William Lemen Thomas (25 September 1872 – 13 July 1921) was an Australian politician who was a 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 1911 to 1917, representing the seat of Bunbury. He was a minister in the government of

Henry Lefroy Sir Henry Bruce Lefroy (24 March 1854 – 19 March 1930) was the eleventh Premier of Western Australia. Biography Lefroy was born in Perth, Western Australia on 24 March 1854. His father was Anthony O'Grady Lefroy, Colonial Treasurer of Wes ...

Early life

Thomas was born in

Kilmore, Victoria Kilmore () is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. Located north of Melbourne, it is the oldest inland town in Victoria by the combination of age and physical occupation, and because it had unique agricultural attributes to drive that e ...

, to Mary (née Browne) and James Thomas. He trained as a chemist in

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 ...

, becoming a member of the state's Pharmaceutical Society. In 1893, Thomas moved to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, where he initially worked in the hospital dispensary and later had his own pharmacy. He moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

in 1901, and eventually to Bunbury, where he was elected to the Bunbury Municipal Council in 1906.William Lemen Thomas
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 8 June 2016.

Politics

Thomas first stood for parliament at the 1908 state election, as the Labor Party's candidate for the seat of Sussex, but was defeated by Frank Wilson (a future premier). At the 1910 Legislative Council elections, he stood for South-West Province, but lost to

Edward McLarty Edward McLarty (1 December 1848 – 13 August 1917) was an Australian pastoralist and politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1894 to 1916, representing South-West Province. McLarty was born in Pin ...

. Thomas eventually entered parliament at the 1911 Bunbury by-election, which had been caused by the resignation of Sir

Newton Moore Major General Sir Newton James Moore, (17 May 1870 – 28 October 1936) was an Australian politician, businessman and army officer. He served as the eighth Premier of Western Australia from 1906 to 1910 and, following service in the First World ...

(a former premier). Thomas was re-elected at the

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

and 1914 state elections. Following the 1916 Labor Party split, he transferred to the new

National Labor Party The National Labor Party was formed by Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes in 1916, following the 1916 Labor split on the issue of World War I conscription in Australia. Hughes had taken over as leader of the Australian Labor Party and Pr ...

. In June 1917, Thomas was made a minister without portfolio in the new ministry formed by Henry Lefroy, who had replaced Frank Wilson as premier. However, at the 1917 state election, he was defeated in Bunbury by the Nationalist Party's Griffin Money.

Later life

After leaving parliament, Thomas returned to local government, being elected Mayor of Bunbury in 1918. He collapsed at a council meeting in July 1921, and died a few days later."DEATH OF MR. W. L. THOMAS"
'' The Daily News'', 14 July 1921. He had married Hannah Walker in 1901, with whom he had one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, William Lemen 1872 births 1921 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Australian pharmacists Mayors of Bunbury, Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly National Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia People from Kilmore, Victoria