Thomas William Rasey (10 June 1898 – 27 April 1989) was an Australian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

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_ ...

. He was a

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former electoral div ...

Early life

Thomas Rasey served with the Australian army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914-1918) after enlisting in Brisbane in September 1916. Serving in the 42nd Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Division as a signaler of D Company, Rasey became a casualty of gas attacks at

Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux border ...

, France, in June 1918. From the front, he was transferred to hospitals in France and England before being repatriated to Australia in March 1919. An accomplished sportsman, Rasey played rugby league for Fortitude Valley Rugby League Club in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and became a well known figure in community and sports groups during the inter-war years. Despite working outside Brisbane as a cattleman, truck driver, and even on a merchant ship for sometime, he had a passion for his home city. He represented Brisbane twice as a footballer and served on Queensland National Fitness Council for 27 years. Actively involved in labour politics, Rasey was a member of the Transport Workers' Union of Queensland serving as both Vice-President and President. File:T.W. Rasey The Queenslander 1917.jpg, T.W. Rasey, The Queenslander, 1917 File:Queensland State Archives 4270 Mr Rasey and Mr Whyte MsLA in front of a garatt locomotive 1950.png, Tom Rasey and Paddy Whyte, MLAs, in front of a Garatt locomotive, 1950

Politics

In 1943, Rasey was elected as an alderman on the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

. He was re-elected on two subsequent occasions (1946 and 1949) before make a transition to the state political sphere. As a member of the traditionalist arm of

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 ...

trade union movement and as a committed

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, Rasey was associated with the staunchly anti-communist "

groupers Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" i ...

" during the late 1940s. The so-called "

" were members of the ALP Industrial Groups Committee who were given "a blank cheque in determining how the (Labor Party's) crusade against

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

would be fought" during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. Rasey was elected as representative of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland 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 Assembl ...

on 29 April 1950). He represented the

until 26 April 1957, when he joined the breakaway

Queensland Labor Party The Queensland Labor Party (QLP) was a political party of Queensland, Australia formed in 1957 by a breakaway group of the then ruling Labor Party Government after the expulsion of Premier Vince Gair. In 1962 the party became the Queensland se ...

. However, he then lost his seat in the next election, held on 3 August 1957.Rasey, Mr Thomas William (Tom)
—

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

Later life

Rasey died in 1989 and is buried in

Nudgee Cemetery Nudgee Cemetery & Crematorium is a large Roman Catholic cemetery at 493 St Vincents Road, Nudgee, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The cemetery opened in 1867 and is still operating. Over 31,000 people are buried there. Services The cemetery ...

.Nudgee Cemetery Mapping Interface
— Nudgee Cemetery Grave Location Search. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasey, Thomas 1898 births 1989 deaths Queensland Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Place of birth missing Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians