Thomas Whistler Smith, (26 September 1824 – 11 December 1859) was an Australian businessman, banker and politician. He was 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 1857 until his early death in 1859 at the age of 35. He was the deputy chairman and managing director of the

Commercial Banking Company of Sydney The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Limited, also known as the CBC, or CBC Bank, was a bank based in Sydney, Australia. It was established in 1834, and in 1982 merged with the National Bank of Australasia to form National Australia Bank. Hi ...

(now National Australia Bank), having been made one of its directors in 1850. His sister Henrietta Octavia Lamb (née Smith) married into the Lamb banking family by wedding John de Villiers Lamb, a fellow director of the CBCS. John was the son of Commander John Lamb, who was also a

director, as were his brothers Walter Lamb, Edward Lamb and Alfred Lamb. His sister-in-law via Walter was Margaret Dangar, daughter of Australian politician and explorer

Henry Dangar Henry Dangar (1796 - 1861) was a surveyor and explorer of Australia in the early period of British colonisation. He became a successful pastoralist and businessman, and also served as a magistrate and politician. He was born on 18 November 179 ...

Early life

Smith was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and was the son of Thomas Smith, a businessman known for the Smith Bros importing company he and his brothers Eustace Smith and Henry Smith founded. His uncle Henry Smith was a politician and banker who also served as a director of the

. At age 6, Smith emigrated with his family to Sydney. After an elementary education, he joined his father's import and mercantile business.

Career

Smith was made a director of the

in 1850, before departing for other directorships in 1851. He was a founder of the Sydney Exchange Co. and at 27 the youngest man to be elected to its board of directors, of which he was deputy chairman for some time. He was a director of the Commercial Banking Co. of Sydney, the Australian Gaslight Co., the Australian Trust Co., the Australian General Assurance Co., the Australian Steam Navigation Co. In 1857, he returned as a director of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney, where he was made deputy chairman and managing director. He resigned his other directorships in 1859 and was sent to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to establish the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney's first

office. However, shortly after his arrival in London he developed diphtheria and died at the age of 35.S. J. Butlin, Foundations of the Australian Monetary System, 1788-1851 (Melb, 1953)

Parliament

In 1857, Smith was elected as the member for Cumberland (North Riding) in the

. He won the seat at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

caused by the resignation of

John Darvall Sir John Bayley Darvall (19 November 1809 – 28 December 1883) was an Australian barrister, politician and beneficiary of slavery. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1844 and 1856 and again between 1861 and 186 ...

who had become disenchanted with some of the more liberal features of the colonial constitution. He was re-elected at the

1858 Events January–March * January – ** Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. ** William I of Prussia becomes regen ...

election but resigned before the next election to take up his position in London. He did not hold a ministerial or parliamentary position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas 1824 births 1859 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People from Hornsey 19th-century Australian politicians