Thomas William Dalton (1 January 1904 – 16 August 1981) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

from 1953 until 1956 and from 1959 until 1968. He was a member of the Labor Party (ALP).

Early life

Dalton was born in

Wee Waa, New South Wales Wee Waa () is a town located on the north-western slopes of the New England (Australia), New England region in New South Wales, Australia. The town is within the Narrabri Shire local government area and is on the Namoi River. Wee Waa is north-w ...

and was the son of a teamster.

Chris Dalton Christopher Alfred Dalton (27 November 1896 – 25 May 1975) was an Australian politician. He was born at Teeyarra to teamster George Henry Dalton and Mary Grintell. He was educated at West Maitland and became a bushworker and railway worke ...

a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

between 1943 and 1970 was his brother. He was educated to elementary level in country schools and after working in numerous rural jobs he joined the construction division of the

New South Wales Government Railways The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. Management The agency was managed by a range of differe ...

in 1922. He was an official of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

between 1935 and 1945.

State Parliament

Dalton was elected to parliament as the Labor member for

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

at the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

state election in which he defeated the incumbent

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member

Cecil Monro Cecil Owen James Monro (8 April 1883 – 1 May 1966) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1932 and 1941 and 1950–53. He was a member of the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party ...

. At the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

election Labor's vote dropped because of divisions within the federal Labor Party and the formation of the DLP. This resulted in Dalton losing the seat to the Liberal party's

Ian Griffith Ian Ross Griffith (25 September 1925 – 8 November 1992) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1956 until 1978. He was a member of the Liberal Party and held ministerial positions in the gove ...

. Dalton re-contested the seat in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and he defeated the Liberal candidate Keith Bates ( Griffith had successfully transferred to the seat of

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

). Dalton remained in parliament until he was defeated at the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

election by the Liberal candidate,

Tim Walker Timothy Walker HonFRPS (born 1970) is a British fashion photographer, who regularly works for ''Vogue'', '' W'' and ''Love'' magazines. He is based in London. Life and career Walker was born in England in 1970. His interest in photography bega ...

. Dalton then retired from public life and became a taxi-truck operator. He did not hold party, parliamentary or ministerial office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalton, Tom 1904 births 1981 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian trade unionists People from New England (New South Wales) Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians