Thomas Knight (28 April 1935 – 24 October 2022) was an Australian politician who was a

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 ...

member of the Legislative Council of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1974 to 1986, representing South Province. Knight was born in

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

, to Jean Elizabeth (née Nesbitt) and Frederick Knight. He attended Albany High School, and after leaving school began working as a builder, eventually starting his own development company. Knight served on the Albany Town Council from 1964 to 1967, and became president of the local branch of the Liberal Party. He was preselected for the seat of Albany at the 1968 state election, but withdrew his candidacy prior to the election.Thomas Knight
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 14 May 2016. His replacement, Henry Ayers, lost the seat to Jack Hall (the sitting

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member) by a large margin. At the 1974 state election, Knight was elected to the Legislative Council's South Province, winning the seat away from the National Alliance. He served as deputy chairman of committees from 1977 to 1982, as a parliamentary secretary from 1982 to 1983 (in the government of

Ray O'Connor Raymond James O'Connor (6 March 1926 – 25 February 2013) was an Australian politician who served as the premier of Western Australia from 25 January 1982 to 25 February 1983. He was a member of parliament from 1959 to 1984, and a minister in ...

), and as a shadow minister from 1983 to 1986 (under the leadership of O'Connor and

Bill Hassell William Ralph Boucher Hassell, best known as Bill Hassell, (born 6 June 1943) is an Australian former Liberal Party politician who was Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia during the mid-1980s. He was a member of the Western Australian ...

). At the 1986 election, Knight was defeated by John Caldwell of the National Party. He attempted to re-enter parliament at the 1989 election, standing for the seat of Stirling in the Legislative Assembly, but was defeated by

Monty House Montague Grant "Monty" House (born 16 August 1946) is a former Australian politician. He was born in Perth, the son of politician Edward House, and was a farmer at Gnowangerup before entering politics. In 1986 he was elected to the Western Aus ...

, sitting National MP for Katanning-Roe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Thomas 1935 births 2022 deaths Australian builders Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Albany, Western Australia