Thomas Hungerford (6 September 1823 – 4 May 1904) was a pioneer pastoralist and politician in Australia. He was a
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Following are lists of members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wal ...
.
Early life
Hungerford was born near
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
to Captain Emanuel Hungerford and Catherine Loan(e). The family migrated to
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in 1828, and his father settled on the
Hunter River Hunter River may refer to:
*Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia
*Hunter River (Western Australia)
*Hunter River, New Zealand
*Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada
**Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada
...
. Hungerford became a pastoralist, owning property near
Walgett
Walgett is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of Walgett Shire. It is near the junctions of the Barwon and Namoi Rivers and the Kamilaroi and Castlereagh Highways. In 2021, Walgett had a population of 1,377.
In the ...
and inheriting his father's Hunter property in 1852. On 19 June 1852 he married Emma Hollingsworth Wood, with whom he had nine children; a second marriage to Catherine Mary Mallon produced six children.
Politics
He first stood as a candidate for the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...
for
Upper Hunter
The Upper Hunter Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in May 2004 from the Scone Shire and parts of Murrurundi and Merriwa shires.
The mayor of the Upper Hunter Shir ...
at the
election for The Upper Hunter, but was unsuccessful, finishing second behind
Francis White with a margin of 342 votes (26.6%).
White died 6 months later and Hungerford won the
resulting by-election,
however the by-election was overturned by the Election and Qualifications Committee on the basis that two polls were taken at Belltrees.
A
second by-election was held in August 1875, however Hungerford was defeated.
He was elected to
Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
at the
1877 election,
but he resigned in 1880.
[ He was re-elected at the 1882 by-election, but decided to contest The Upper Hunter at the 1882 election, but finished last on the poll.]
Later life
Hungerford was ruined by the 1890s depression, and by 1900 had lost all his property. He died at Ashfield in 1904.
Legacy
The town of Hungerford, Queensland
Hungerford is an outback town in the Shire of Bulloo and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Bulloo and Shire of Paroo, South West Queensland, South West Queensland, Australia. The town and locality are on the Queensl ...
was named after him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungerford, Thomas
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
1823 births
1904 deaths
19th-century Australian politicians