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.

Early life

Thomas was born in Kilmore, Victoria, 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 The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPharmS or RPS) is the body responsible for the leadership and support of the pharmacy profession (pharmacists) within England, Scotland, and Wales. It was created along with the General Pharmaceutical Council ...

. In 1893, Thomas moved to

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

, Western Australia, where he initially worked in the hospital

dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispen ...

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 is ...

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 Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

). 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 (a former

). 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 Pri ...

. In June 1917, Thomas was made a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

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 Griffin Cant Money (17 June 1865 – 1 September 1958) was an Australian politician who was a Nationalist Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1917 to 1924, representing the seat of Bunbury. Money was born in S ...

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