Tom Rasey
| Tom Rasey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Windsor | |
|
In office 29 April 1950 – 26 April 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Pie |
| Succeeded by | Ray Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas William Rasey 10 June 1898 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Died |
27 April 1989 (aged 90) Caboolture, Queensland, Australia |
| Resting place | Nudgee Cemetery |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Other political affiliations | Queensland Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Johanna Eileen Dunlea (m.1936 d.1987) |
| Occupation | Drover, Clerk, Truck driver |
Thomas William Rasey (10 June 1898 – 27 April 1989) was an Australian politician from Queensland. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.[1][2]
Early life
Thomas Rasey served with the Australian army during World War I (1914-1918) after enlisting in Brisbane in September 1916. Serving in the 42nd Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Division as a signaler of D Company, Rasey became a casualty of gas attacks at Villers-Bretonneux, France, in June 1918. From the front, he was transferred to hospitals in France and England before being repatriated to Australia in March 1919.[3]
An accomplished sportsman, Rasey played rugby league for Fortitude Valley Rugby League Club in Brisbane and became a well known figure in community and sports groups during the inter-war years. Despite working outside Brisbane as a cattleman, truck driver, and even on a merchant ship for sometime, he had a passion for his home city. He represented Brisbane twice as a footballer and served on Queensland National Fitness Council for 27 years.[4] Actively involved in labour politics, Rasey was a member of the Transport Workers' Union of Queensland serving as both Vice-President and President.
T.W. Rasey, The Queenslander, 1917
Tom Rasey and Paddy Whyte, MLAs, in front of a Garatt locomotive, 1950
Politics
In 1943, Rasey was elected as an alderman on the Brisbane City Council. He was re-elected on two subsequent occasions (1946 and 1949) before make a transition to the state political sphere. As a member of the traditionalist arm of Australian Labor Party trade union movement and as a committed Roman Catholic, Rasey was associated with the staunchly anti-communist "groupers" during the late 1940s. The so-called "groupers" were members of the ALP Industrial Groups Committee who were given "a blank cheque in determining how the (Labor Party's) crusade against communism would be fought" during the Cold War.[5]
Rasey was elected as representative of Windsor in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland on 29 April 1950). He represented the Australian Labor Party until 26 April 1957, when he joined the breakaway Queensland Labor Party. However, he then lost his seat in the next election, held on 3 August 1957.[1][6]
Later life
Rasey died in 1989 and is buried in Nudgee Cemetery.[7]
References
- 1 2 "Part 2.19 - Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860-2012 and the Legislative Council 1860-1922" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2012-2015: The 54th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ↑ "Part 2.21 - Representatives of Queensland State Electorates 1860-2015" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2012-2015: The 54th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ↑ "Rasey, Mr Thomas William (Tom)". Queensland Parliament. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ↑ "Queensland Parliamentary Debates: Legislative Assembly" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. 30 May 1989. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
- ↑ Stevenson, Brian F (2007), Queensland's Cold War Warrior: The Turbulent Days of Vincent Clair Gair, 1901-1980 (PDF), Griffith University, retrieved 19 March 2017
- ↑ Rasey, Mr Thomas William (Tom) — Government of Queensland. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ↑ Nudgee Cemetery Mapping Interface — Nudgee Cemetery Grave Location Search. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
| Parliament of Queensland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bruce Pie |
Member for Windsor 1950–1957 |
Succeeded by Ray Smith |