Thomas Martin Davis (22 January 1856 – 14 July 1899) was an English-born Australian politician. He was born in

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

to fruit merchant Thomas Davis and Ann Martin. The family moved to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1859, where Thomas was educated. He moved to France at the age of thirteen, but was forced to return to England when the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870. From 1871 to 1875 he was a sailor; he then worked as an interpreter in

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

before settling in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

as a seaman in 1876. Closely involved in the union movement, he was secretary of the Federated Seamen's Union in 1886. In 1891 he was a foundation member of the Labor Party, and he was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

accordingly to represent West Sydney. One of a minority of Labor members to sign the pledge on binding votes, he was re-elected as the member for Sydney-Pyrmont in 1894 and 1895. He retired in 1898 and died in Sydney the following year. He had married Jessie Shaw on 9 May 1892; they had three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Thomas 1856 births 1899 deaths British emigrants Immigrants to colonial Australia Expatriates in France Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 19th-century Australian politicians Expatriates in New Caledonia