Thomas Joseph Collins (6 April 1884 – 15 April 1945) was an Australian politician and businessman. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1931 to 1943. He briefly served as

Postmaster-General of Australia The Minister for Communications is a member of the Cabinet of Australia with overall responsibility for broadcasting, the information and communications technology industry, the information economy, and national telecommunications. The portfolio ...

in 1941.

Early life

Collins was born at Yass, New South Wales to storekeeper John Collins and Mary, née Hartigan. In 1902, having attended the local Catholic school, he enlisted in the 5th Battalion,

Australian Commonwealth Horse The Australian Commonwealth Horse (ACH) was a mounted infantry unit of the Australian Army formed for service during the Second Boer War in South Africa in 1902 and was the first expeditionary military unit established by the newly formed Common ...

, to fight in the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. However, by the time Collins's unit arrived, the war had finished. Collins moved to

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

in 1906, where in 1911 he began his own business, which prospered. On 17 February 1914 he married Ruby Violet Summerhayes. He built his firm Collins, Ellerman & Co., to one of the largest stock and property businesses in

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 ...

Politics

Collins had always been interested in politics and had contested the federal seat of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

in 1913, being a close associate of

Charles Hardy Admiral Sir Charles Hardy ( – 18 May 1780) was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain between 1764 and 1780. He served as governor of New York from 1755 to 1757. Early ...

, leader of the Riverina Movement. At the

1931 Australian federal election The 1931 Australian federal election was held on 19 December 1931 to elect all 75 seats in the House of Representatives and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate. The incumbent first-term Australian Labor Party (ALP) government led by Prime Minister ...

, he defeated Parker Moloney for the federal seat of Hume for the Country Party. He was never a significant parliamentarian, despite his entertaining manner, and was mainly a representative of rural issues. Collins was embroiled in the

United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...

-Country Party leadership conflict which ensued after the death of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Par ...

in 1939. The Country Party leader,

Sir Earle Page Sir Earle Christmas Grafton Page (8 August 188020 December 1961) was an Australian politician and surgeon who served as the 11th prime minister of Australia from 7 to 26 April 1939, in a caretaker capacity following the death of Joseph Lyons. ...

, attempted to prevent

Sir Robert Menzies ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

from becoming Prime Minister by exploiting UAP divisions. Collins voiced support of Page on radio, but the following day Page attacked Menzies in parliament, causing

Sir Arthur Fadden Sir Arthur William Fadden (13 April 189421 April 1973) was an Australian politician and accountant who served as the 13th prime minister of Australia from 29 August to 7 October 1941. He held office as the leader of the Country Party from 1940 ...

and

Bernard Corser Bernard Henry Corser (4 January 1882 – 15 December 1967) was a politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1912 to 1928 and a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1928 ...

to resign from the Country Party. Collins too distanced himself from Page and, together with Oliver Badman, announced he would not attend party meetings headed by Page. On 26 April Menzies formed a government, and Page resigned as leader of the Country Party. Collins, Fadden, Corser and Badman were not permitted to vote in the subsequent leadership ballot, in which Page supporter

Archie Cameron Archie Galbraith Cameron (22 March 18959 August 1956) was an Australian politician. He was a government minister under Joseph Lyons and Robert Menzies, leader of the Country Party from 1939 to 1940, and finally Speaker of the House of Represen ...

became leader. Menzies, perhaps in gratitude, made Collins Minister Assisting the Prime Minister (dealing with external territories) and Minister Assisting the Minister for the Interior. In June 1941 he was appointed

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. History The practice of having a government officia ...

, but only held the portfolio office until October that year, when the Curtin Labor government assumed office. Collins lost his seat at the 1943 federal election.

Later life

Known for his charity, skill and support of many sports, Collins considered standing again for parliament, but died on 15 April 1945 of a sudden

coronary sclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and is driven by eleva ...

. He was survived by his wife and daughter, Mary Isabella Collins, who died on 22 October 1988.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Thomas National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hume Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia 1884 births 1945 deaths Australian stock and station agents Postmasters-general of Australia Australian MPs 1931–1934 Australian MPs 1934–1937 Australian MPs 1937–1940 Australian MPs 1940–1943