Thomas D'Alton

Thomas George De Largie D'Alton (8 December 1895 – 7 May 1968) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was born in Warracknabeal in Victoria.[1] In 1931, D'Alton was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as a Labor member for Darwin. D'Alton was a minister from 1934 to 1943, including the Minister for Agriculture from December 1939 to November 1943; and he served as the deputy premier between 1941 and 1943.

Thomas D'Alton
Portrait of D'Alton as high commissioner to New Zealand, October 1945.
Born
Thomas George De Largie D'Alton

(1895-12-08)8 December 1895
Warracknabeal, Victoria
Died7 May 1968(1968-05-07) (aged 72)
South Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation(s)Politician, diplomat

In 1943 Herbert Evatt saw a need for a High Commissioner in Wellington to coordinate views (a new post) and chose the "colourful figure" D'Alton, who however chose to retain his seat and salary in the Tasmanian parliament. Three months after arriving, he got into a punch-up with the landlord of the Post Office Hotel, Wellington. Questions from the opposition in the federal parliament asked if he was a worthy reply to boxer Bob Fitzsimmons (the "Freckled Wonder"), who moved to Australia from New Zealand.[2][3][4][5]

In 1946 he was the subject of a Royal Commission alleging corruption—the commissioner, Sir Richard Kirby, dismissed two charges of corruption but found that D'Alton had accepted bribes for "services improperly rendered" on two occasions.[6] In spite of the findings, D'Alton was elected to the Tasmanian Legislative Council in 1947, again representing Labor for the seat of Gordon, and serving until his death in South Hobart in 1968.[7]

References
  1. Haig, Alan, "D'Alton, Thomas George (Tom) (1895–1968)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 27 September 2015
  2. Hensley, Gerald (2009). Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies 1939-45. Auckland: Penguin/Viking. pp. 278–9. ISBN 9780670074044.
  3. "Appointment of High Commissioner welcomed in N.Z.", Advocate, Burnie, Tasmania, p. 2, 3 December 1943
  4. Commissioner Arrival in New Zealand, 8 December 1943
  5. Commissioner with seat in Tasmanian Parliament
  6. "Commissioner finds Mr D'Alton accepted bribes". The Mercury. Vol. CLXIII, no. 23, 548. Tasmania, Australia. 28 May 1946. p. 1. Retrieved 18 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Thomas George De Largie D'Alton". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 18 June 2023.


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