Background
Newman was born at Caboolture in Queensland to Irish-born labourer and farmer James Newman and Elizabeth, née Irwin.
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James Newman
Edit Profileassistant controller general manager mining engineer
Education
He attended Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Engineering specialising in mining and metallurgy in 1901.
Career
From 1902 he worked as a trucker, timberman, miner and assistant surveyor at Broken Hill. He moved to Western Australia in 1904 to work as a surveyor with Peak Hill Goldfield Limited, of which he was general manager in 1907. Newman returned to Queensland in 1908 to become a consultant to Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company
Limited, subsequently joining the engineering staff until he returned to consultancy in 1912, after which he worked in Papua and Malaya.
He served with the Malay States Guides in World War I and then formed Alluvial Tin (Malaya) Limited in 1923 with Graham Pratten. The pair extended their business to Siam, Borneo and Burma before selling the company in 1927.
Newman returned to Caboolture, and on 16 February 1927 married Gwendoline Nita Stephenson. They settled in a thirty-eight room mansion.
Newman bought extensive property in rural Queensland and the Northern Territory, acquiring dairy farms, pineapple plantations, and cattle studs like Anthony Lagoon Station.
In 1942 he was appointed controller of minerals production and given the task of increasing production of strategic minerals like tungsten and tin. He moved briefly to Melbourne, during which time the Royal Australian Navy used his home. He later donated the property as a war veterans" home and lived in Beachmere.
He died at Street Lucia in 1973.
Achievements
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Born
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Died
November 23, 1973 (aged 93) -
Nationality
Australian