Thomas Leishman Brown (5 November 1862 – July 1946) was an Australian trade unionist and politician who served as a Labor 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 1906 to 1908, representing the seat of Geraldton. Brown was born in

Bacchus Marsh Bacchus Marsh (Wathawurrung: ''Pullerbopulloke'') is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne and west of Melton, Victoria, Melton at a near equidistance to th ...

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 ...

, to Helen (née Leishman) and Thomas Brown. He trained as a carpenter and joiner, working in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

until the mid-1890s, when he moved to

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, Western Australia, and established his own building and contracting business.Thomas Leishman Brown
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2017. Brown unsuccessfully stood for parliament at the

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

and 1905 state elections, losing to

Henry Carson Henry Carson (31 December 1866 – 31 July 1948) was an Australian politician who served in both houses of the Parliament of Western Australia, as a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1904 to 1906 and from 1908 to 1911, and as a member of ...

on both occasions. Carson's margin of victory in 1905 was just 26 votes, and in October 1906 the election was vacated by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on the grounds of voting irregularities. Brown won the resulting by-election, but Carson defeated him again at the 1908 state election. Brown made one final run for parliament in 1911, losing to

Arthur Male Arthur Male (2 March 1870 – 20 January 1946) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1905 to 1917, representing the seat of Kimberley. He was a minister in the first ...

in the seat of Kimberley. He was state secretary 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 ...

from 1911 to 1915, when he left the state and did not return. Irregularities were subsequently discovered in the union's accounts."MISSING UNION SECRETARY"
''Truth'', 30 October 1915. Brown left Australia in 1919 & went to Chile, South America with his wife & one daughter, joined shortly after by another daughter & grandson. Worked as a builder in Chile under the new name of Arthur Rivers.6

References

6. Date and place of death. From family history ‘Scotland to Clunes’ by Peter Spark {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Thomas 1862 births 1946 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Trade unionists from Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from Bacchus Marsh Colony of Victoria people