Thomas Henry Bath,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(21 February 1875 – 6 November 1956) was an Australian politician, trade unionist, newspaper editor, writer, and cooperativist. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a Member of the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

between 1902 and 1914 for the constituencies of Hannans, Brown Hill and Avon, and was also Minister for Education for a period of 79 days in 1905, and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

between 1906 and 1910. In later life, Bath was involved in the establishment of 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, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, and also initiated several

agricultural cooperatives An agricultural cooperative, also known as a farmers' co-op, is a cooperative in which farmers pool their resources in certain areas of activity. A broad typology of agricultural cooperatives distinguishes between agricultural service cooperati ...

Early life

Bath was born to Thomas Henry Richard Bath, a miner, and his wife Sarah Ann Bath (née Barrow), on 21 February 1875, at Hill End,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, a mining town in the Blue Mountains. He emigrated to the

Western Australian Goldfields The Western Australian Goldfields is a term for areas in Western Australia that have had significant areas of gold mining occur. Range of goldfields There are goldfields across the state of Western Australia, from the Kimberley region to the so ...

in 1896, and found work as a miner. The following year, after a brief sojourn in New South Wales, Bath was involved in founding the Amalgamated Workers' Association. In 1898, he was asked to head the local chapter of the

Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...

, a United-States-based

labour organisation A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

, which he represented at the 1899 trade union conference, held in Coolgardie. In September 1900, Bath, despite having no formal training in writing, became the first editor of the ''

Westralian Worker The ''Westralian Worker'' was a newspaper established in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia in 1900 and published until its demise in 1951 in Perth, Western Australia. History It was established as the ''Official organ of the Western Australian L ...

'', a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

publication. In July of the following year, Bath gave way to

Wallace Nelson Wallace Alexander Nelson (29 April 1856 – 5 May 1943) was a short term Western Australian politician. He represented the electoral district of Hannans from 1904 to 1905 in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly. He was described as the ...

Political career

After being appointed secretary of the Kalgoorlie and Boulder Trades and Labor Council, Bath was involved in various faction-fighting between trade unions.

Later life

Bath was a leading member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in Western Australia, and was involved in the foundation of Lodge Bonnie Doon, 839, S.C., in 1897, under the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

. He was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1949, for "long service to the wheatgrowing industry of the state".Wheat Men Honoured.
– ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

''. Published Wednesday, 20 July 1949. Retrieved fro
Trove
28 January 2012. He died at his home in

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

on 6 November 1956 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

resulting from

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack. In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignored ...

Legacy

Bath Lane, one of the minor roads in the Ballarat CBD, was named after him.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bath, Thomas 1875 births 1956 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Australian farmers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian Methodists Australian miners Australian newspaper editors Australian trade unionists Australian cooperative organizers Australian Freemasons Leaders of the Opposition in Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire