Thomas Clarke (Australian politician)

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

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
County Fermanagh, Ireland, United Kingdom
Died28 December 1922
Hazelbrook, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyFree Trade Party
Liberal Reform Party

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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