Thomas George De Largie D'Alton (8 December 1895 – 7 May 1968) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He was born in

Warracknabeal Warracknabeal ( ) is a town in the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, located in the Wheatbelt (Australia), Victorian wheatbelt. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km northwest of Melbourne, it is the bus ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. In 1931, D'Alton was elected to the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House, Hobart, Parliament Hou ...

as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

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. 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 Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a Cornish professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating "Gentleman Jim" Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sulliv ...

(the "Freckled Wonder"), who moved to Australia from New Zealand. 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. In spite of the findings, D'Alton was elected to the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two Chambers of parliament, chambers of the Parliament, the other being the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly. Both ho ...

in 1947, again representing Labor for the seat of

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

, and serving until his death in

South Hobart South Hobart is one of Hobart's inner suburbs. It is bound by Dynnyrne, Fern Tree, West Hobart and the Hobart City Centre. Landmarks South Hobart is home to many of the most beautiful homes in Hobart, including the classical Georgian residenc ...

in 1968.

References

1895 births 1968 deaths Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania High commissioners of Australia to New Zealand 20th-century Australian politicians People from Warracknabeal {{Australia-Labor-politician-stub