Thomas Clarke (Australian politician)

Thomas Clarke
JP
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for Darlington
In office
27 July 1898 – 11 June 1901
Preceded byWilliam Schey
Succeeded byPhillip Sullivan
Mayor of Redfern
In office
12 February 1890 – 12 February 1891
Preceded byJohn Crowe
Succeeded byJohn Beveridge
In office
13 October 1898 – 7 February 1900
Preceded byEdwin Berry
Succeeded byHenry Vernon
Alderman on the Redfern Municipal Council
In office
February 1887 – February 1906
ConstituencyGolden Grove Ward
Personal details
Born1846 (1846)
County Fermanagh, Ireland, United Kingdom
Died28 December 1922(1922-12-28) (aged 75–76)
Hazelbrook, New South Wales, Australia
PartyFree Trade Party
Liberal Reform Party

Thomas Clarke JP (1846 – 28 December 1922) was an Australian politician and businessman who served several terms as Mayor of Redfern.

Early life

Clark was born to a Methodist family in 1846 in County Fermanagh, Ireland, and emigrated to the Colony of New South Wales in 1861. He commenced business as a commercial agent and produce merchant in Sydney and entered politics when he was elected as an Alderman on the first Broughton Vale Municipal Council on 19 June 1871.[1][2]

Clarke was first elected to serve on Redfern Municipal Council in February 1887 for Golden Grove Ward.[3] He rose to become mayor on two occasions, from February 1890 to February 1891 and from October 1898 to February 1900.[4][5][6]

Later life and career

Clarke first stood for the NSW Parliament at the 1895 election as a Free Trade candidate for Darlington, but was unsuccessful.[7] He was eventually elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Darlington in 1898 as a Free Trader, and sat after federation as a member of the Liberal Reform Party. However he was defeated at the following election in 1901.[8][9] Clarke continued to serve on Redfern Council until his retirement in February 1906.[10] For thirty-five years, Clarke operated as a commission agent on Sussex Street, Sydney, but retired owing to ill health a few years before his death.[11] In 1902 The Catholic Press reported that Clarke had been elected a vice-president of the Orange Order in Sydney, noting: "Can any of our readers inform us whether this is the same Tom Clarke, potato-seller, of Sussex-street, whom many Catholics of Golden Grove helped to return to Parliament a few years ago? If so, what do his old Catholic supporters and fellow-aldermen think of the Christian gratitude of Alderman T. Clarke?."[12]

He died at his residence, 'The Willows' (which he had owned since at least 1907 and after 1914 joint-owned with his brother Sydney),[13] in Hazelbrook on 28 December 1922 aged 74, with his obituary noting that he "was a popular figure in Redfern, in the affairs of which he always took a deep and active interest."[14] Survived by his wife, Susanna Robinson (d. 1924),[15] he was buried in the family plot at Lawson Cemetery alongside his son Sydney Charles Adam Clarke (1881–1922) who had predeceased him by two months.

References

  1. ^ "Municipality of Broughton's Vale". NSW State Records. NSW Government. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  2. ^ "The Produce Trade of Sydney. Some Views of Sussex street". Australian Town and Country Journal. 12 August 1903. p. 27. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "The Municipal elections". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW. 2 February 1887. p. 10. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Municipal elections". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 February 1890. p. 9. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Resignation of the Mayor of Redfern". Evening News. 14 October 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Brevities". Evening News. 8 February 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  7. ^ Green, Antony. "1895 Darlington". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Darlington electorate". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 June 1901. p. 4. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  9. ^ "Mr Thomas Clarke". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Municipal elections". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 December 1905. p. 8. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "The late Mr T Clarke". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 December 1922. p. 12. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  12. ^ "Gossip". The Catholic Press. Sydney, NSW. 6 November 1902. p. 14. Retrieved 31 January 2016 – via Trove.
  13. ^ "H004 : The Willows". Office of Environment and Heritage. NSW Government. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Mr T Clarke". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 December 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 15 April 2015 – via Trove.
  15. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 July 1924. p. 13. Retrieved 15 April 2015 – via Trove.

 

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