Thomas Grahamslaw (3 March 1901 – 16 December 1973) was an Australian public servant. He spent most of his life in Papua and New Guinea, where he worked as a civil servant and served as an official member of the Legislative Council.

Biography

Grahamslaw was born in Townsville in 1901, the eldest of six children of Annie (née Meldon) and James Grahamslaw. His father was a tinsmith who had immigrated from Scotland, while his mother had been born in Australia.Grahamslaw, Thomas (1901–1973)
Australian Dictionary of Biography The family moved to the

Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

in 1911, with Grahamslaw attending school in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

. He left school at the age of 14 to work as a grocer's boy at the British New Guinea Development Company shop. In 1916 he joined the territory's civil service as a cadet clerk. He was appointed Acting Collector of Customs in Daru in 1924, later becoming moving to Woodlark Island, where his roles included gaoler inspector of native labour and mining registrar, and then Samarai where was postmaster and collector of customs. He married May McLean in Port Moresby in 1939 and became fluent in several

indigenous languages An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...

. During

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 ...

, Grahamslaw joined Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit and was appointed as a district officer for Northern District. Having walked from the north to the south coast of New Guinea alone following the Japanese invasion, he helped prepare Australian soldiers for the Kokoda Track campaign. He was temporarily promoted to major and was awarded an OBE in 1943 for his efforts during the

Battle of Buna–Gona The battle of Buna–Gona was part of the New Guinea campaign in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. It followed the conclusion of the Kokoda Track campaign and lasted from 16 November 1942 until 22 January 1943. The battle was fought by ...

. In 1943 he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force, and in early 1944 was given responsibility for Lakekaum district, before taking over the administration of a much larger area later in the year. In 1945 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, remaining in the army until being demobilised in February 1946. Following the war, Grahamslaw rejoined the civil service, becoming Superintendent of Stores and then Assistant Collector of Customs in 1949. Following the death of Chief Collector of Customs Thomas Byrne in February 1952, he became Acting Chief Collector of Customs, also serving in the Legislative Council until Frank Lee was appointed as Byrne's permanent replacement later in the year. In 1955, Grahamslaw succeeded Lee as Collector of Customs,Popular Promotion for Mr. T. Grahamslaw
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', April 1955, p67 and rejoined the Legislative Council. In 1960 he was also appointed to the Executive Council. He retired the following year and moved to

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. His first marriage having ended in divorce, he married Mary Emilie Chase in October 1961. He died in December 1973 in

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grahamslaw, Thomas 1901 births People from Townsville Territory of Papua people Australian public servants Papua New Guinean civil servants Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Army personnel of World War II Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea 1973 deaths Australian colonels Australian emigrants to Papua New Guinea