Thomas Nevitt (May 1864 – 13 September 1932) was a member of both the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

and

Queensland Legislative Assembly 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 Assembly ...

. Nevitt was born at

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

, Cheshire, to James Nevitt and his wife Ellen (née Warburton) and was educated in

Crewe Green Crewe Green is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The village lies 1½ miles to the east of the centre of Crewe. The parish also includes a dispersed settlem ...

and St. Paul's Church schools, Crewe. He began his working life as a railway fitter in England before moving to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

around 1884. He worked as a hospital wardsman in Normanton for twenty years from 1887, was

overseer Overseer may refer to: Professions * Supervisor or superintendent; one who keeps watch over and directs the work of others *Plantation overseer, often in the context of forced labor or slavery *Overseer of the poor, an official who administered re ...

, Townsville Quarantine Station from 1912 until 1917, and Visiting Justice at St Helena Prison and other centres throughout the state from 1923 to 1930.

Political career

Nevitt entered the

Queensland Parliament The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral s ...

at the 1907 state election. Standing as the

Labour 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 ...

candidate for the seat of

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, he defeated the sitting member, James Forsyth. He held the seat for five years until it was abolished in 1912. When the Labour Party starting forming governments in Queensland, it found much of its legislation being blocked by a hostile Council, where members had been appointed for life by successive conservative governments. After a failed

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

in May 1917, Premier Ryan tried a new tactic, and later that year advised the Governor, Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, to appoint thirteen new members whose allegiance lay with Labour to the Council.Goold-Adams, Sir Hamilton John (1858–1920)
–

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

. Retrieved 12 April 2015. Nevitt was one of the thirteen new members, and went on to serve for four and a half years until the Council was abolished in March 1922. From 17 November 1920 he was also the Chairman of Committees.

Personal life

Nevitt married Sabina Naughton in 1887 and together had 3 sons. He retired in March 1932. About July 1932, he travelled to Cairns where he died in a private hospital in September 1932. His funeral was held at St John's Church, Cairns and proceeded to the Martyn St Cemetery. Grave of Thomas Nevitt d 1932

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevitt, Thomas Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Members of the Queensland Legislative Council 1864 births 1932 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland People from Crewe