Thomas Alexander Albert Herzfeld (born 29 January 1936) is a former Australian politician who was a

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 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 1977 to 1983, representing the seat of Mundaring. Herzfeld was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany. His father was a banker, and he spent part of his childhood in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Thailand, before arriving in Australia in 1948. After attending

Guildford Grammar School Guildford Grammar School, informally known as Guildford Grammar, Guildford or GGS, is an independent Anglican coeducational primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in Guildford, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Initial ...

, Herzfeld went on to the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

, graduating with Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (BE(Hons)) and was accepted as an associate member of the Institution of Engineers Australia(MIE Aust). He initially worked as a civil engineer with the state government's

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

in the Pilbara, Kimberley and Southwest of the State. Later he transferred to the private sector. He was the Consultant's representative on the construction of the East Perth rail terminal. From May 1975 to June 1977, Herzfeld served as a councillor for the

Shire of Mundaring The Shire of Mundaring is a local government area in eastern metropolitan Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The Shire covers an area of and had a population of approximately 38,000 as at the 2016 Census. History The Greenmount Road ...

, including as shire president from May 1976.Thomas Alexander Albert Herzfeld
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 1 June 2016. He was elected to parliament at the 1977 state election, defeating 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 la ...

member,

James Moiler James Moiler (9 June 1930 – 4 October 2012) was an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of ...

, and increased his majority at the 1980 election. However, at the 1983 state election, Herzfeld was defeated by Labor's Gavan Troy, who won by just 16 votes on the

two-party-preferred vote In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP ...

. This result was challenged and eventually overturned in the Court of Disputed Returns, but Troy retained the seat at the resulting by-election. After leaving parliament, Herzfeld worked as a research officer for two Liberal Party leaders,

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

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 ...

, and also held various administrative positions in the party, including State Secretary, State Director and Campaign Director for State and Federal elections.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herzfeld, Tom 1936 births Living people Australian engineers German emigrants to Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Guildford Grammar School University of Western Australia alumni Western Australian local councillors