Thomas Garrett (Australian politician)

Thomas Garrett (16 July 1830 – 25 November 1891) was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, newspaper proprietor and land agent.[1]

Thomas Garrett, 1875 engraving

Garrett was born in Liverpool, England to John Garrett and Sarah, née Stafford and went to New South Wales with his parents when nine years of age. A year later he was bound to the printing business, but during his apprenticeship he ran away, and became a cabin-boy on H.M.S. Fly, then employed in resurveying the coast between Port Jackson and Hobson's Bay. The youth was soon sent back, and having finished his apprenticeship, he was engaged on a number of newspapers, subsequently being employed in the Government printing office, where he worked for three years. Mr. Garrett then turned his attention to journalism, and in 1855 established the Illawarra Mercury, and afterwards also the Alpine Pioneer and the Cooma Mercury.

His father entered Parliament in 1859 as the member for Shoalhaven.[2] In 1860 Thomas joined his father in Parliament, sitting for the Monaro constituency, acknowledged as the lieutenant of John Robertson. In 1964 he moved to his father's old seat of Shoalhaven which had been vacated by Robertson, and he sat as member until 1872. Afterwards he acted for a short period as police magistrate for Berrima, but not caring for official life, he again entered Parliament, this time for Camden, for which electorate he sat until the general election in June 1892, when, on account of ill-health, he decided not to again contest the seat, and bade farewell to political life.

He was Secretary for Lands in the third Robertson Ministry from February 1875 to February 1877, when he resigned. In the fourth Robertson ministry he filled the same post from August to November 1877, when he again resigned, and was succeeded, as on the former occasion, by Ezekiel Baker. He was Minister of Lands in the fourth Parkes ministry from January 1887 to July 1888.[3][4]