Major General James Burston VD (1 May 1856 – 4 March 1920) was a business man, local body politician, and an Australian Army officer who served in the First World War.
The family moved to Melbourne where his father purchased Jesse Gough's share in a malting business, at 150 Flinders Lane east, commercialising it as Samuel Burston & Co.
A fire in 1892 saw the company's factory having to be rebuilt but it continued to grow, soon acquiring Victoria Brewery Co.'s maltings.
[2] When the First World War broke out, Burston was without a military role but was called up for active duty despite being 58 years of age.
[1] In April 1915, he was enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as a colonel and appointed commander of the 7th Brigade, which included the 25th to 28th Battalions.
[6] He took a role as commander of reinforcement troops at Mudros, a staging post for soldiers being sent to Gallipoli, for a time before travelling to England.
He was survived by his wife, Marianne née McBean, and six children,[1] one of whom, Roy Burston, served in the Australian Army Medical Corps during the First and Second World Wars, reaching the rank of major general.