James Blair (Australian judge)

Sir James Blair KCMG
James William Blair in 1939
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Ipswich
In office 11 March 1902 – 22 May 1915 Serving with Thomas Cribb, William Maughan
Preceded by	Alfred Stephenson
Succeeded by	David Gledson
6th Chief Justice of Queensland
In office 24 April 1925 – 16 May 1940
Preceded by	Thomas McCawley
Succeeded by	Hugh Denis Macrossan
Personal details
Born	James William Blair (1870-05-16)16 May 1870 Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Died	18 November 1944(1944-11-18) (aged 74) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Resting place	Balmoral Cemetery
Political party	Ministerial
Other political affiliations	Opposition, Kidstonites
Spouse	May Christina Gibson (m.1912 d.1966)
Occupation	Judge, Chief Justice

Sir James William Blair KCMG (16 May 1870 – 18 November 1944) was an Australian politician, lawyer and judge. He was a successful politician, being elected to the Queensland Parliament on several occasions. He held the office of Attorney-General of Queensland and was also the Minister for Mines and introduced many successful law reforms measures in Queensland. In latter life, he took up an appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and went on to become the Chief Justice of that court. Blair took on many civic roles including that of Chancellor of the University of Queensland.

His biographer states that Blair was thought of as a "dandy"^[1] because he wore a white gardenia in his coat buttonhole and a silk handkerchief protruding from his breast pocket. Blair was said to be witty, possess a delightful personality, a gift of speech, and a love of humour, although author Frank Hardy is accused of referring to Blair as "venal"^[1] through veiled references in the book "Power Without Glory".