Alexander Thomson (9 March 1873 – 18 November 1953), known as Alec Thomson, was an Australian politician, and a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

from 1914 until 1930 representing the seat of Katanning, and a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

representing the South Province from 1931 until 1950.

Biography

Thomson was born in

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, England, to John Thomson, a carpenter, joiner and builder, and Jane (néé McWilliam). His mother died when he was very young, and the family moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, where he attended Essendon Primary School until the age of 14. He was apprenticed to his father in the carpentry trade before working in several Victorian towns. In 1895, Thomson came to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, working as a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

before establishing a business there. On 4 April 1896, he married Edith Maud Jenkinson, with whom he was to have four sons. He worked at

Buckland Hill Buckland Hill is a low hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys in Wales. Sitting transversely across the River Usk, Usk valley between the river and the village of Bwlch, it provides excellent panoramic views down the vall ...

and served as a councillor on the Buckland Hill Road Board from 1903 until 1905, before moving to the town of Katanning where he opened a timber and hardware store known as Thomson and Melany. In 1911, he was elected to the Katanning Road Board and served as its chairman in 1913. At the 1914 state election, Thomson was elected under the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

banner to the seat of Katanning. He switched to the Country Party in 1917. Thomson became the Country Party's deputy leader in 1921. In 1923, the party split between the majority of the party's parliamentary wing, who favoured a coalition with the Nationalist Party, and the party executive who favoured a more independent line. Thomson led the three-member Executive Country Party to the 1924 election, where most of the Majority faction lost their seats. Thomson became leader of a reunited Country Party and led it until being defeated in his own seat by

Arnold Piesse Arnold Edmund Piesse (2 April 1872 – 21 July 1935) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1909 to 1914 and again from 1930 until his death, on both occasions representing the ...

, an unendorsed Country Party candidate, at the 1930 election. He stood for and won a by-election for one of the

South-East Province The South-East Province was an electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, introduced after the introduction of responsible government in the 1890s. It initially comprised Williams, Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( ...

seats in the

on 26 September 1931 following the death of Hector Stewart, which he retained until his retirement at the 1950 Legislative Council election, at which his son, Jack Thomson, succeeded him. Jack went on to hold the seat for 24 years. Over the intervening years, Alec Thomson had been director of the Katanning Flour Mill, founder of the Katanning Fresh Air League and the Historical Society, and was active in local affairs, including serving as president of the Katanning Bowling Club and the Katanning Club. He was also active in the Freemasons. Thomson died at home on 18 November 1953, aged 80, and was cremated at

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Alec 1873 births 1953 deaths Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from South Shields Politicians from Tyne and Wear People from Katanning, Western Australia Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery Western Australian local councillors British emigrants to Australia