Thomas Daniel Chapman (31 October 1815His exact birth year is unclear but 1815 is widely accepted, although his baptism date is registered as 18 Dec 1814 (Biggleswade, Bedfordshire); this article uses the birth year from the – 17 February 1884) was the

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...

from 2 August 1861 until 20 January 1863. He served as a member of the

Tasmanian Parliament The Parliament of Tasmania is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Tasmania. It follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system and consists of the governor of Tasmania (as representative of the King), the Legislative Council ...

for 26 years from August 1856 until his death in 1884.Chapman served 26 years because for a period of time 1864-1866 he was not a member of parliament due to bankruptcy

Early life

Chapman immigrated to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

at around 1841 with his younger brother George (George returned to England after having married in Tasmania). He set up a business in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

and became a leading merchant during the early 1850s. He married Catherine Swan and had four daughters and five sons. Chapman was an advocate against the transportation of convicts to

Van Diemens Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal-inhabited island was first visited by the Dutch ship captained by Abel Tasm ...

(Tasmania).

Political career

Chapman was first 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 1851. When 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 ...

was created in 1856 Chapman became a minister under Tasmania's first responsible government headed by

William Champ William Thomas Napier Champ (15 April 1808 – 25 August 1892) was a soldier and politician who served as the first Premier of Tasmania from 1856 to 1857. He was born in the United Kingdom. Early life Champ, the son of Captain Thomas Champ and ...

. He was made Colonial Treasurer and upon taking the position realised that the estimated budget of the state was not £330,000 but only £250,000.Source informatio
Biography of Early Australians by Peter Killackey
/ref> To fix the deficit Chapman proposed increasing taxes and reducing the wages of public servants, a proposal which reduced his popularity. After

's ministry was defeated in 1857, his position as Treasurer was given to another member of parliament. Chapman was in opposition during the Gregson,

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...

and

Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

ministries. Or from 1857 after Champ's resignation, until 1861. Chapman became

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

after four years out of ministry, on 2 August 1861 he held office until 20 January 1863 a total of 18 months making him the second longest serving Premier after Francis Smith at the time. While Premier he also took up his old job of Colonial treasurer from November, 1862 until January, 1863. Although his term as Premier ended he became Colonial Treasurer again in

Richard Dry Sir Richard Dry, KCMG (20 September 1815 – 1 August 1869) was an Australian politician, the son of United Irish convict, who was Premier of Tasmania from 24 November 1866 until 1 August 1869 when he died in office. Dry was the first Tasmani ...

's ministry from 24 November 1866 until 1869. He also held the position in Wilson's ministry from 1869–1872. In 1873 he resigned from 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 ...

to become a member of 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 ...

. In August, 1873 he joined

Alfred Kennerley Alfred Kennerley (10 October 1810 – 15 November 1897) was an Australian politician and Premier of Tasmania from 4 August 1873 until 20 July 1876. Kennerley was born in Islington. He was a man of means who came from England to Australia w ...

's ministry holding the position of Colonial Secretary from 1873 until 1876. After this Chapman served in no more ministries but was

President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council The President of the Tasmanian Legislative Council is the presiding officer of the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Council. Presidents of the Legislative Council External links Presidents of the Legislative Council
(Parliament of Tasmania) ...

on 11 July 1882 until his death. Chapman is noted as being a good public speaker and an excellent financier.

Electorates

During his time in parliament; Chapman served in six electorates, in both chambers.

Tasmanian House of Assembly

Hobart Town Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half ...

from 15 September 1856 until 31 May 1861.Many of these electorates no longer exist they are based on the towns of

, Launceston and

Campbell Town Campbell Town is a town in Tasmania, Australia, on the Midland Highway. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 823. History Traditional owners of the Campbell Town area The traditional custodians of the Campbell Town area were ...

. Sources of the electoral terms are located at *

Queenborough Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England. Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where it joins the River ...

from 11 June 1861 until 8 November 1862. *

from 8 November 1862 until May, 1864. Resigned because of bankruptcy *

from 27 October 1866 until 3 December 1866. * Launceston from 31 December 1866 until August, 1871. * East Hobart from 1 September 1871 until August, 1873. Resigned to contest in

Tasmanian Legislative Council

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

from 28 October 1851 until August, 1856. Resigned to contest in the

. *

from 8 August 1873 until 17 February 1884.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Thomas 1815 births 1884 deaths Premiers of Tasmania Politicians from Hobart Presidents of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Leaders of the opposition in Tasmania Treasurers of Tasmania People from Bedford Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia