Thomas Glassey (26 February 1844 – 28 September 1936) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born

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n politician. Born in

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, he received no formal education, working as a mill-worker and miner in

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and

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. He migrated to Australia around 1885, when he became a miner at

Bundamba Bundamba is a suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the Bundamba had a population of 6,514 people. Geography The Bremer River forms the western part of the suburb's northern boundary. The Warrego Highway enter ...

, and was Secretary of the Bundamba Miners Association. He was a founding member of the Australian Labor Party in Queensland, and was the first Labor member of any Australian parliament when he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland 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 Assembl ...

in 1888 as the member for

. Defeated in 1893, he was subsequently member for

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from 1894 to 1896 and

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

from 1896 to 1900. He left the Labor Party in 1899 over the party's

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

objective. In 1901, he was elected to the

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for Queensland, unofficially as a

Protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

(though there was no

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

organisation in Queensland at the time). In 1903, the

National Liberal Union National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

endorsed non-Labor candidates, and Glassey, as a Deakinite, did not receive endorsement. He contested the Senate as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

protectionist and received 25.6% of the vote, but was not elected. Glassey died in 1936 and was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemet ...

.Glassey Thomas
— Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search. Retrieved 10 August 2014.

Gallery

File:StateLibQld 1 109560 Thomas Glassey, 1899.jpg, Glassey in 1899

Works

References

Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Protectionist Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate 1844 births 1936 deaths Burials at Toowong Cemetery Leaders of the Opposition in Queensland Independent members of the Parliament of Australia 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-senator-stub