James Cumes

James William Crawford Cumes (23 August 1922 – 21 November 2013) was an Australian author and economist and a former public servant and diplomat.

James Cumes
Born	James William Crawford Cumes (1922-08-23)23 August 1922 Rosewood, Queensland, Australia
Died	21 November 2013(2013-11-21) (aged 91) Vienna, Austria
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Queensland
Occupation	Diplomat, economist, author
Spouse(s)	Heide Schulte von Bäuminghaus

Life and career

Cumes was born in Rosewood, Queensland in August 1922. He was educated at Wooloowin State School and Brisbane Grammar School, before matriculating to the University of Queensland.[1]

During World War II, Cumes was in the Australian Army, and fought on the Kokoda Track.[2]

Over the course of his diplomatic career, Cumes was High Commissioner to Nigeria (1965–1967), Ambassador to Belgium (1975–1977),[3] Ambassador to Austria and Hungary (1977–1980),[4] and Ambassador to the Netherlands (1980–1984).[5]

In his 1988 book A Bunch of Amateurs, Cumes critiqued the performance of Australia's foreign ministers,[6] offering an unfavourable assessment of then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Bill Hayden.[7]

In a review of Cumes' 1990 book How to Become a Millionaire Without Really Working that appeared in The Canberra Times, Peter Bowler praised Cumes for his sunny, cheerful, sensible and interesting take on money-making.[8]

Cumes's wife was Austrian. He moved between houses in Australia, Austria, Monaco and the South of France.[9] He died in Vienna, Austria in November 2013 at the age of 91.[10]

Works

Non-fiction

• The Indigent Rich: A Theory of General Equilibrium in a Keynesian System. Pergamon Press Australia. 1971. ISBN 0080175341.
• Inflation! A Study in Stability. Pergamon Press Australia. 1974. ISBN 0080181678.
• Their Chastity Was Not Too Rigid: Leisure Times in Early Australia. Longman Cheshire. 1979. ISBN 0582714567.
• The Reconstruction of the World Economy. Longman Cheshire. 1984. ISBN 0582714966.
• A Bunch of Amateurs: The Tragedy of Government & Administration in Australia. Sun Books. 1988. ISBN 0725105518.
• How to Become a Millionaire Without Really Working. Sun Books. 1990. ISBN 0725105933.

Fiction

• Haverleigh. Cresscourt. 1994. ISBN 0646212869.
• The Young Bug. Cresscourt. 2010. ISBN 9781452862361.

References

1. Ball, Magdalena (22 March 2003), Interview with James Cumes, author of Haverleigh, archived from the original on 3 June 2016
2. "James Cumes - On Line Opinion Author". onlineopinion.com.au. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
3. "Four new envoys". The Canberra Times. 9 November 1974. p. 8.
4. "Envoy". The Canberra Times. 17 October 1977. p. 3.
5. "Diplomatic posts". The Canberra Times. 26 January 1980. p. 3.
6. Malone, Paul (24 March 1988). "Hayden attacks ex-diplomat". The Canberra Times. p. 1.
7. Fuller, Peter; Waterford, Jack (26 March 1988). "Leaders of quality lacking". The Canberra Times. p. 18.
8. Bowler, Peter (23 June 1990). "Taken in hook, line and sinker by this book's golden cover". The Canberra Times. p. 24.
9. AustLit: J. W. C. Cumes
10. Ancestry: James Wiliam Crawford Cumes Crawford grave record

Diplomatic posts
New title Position established	Australian Chargé d'affaires in Belgium 1962–1964	Succeeded by Ralph Harry as Ambassador
Preceded by L.E. Phillips	Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria 1965–1967	Succeeded by H.D. White
Preceded by Allan Eastman	Australian Ambassador to Belgium 1975–1977	Succeeded by James Plimsoll
Preceded by Bob Furlonger	Australian Ambassador to Austria Australian Ambassador to Hungary 1977–1980	Succeeded by Duncan Campbell
Preceded by David Fairbairn	Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands 1980–1984	Succeeded by Geoffrey Price