Thomas Burges (July 1830 – 7 August 1893) was an Australian pastoralist and politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

on three occasions – from 1874 to 1878, from 1885 to 1887, and from 1890 until his death. Burges was born in

York, Western Australia York is the oldest inland town in Western Australia, situated on the Avon River, east of Perth in the Wheatbelt, on Ballardong Nyoongar land,King, A and Parker, E: York, Western Australia's first inland town, Parker Print, 2003 p.3. and is t ...

, to Judith (née Kearnan) and Samuel Evans Burges. His younger half-brother, Richard Goldsmith Burges, was also a member of parliament, as were two of his uncles,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and Lockier Burges. In 1859, Burges acquired Bowes Station, a pastoral lease in the

Mid-West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

that had been established by his uncles. In 1870, he developed Yuin Station, subsequently helping to open a

stock route A stock route, also known as travelling stock route (TSR), is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another in Australia. The stock routes across the country are colloquially ...

north to the

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

. Burges served on the Northampton Road Board from 1871 to 1877, including as chairman for a period.Thomas Burges
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 11 June 2016. In 1874, Burges was elected to the Legislative Council, representing the newly created Northern District. He served until January 1878, when he resigned in order to take a trip to Europe. Burges returned to parliament in July 1885, when he was appointed to the Legislative Council by the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Sir

Frederick Broome Sir Frederick Napier Broome (18 November 1842 – 26 November 1896) was a colonial administrator in the British Empire, serving in Natal, Mauritius, Western Australia, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. The Western Australian towns of Broom ...

. He resigned in June 1887, but was re-appointed in December 1890, following the council's reconstitution as an

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

(rather than a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

chamber). Burges died suddenly in August 1893 (aged 63), from influenza."DEATH OF THE HONORABLE THOMAS BURGES."
''Victorian Express'' (

Geraldton Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, Western Australia), 11 August 1893. He had married Augusta Wittenoom (a daughter of

John Burdett Wittenoom John Burdett Wittenoom (24 October 1788 – 23 January 1855) was a colonial clergyman who was the second Anglican clergyman to perform religious services in the Swan River Colony, Australia, soon after its establishment in 1829. Biography Ea ...

) in 1860, but they had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burges, Thomas 1830 births 1893 deaths Australian pastoralists Australian people of Irish descent Deaths from influenza Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from York, Western Australia 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople Western Australian local councillors