Thomas Henry Brooker (30 December 1850 – 11 July 1927) was a politician in colonial

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. He was a member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

from 1890 to 1905, representing West Torrens (1890–1902) and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

(1902–1905). He was Minister for Education and Minister for Industry in the

Jenkins Jenkins may refer to: People * Jenkins (name), history of the surname * List of people with surname Jenkins * The Jenkins, country music group Places United States *Jenkins, Illinois *Jenkins, Kentucky *Jenkins, Minnesota *Jenkins, Missouri *Je ...

ministry from May 1901 to March 1902.

History

T. H. Brooker was born in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, England, and arrived at

with his parents, William Brooker (c. 1826 – 24 January 1909), bricklayer, and his wife Jane, née Gemmell, on the ''Caroline'' in April 1855, and spent the greater part of his life in the West Torrens district. His father was severely injured in a building collapse at Port Adelaide, and had to abandon his trade in 1875 for a position as Hindmarsh poundkeeper.Parsons, Ronald ''Hindmarsh Town'' Corporation of the Town of Hindmarsh, South Australia For 15 years he worked for

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

at Bankside (now

Torrensville Torrensville is a western suburb west of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It was named after Irish-born economist and chairman of the South Australian Colonisation Commission, Robert Torrens. Torrensville is in the City of West Tor ...

and Underdale, learning a good deal about primary production. Subsequently he worked as a salesman and wood merchant at Ridleyton. By 1887 he was a greengrocer in Carrondown (today's Brompton), and was elected a Councillor for Brompton Ward in the Hindmarsh Corporation, and acted in that capacity for five years. In December 1891 he was elected without opposition as Mayor of Hindmarsh, succeeding Joseph Vardon, and served for one year. He was elected as an Independent Liberal to the

multi-member seats of West Torrens from April 1890 to March 1902 and

from May 1902 to May 1905, holding his seat during the regime of four Governments. In 1898 he was made Government Whip in succession to (later Sir) Richard Butler, and in 1901 followed Lee Batchelor as Minister of Education and Industry in the

ministry. He resigned his portfolio in 1902 when the size of Cabinet was reduced. He was a Vice President of the Homestead League, and a supporter of the Village Settlement scheme. On retiring from politics Brooker, with Joseph Vardon and William Charlick, helped establish the Fruit and Produce Exchange, of which he became the secretary in 1903, and played a substantial part in the development of the East End Market.

Other interests

In the early 1880s he helped to start the Hindmarsh Literary Society. For many years he was a member of the Adelaide Licensing Bench. He was a member of the Board of Governors of the

Botanic Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

for nearly 34 years, and Chairman for 30 years, having succeeded Sir

Henry Ayers Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873. His lasting memorial is in the name Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru, which was en ...

, and was responsible for much of its development. He was a lifelong member of the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

, Robert street. Hindmarsh, filling many positions, including trustee and elder of the church, and superintendent of the Sunday school, reputedly the first Church of Christ Sunday school in Australia. Brooker was a great sports lover, proficient at cricket and tennis. He was a keen fisherman, and although never a footballer, he was one of the founders of the West Torrens Football Club, and for 13 years its President.

Family

Brooker married Emma Tume (c. 1850 – 28 March 1920) on 6 March 1870; their children included: *William Henry Brooker (1870 – 1962) married Nellie Inez Alvorado on 29 September 1897 *Elizabeth May Brooker (1872 – ) married William Lambert Glastonbury on 8 April 1892 *Hamilton Thompson Brooker (1878 – 1970) married Susannah Parsons on 11 July 1912 *Daisy Gemmell Brooker (1882 – ) married Edward Charles Clarke on 8 December 1910 *Ella Myrtle Brooker (1883 – ) married Clarence Ferdinand Rainsford on 9 January 1907 *Ivy Muriel Brooker (1888 – ) married Charles Stuart Munro on 25 March 1909 *Doris Fern Brooker (1891 – ) married Alick D. W. Lawrie on 15 March 1913 His grandchildren included Dr. Kevin Glastonbury and Mr. Vivian M. Brooker of

Braybrook, Victoria Braybrook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Braybrook recorded a population of 9,682 at the . Braybrook is bounded in th ...

. After his wife died in 1920, Brooker lived with his daughter Doris Lawrie at Aveland avenue. North Norwood. His siblings included William Brooker ( – 10 November 1931), who married Elizabeth Mary Brown on 27 October 1870, and were parents of Rev. W. C. Brooker; John Brooker (10 September 1861 – 1 March 1947), founder of preserved fruit business Brooker & Sons in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

; and Mary Brooker (c. 1867 – January 1929) who married James Walter Snook on 6 October 1890.

History

Other interests

Family

See also

References

Further reading