Thomas Walsh (15 January 1871 – 5 April 1943) was an Irish-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n trade unionist.

Early life

He was born at

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

to cobbler Patrick Walsh and Mary Walsh (née Murphy). He was raised by his aunts following his mother's early death, and had little formal education.

Career

In 1893, he arrived in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

with the intention of joining the planned socialist utopia New Australia, but lacked the necessary funds. He instead worked as a seaman and joined the Social Democratic Vanguard. He then moved to

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 ...

, where he worked as a

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 ...

agent for the Federated Seamen's Union of Australasia. A supporter of Peter Bowling in the 1909 coal strike, he rose to state branch secretary for the union in 1912. Walsh, as general secretary of the union, organised the 1919 strike and served three months in gaol. Both Walshes were foundation members of the Communist Party, but soon fell out with the organisation. In 1922, Tom Walsh became federal president of the Seamen's Union, extracting improved working conditions on Australian vessels through a tactic of delaying ship's sailings until the union's demands were met. In 1925, the Bruce government deregistered the union and charged Walsh with incitement, with the ultimate goal of Walsh's deportation. After the Australian union's support for a British strike in 1925, the Deportation Board found against Walsh and fellow unionist Jacob Johnson and they were held at Garden Island until a successful appeal. In 1928, Walsh lost control of the union to Johnson after advocating decreased militancy in order to consolidate its achievements. He attempted to form a new union founded on industrial peace but was unsuccessful, remaining exiled from the Seamen's Union until 1936.

Personal life

Tom Walsh married Margaret O'Heir in

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

on 18 November 1899. They had three daughters: Hannah (born in 1903), Elizabeth "Bessie" (born in 1905) and Sarah "Sallie" (born in 1906). His wife Margaret died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

on 6 April 1914 and their three daughters were sent to live with the socialist journalist Robert Ross. Also living with the Rosses was

Adela Pankhurst Adela Constantia Mary Walsh ( Pankhurst; 19 June 1885 – 23 May 1961) was a British-born suffragette who worked as a political organiser for the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Scotland. In 1914 she moved to Australia where she co ...

, the daughter of famed British suffragette

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

and her husband Richard Pankhurst. They married on 30 September 1917 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

.They had one son, Richard (born in 1918) and four daughters, Sylvia (born in 1920), Christian (born in 1921), Ursula (born in 1923) and Faith (born and died in 1926). They returned to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

after the war. Walsh worked as a journalist during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, the family surviving on his journalist's wages and Adela's income as a public speaker. The Walshes, increasingly anti-communist, advocated trade with Japan and in 1939–1940 visited the country as guests of the Japanese government, returning convinced of Japan's benevolent intentions towards Australia. Following the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, Adela was interned but appealed to be allowed to return to her dying husband's side. Although the appeal was unsuccessful she was released anyway in October 1942, two days after beginning a hunger strike. Tom Walsh died at

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

on 5 April 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Tom 1871 births 1943 deaths Australian trade unionists Irish emigrants to Australia People from Youghal Communist Party of Australia members