Thomas Caldwell Kerr (15 August 1887 – 25 June 1956) was a member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

Biography

Kerr was born at

Stanthorpe Stanthorpe is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Stanthorpe had a population of 5,406 people. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt. Geography Stanthorpe lies on the New ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, the son of John Kerr and his wife Mary (née Caldwell). He was educated at

Sherwood State School Sherwood State School is a heritage-listed state school at 464 Oxley Road, Sherwood, Queensland, Sherwood, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The buildings were built from built from 1874 to 1974. The designers included Boulton & Paul Ltd ...

and from 1905 to 1915 was a pearl sheller in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

and

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...

. Later on he was a public accountant and auditor with Wright, Kerr and Co. in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He served in the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, being based with the 31st Infantry Battalion. On 8 November 1919 he married Lillian Violet Berry (died 1954)Family history research
— Queensland Government births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Retrieved 16 April 2016. in

and together had two sons and one daughter. One of their sons died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

while serving as a Spitfire Pilot in France. Kerr died in June 1956. He was cremated at

Mt Thompson Crematorium Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens and Crematorium (formerly Brisbane Crematorium) includes a heritage-listed chapel (the West Chapel), columbaria and other features. It is located on north-western slopes of Mount Thompson in Brisbane, Australia. ...

and his ashes are in the columbarium wall at St Matthew's Anglican Church,

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

.Thomas Caldwell KERR 25-6-1956
— Chapel Hill Photos. Retrieved 16 April 2016.

Public life

Kerr, a member of the UAP, and later the QPP and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, won the seat of

Oxley Oxley may refer to: Places Australia Australian Capital Territory * Oxley, Australian Capital Territory is a suburb of Canberra, Australia Queensland *Oxley, Queensland is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia ** Oxley railway station, Brisba ...

in the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the 1943 by-election to replace Thomas Nimmo who had died in February of that year. He was to represent the seat until it was abolished before the 1950 state election. He then moved to the new seat of

, holding it for six years until he retired from politics in 1956. He collapsed and died a month later in his Queen Street office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Thomas Caldwell Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1887 births 1956 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians People from Stanthorpe, Queensland