Henry William Thompson (2 March 1839 – 21 September 1906) was a sailor, ship's chandler and politician in the State of South Australia.

History

Thompson was born at

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

, England, the second son of John Thompson, a London shipbuilder, and was educated at Wick Hall College, Hackney, where he won the silver medal in 1852. He went to sea at an early age, for some time with the West Indies mail service, and in the transport service. In 1854 he joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, and was signed to the Black Sea fleet, on board H.M.S. Queen, in the Bosphorus for the duration of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. He then returned to the mercantile service and served as first mate on the ''New Margaret'' until arriving in South Australia in 1860, when he joined the interstate coastal service. He left the sea, finding employment with Clarke, McKenzie, & Co., ship's chandlers at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

, and remained with that firm until 1871, when the business was sold. He married in 1863. He was for many years a member of the Port Adelaide Council, and was mayor from 1881 to 1882. In the early eighties he was involved in the formation of the Naval Reserve, and held the first commission granted in South Australia, serving 8½ years under Captain Walcot. R.N. He retired with the rank of commander. In 1880 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace, and served on the Destitute Commission 1883–1885 and a charter member of the State Children's Council, serving as its second president. He was a member St. Bede's Anglican Church in

Semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

. He was a candidate for the seat of

in the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

, but was unsuccessful, but on 3 May 1902 won a seat in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

for the Central district. He died after a long and painful struggle with

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

, which had necessitated frequent absences from Parliament. He was buried at the Woodville cemetery.

Family

He married Mary Maguire on 16 May 1863; they had two sons (H. W. and J. T. Thompson) and four daughters (one of whom, Mary Louise, married Archibald J. McClemens on 23 December 1896, lived in Sydney). They lived at Hall street,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Henry W. Members of the South Australian Legislative Council 1839 births 1906 deaths Colony of South Australia people 19th-century Australian politicians