:''This is about the Queensland politician. For the English chef and his restaurant, see

Tom Aikens Tom Aikens (born 1970), also named Tom Aitkens, is an English Michelin-starred chef. Aikens briefly worked for chefs in London and Paris restaurants. Under his tenure from 1996 to 1999 as head chef and then chef patron, Pied à Terre earned it ...

and Tom Aikens (restaurant).'' Thomas Aikens (29 April 1900 – 30 November 1985) was a politician in

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_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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 ...

Politics

Aikens was a member of the Cloncurry Shire Council from 1924 to 1930, being deputy chairman 1927 to 1930. From 1936 to 1949 he was an alderman of the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock ...

, being deputy mayor from 1939 to 1944. StateLibQld 1 70935 Senior Cadet Tom Aikens, Charters Towers, 1916

Initially, Aikens was a member of the Labor Party, being secretary of the

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as ...

branch from 1933 to 1940. He was also the founder of their branch at Hermit Park. However, his

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

sympathies caused him to be expelled from the party in 1940; the Hermit Park branch was also expelled from the Labor party in 1941 for the same reasons. The branch responded by forming its own political party, the

North Queensland Labor Party The North Queensland Labor Party (known as the Hermit Park Labor Party before 1949 and the North Queensland Party after 1974) was a minor political party in Australia from 1942 to 1977. The party was formed when the Australian Labor Party in Q ...

(NQLP). Aikens contested the 1944 state election in the seat of Mundingburra as an NQLP and was elected on 15 April. Effectively an independent (being the only member of his party in the parliament), he retained the seat in the elections of

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

, 1950, 1953, 1956 and

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

. An electoral redistribution abolished the seat of Mundingburra in 1959 so Aikens successfully contested the seat of Townsville South instead in the 1960 election held on 28 May. He retained that seat through the state elections of

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

, 1966, 1969,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

and

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. On 12 November 1977 he was defeated in the 1977 election by ALP candidate, Alex Wilson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aikens, Tom Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1900 births 1985 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians