Thomas Daniel Evans (18 April 1929 – 27 February 1995) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1956 to 1980, representing the seat of Kalgoorlie. He served as a minister in the government of John Tonkin, including as

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

and

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Early life

Evans was born in

Denmark, Western Australia Denmark is a coastal town located on Wilson Inlet in the Great Southern (Western Australia), Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-south-east of the state capital of Perth. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, Denmark h ...

, to Kathleen Veronica (née Hayden) and Daniel Thomas Evans. He was educated at various country schools, and later spent two years in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

studying teaching, attending Claremont Teachers College. As a teacher, Evans spent time at schools in Leonora, Westonia, Gwalia, Roelands, Esperance, Boyup Brook, and

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

.Thomas Daniel Evans
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 29 May 2016.

Politics

Evans was elected to parliament at the 1956 state election, aged only 26. He had defeated Herbert Styants (a long-serving MP) for Labor

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

. After entering parliament, he began studying law. He served his

articles of clerkship Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two ye ...

with Tom Hartrey (a future Labor MP), and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1965. Following Labor's victory at the 1971 state election, Evans was made Treasurer, Minister for Forests, and Minister for Tourism in the new ministry formed by John Tonkin (also a former schoolteacher). He was the first state treasurer since James Gardiner in 1919 to not serve simultaneously as

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 ...

.Treasurers of Western Australia
– Parliamentary Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 6 July 2016. However, Evans served as treasurer for only seven months, as Tonkin effected a ministerial reshuffle in October 1971 and assumed the position himself. After the reshuffle, Evans was appointed Attorney-General and

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

. In July 1972, Evans was also made Minister for Recreation. He lost the education portfolio to

Jerry Dolan John "Jerry" Dolan (25 December 1901 – 26 December 1986) was an Australian rules footballer and coach in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) before becoming a politician. He played for as well as coached East Fremantle and was also a ...

in May 1973, but remained in the ministry until the Labor government's defeat at the 1974 state election. Evans subsequently served in the shadow ministry until the 1977 election, under two

leaders of the opposition Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

(John Tonkin and

Colin Jamieson Colin John Jamieson (26 May 1923 – 27 March 1990) was an Australian politician. He was the Leader of the Opposition (Western Australia), leader of the opposition and state leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Western Australia from 1 ...

Later life

Evans left parliament at the 1980 election, and afterwards practised law in Kalgoorlie and

, including with his own firm. Evans died in Perth in February 1995, aged 65. He was married twice, firstly to Eileen O'Donnell in 1957, with whom he had three children. He remarried in 1979, to Karen Camilleri (née Broxton).

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Tom 1929 births 1995 deaths Attorneys-general of Western Australia Australian barristers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Western Australian schoolteachers Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Denmark, Western Australia Treasurers of Western Australia 20th-century Australian politicians Ministers for education (Western Australia)

Early life

Politics

Later life

See also

References