Congratulations to Commissioner for Clan Cameron in Australia, Dr James Lachlan Cameron, who has been recently awarded the Doctor of Philosophy from the Australian National University.
James has been the editor of the Clan Cameron Australia newsletter since 2009, and was President of Clan Cameron New South Wales from 2009 to 2017. He has attended Clan Cameron NSW and Scottish events since he was a teenager. James has had a keen interest in Clan Cameron and Highland history since a young age, and grew up in a family environment where they were definite influences. His Cameron ancestors arrived in Australia on The Boyne in 1839, a voyage that carried over 250 Highlanders, including over 100 Camerons. His Cameron grandfather grew up on a property 40kms north-west of Dubbo, NSW, and was a policeman. His father was an economics teacher and horse breeder, and mother a French teacher.
James has had a varied career, from managing an American Express branch in Sydney, to teaching English in South Korea and Germany, to working as a policy manager for the Australian Automobile Association and with the Australian Institute of Building in Canberra. From the start of 2016, he has taken on the new challenge of Executive Director of the Australian Construction Industry Forum. For three years he has also studied and worked in Scotland and England.
James was born in and grew up mostly in Bathurst, New South Wales, but also attended Sydney Technical Boys High School for several years. James undertook his undergraduate studies and Honours year at the University Of New England, Armidale, and Masters and je has recently completed his PhD at the Australian National University.
James’ doctoral thesis examined the electoral success of the Scottish National Party (SNP) across the first five elections of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 until 2016. The key findings of James’ study are that the SNP has been successful in Scottish elections primarily because of a process of professionalisation over several decades, opposition and governing competence, and effective leadership. The findings suggest that the SNP is no ordinary party, but a party that has and will play a pivotal role in Scottish, British, European and world history. James asserts that the success of the SNP undoubtedly has and will inspire nationalist and regional parties in other advanced countries.
A fan of country towns with heritage buildings, James currently lives in Goulburn, New South Wales, which is strategically located an hour’s drive from the work and study opportunities of Canberra, but relatively close to Sydney and hometown Bathurst. When not working, studying and involved in clan matters, James likes to spend time with friends, learn languages (speaks fluent German, broken Gaelic, and some French and Dutch), read widely, travel, and watch the occasional film.
