Alexander Clifford Vernon Melbourne was born in Adelaide on 10 June 1888. He was a Lecturer and later Associate Professor of History at the University of Queensland from 1913 to 1943. He was a joint member of the University Senate, secretary of the Joint Committee for Public Lectures and Tutorial Classes. In December 1931 he was sent to Japan and China by the Senate, and later in 1933, he was elected Chairman of the Federal Advisory Committee on Eastern Trade. He researched trade statistics of Japan and China, as well as their treaty obligations and tariff laws. He also contributed articles on Queensland history, etc regularly to the Brisbane Daily Mail. He died on 7 June 1943.