Thomas George Hart (27 November 1904 – 14 December 1972) was an Australian farmer and politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly 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 1962 to 1967, representing the seat of Roe. Hart was born in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and spent his early life as a butcher in

Geelong West Geelong West is a commercial and residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. When Geelong was founded, the area was known as Kildare but its name was changed to Geelong West in 1875. The main street is Pakington Street. At the 2016 c ...

. He moved to Western Australia in 1929 and took up land at Ongerup, in the state's Great Southern region. Hart became prominent in agricultural circles, serving as a director and vice-chairman of

Co-operative Bulk Handling The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling), is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. History CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at a ...

, as a farmers' union official, and on the board of the state

marketing board A marketing board is an organization created by many producers to try to market their product and increase consumption and thus prices. It can also be defined as an organization set up by a government to regulate the buying and selling of a certain ...

for

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

. He also served on the Gnowangerup Road Board from 1946 to 1957.Thomas George Hart
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016. Hart entered parliament at the 1962 state election, replacing the retiring Charles Perkins in Roe, a Country Party

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district (constituency) in a legislative body (e.g. Congress, Parliament, City Council) which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combinat ...

. He was re-elected at the 1965 election, but resigned from parliament in June 1967 after a little over five years in office. Hart eventually retired to Albany, dying there in December 1972, aged 68. He had married Vivien Bertha Bridgeman in 1928, with whom he had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Tom 1904 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Politicians from Ballarat Western Australian local councillors