Thomas Hyland Smeaton (15 July 1857 – 17 October 1927) was an Australian politician and

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

. He was a member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

from 1905 to 1921, representing the electorates of

Torrens Torrens may refer to: Places South Australia * Electoral district of Torrens, a state electoral district * Lake Torrens, a salt lake north of Adelaide * River Torrens, which runs through the heart of Adelaide * City of West Torrens, a local go ...

(1905–1915) and Sturt (1915–1921). He was a member of the Labor Party until being expelled in the 1917 Labor split over conscription, and represented the splinter

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

until he left parliament.

Early history

Smeaton was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, the second son of builder Thomas Smeaton, and was educated at the

Free Church Normal Seminary The Free Church Training College was an educational institution in Glasgow, Scotland. It was established by the Free Church of Scotland in 1845 as a college for teacher training. In 1836, David Stow had established a normal school in Glasgow b ...

, and the Andersonian University. He served an apprenticeship as a stone cutter then studied architecture at the Glasgow School of Arts under

Alexander "Greek" Thomson Alexander "Greek" Thomson (9 April 1817 – 22 March 1875) was an eminent Scottish architect and architectural theorist who was a pioneer in sustainable building. Although his work was published in the architectural press of his day, it was ...

, then worked for architect Robert McCallam. He emigrated to South Australia, arriving on 15 January 1879, and worked for the South Australian Government for a year as clerk of works, then for a private firm, then opened his own architectural practice. He designed the Y.M.C.A. and Fire Brigade buildings in Adelaide.

Politics

He was elected councillor for Young Ward in the Adelaide City Council in 1892, retiring in 1896. He stood, unsuccessfully for the position of

Mayor of Adelaide This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Adelaide, a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia. The first local government in Australia was formed on 31 October 1840 with the election of ninet ...

, but was defeated by A. W. Ware. He took an interest in the South Australian Village Settlements, and became a very active Secretary of the Village Settlements Association, which gave financial support to many of the thirteen communes. He had joined the Labor Party in 1892, and stood, unsuccessfully, for 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 ...

seat of East Adelaide. He stood, again unsuccessfully, in 1896 for the District of Albert. At the 1905 election he stood for

and was successful, holding the seat until the 1915 election, when the seat was abolished, when he was transferred to Sturt, holding that seat until the 1921 election. In 1917 he joined the

. He was then appointed secretary of the South Australian Public Teachers' Union, a position held with distinction until his death in 1927.

Other interests

He was a member of the Fire Brigades Board for seven years, and for a time was Chairman. He was President of the Tramway Employes' Union for three years. He was member of the council of the Adelaide School of Mines. He was a member of the Stow Memorial Congregational Church for many years, and involved with the Rev. W. Roby Fletcher in founding the Adelaide branch of the Y.M.C.A., and was on its board for many years, and in 1886 left for two years in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand as secretary of their Y.M.C.A.. He was a

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

and longtime supporter of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

, and in turn treasurer, Vice President, and President of the

South Australian Alliance The South Australian Alliance was a Protestant Christian temperance organisation in the colony and state of South Australia. History The South Australian Total Abstinence Society (founded 1840) became The South Australian Temperance Alliance in 18 ...

, and honored by them with life membership. He conducted Bible Study classes for men in Adelaide, which, despite an "unpleasant speech impediment" enjoyed considerable popularity. He was heavily involved in the voluntary militia, rising through the ranks to the position of lieutenant colonel. He was a prize-winning writer, and a member of the Caledonian Literary Society and the Adelaide Literary Society from its inception and a member of the

South Australian Literary Societies' Union South Australian Literary Societies' Union (1883–1926) was a peak or advocacy organisation of literary societies in South Australia. It organised competitions between the member societies and established a "Union Parliament" to debate issues ...

Family

Smeaton married Jessie Saxby (ca.1857 – 6 October 1940) on 8 July 1884.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smeaton, Thomas Hyland South Australian architects Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian temperance activists 1857 births 1927 deaths

Early history

Politics

Other interests

Family

See also

References