alice and three children.⁹

Archibald Douglas Colquhoun
Melbourne-born artist and teacher, Archibald Colquhoun (1894-1983) attended the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, where he studied drawing under Frederick McCubbin before becoming a staff artist for the Herald. He continued to train under Charles Richardson before meeting Max Meldrum, who would become his mentor and have a major influence on his work. Between 1924 and 1926, Colquhoun travelled across England and Europe, exhibiting at the Société des Artistes Français (Paris) and the Royal Institute of Painters (London). On his return to Melbourne in 1926, he established a studio and art school with his wife and fellow artist, Amalie Feild. Noted as a dedicated teacher and a prominent painter, Colquhoun was an influential figure in the Australian art scene. His students included William Dargie, Harley Griffiths and Rex Bramleigh. Colquhoun won various art prizes throughout the 1930s including the Crouch Prize and the Newman Prize for Australian Historical Painting and was a regular entrant and finalist in the Archibald Prize. His work is represented in a number of state and regional galleries across Australia.¹⁰

James Cunningham
by Archibald Douglas Colquhoun
1941
Oil on canvas
120.9 x 90 cm
Historic Memorials Collection, Parliament House Art Collection

References
1. Unless otherwise noted, information is sourced from G Browne, ‘Cunningham, James (1879–1943)’, The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate Online Edition, Department of the Senate, Parliament of Australia, published first in hardcopy 2004; R Pervan, ‘Cunningham, James (1879–1943)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy. 1981; Parliamentary Library, ‘Cunningham, the Hon. James’, Parliamentary Handbook Online; R Clothier, AJ McLachlan, ‘Death of Senator the Honorable James Cunningham’, Senate, Debates, 23 September 1943, pp. 12–13. Websites accessed 7 June 2021.
2. Browne, op. cit.; Pervan, op. cit.
3. The Clerk, ‘Election of President’, Senate, Debates, 1 July 1941, p. 565; Browne, op. cit.
4. J Cunningham, ‘Election of President, Senate, Debates, 1 July 1941, p. 567.
5. ‘New Senate President will not wear wig or gown’, The Herald, 2 July 1941, p. 5, accessed 4 August 2021; McLachlan, op. cit.
6. J Cunningham, ‘Newspaper Reflections on the Senate’, Senate, Debates, 2 June 1942, p. 1806.
7. Browne, op. cit.; Pervan, op. cit.
8. Clothier, op. cit.; W Cooper, ‘Death of Senator the Honorable James Cunningham’, Senate, Debates, 23 September 1943, p. 12.
9. Browne, op. cit.; Pervan, op. cit.
10. PW Perry, ‘Colquhoun, Archibald Douglas (Archie) (1894–1983)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2007, accessed 25 March 2021.