Background
James Collins was born on 14 March 1869 in Sebastopol, Victoria.
James Collins was born on 14 March 1869 in Sebastopol, Victoria.
Collins joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1901, having before federation assisted to prepare the Victorian colonial budget in 1893 and in 1900 organising and running the first Victorian Old Age Pensions Office. Between 1916 and 1926, Collins was the Secretary of the Australian Government Department of the Treasury. He died in London on 18 June 1934, while in the role of financial adviser in London to the Commonwealth.