David Thomson (Labor Party politician)
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox MP David Alexander Thomson (26 February 1856 – 30 October 1926) was an Australian businessman and politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1903 to 1906, holding the Queensland seat of Capricornia for the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
Early life
Thomson was born in 1856 in Melbourne. He lived for periods in both Victoria and New South Wales, working a number of jobs "including contract tank-sinking, wool carrying, hotel-keeping and road contracting".<ref name=obit>Template:Cite news</ref> Having spent time on the Victorian goldfields, he moved to Coolgardie in 1894 during the Western Australian gold rush. He moved to Queensland in the late 1890s.<ref name=week>Template:Cite news</ref>
Business interests
In New South Wales, Thomson and his wife ran hotels in Katoomba, Bathurst, and Tenterfield. After moving to Queensland they controlled the Cosmopolitan Hotel, the Prince Consort Hotel, and the Osborne Hotel in Sandgate for periods.<ref name=mb/>
Thomson moved to Rockhampton in 1900 where he ran the Commercial Hotel and the Masonic Hotel.<ref name=mb/> In 1902 he acquired the Rockhampton Aerated Water Company, a cordial factory which he "built up into a business of considerable magnitude".<ref name=obit/> The business was later taken over by his son Francis David Thomson.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 1918, Thomson took over a farming property at Bushley. He introduced Friesian cattle to the district and was one of the first to use motorised tractors and milking machines.<ref name=week/>
Politics
Thomson was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Capricornia, Queensland, between 16 December 1903 until 12 December 1906. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party.<ref>Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia – Page 662 National Library of Australia – 2002 "Thomson, David Alexander Capricomia Qd 16.12.1903 Defeated 12.12.1906 ALP (26.2.1856 – 30.10.1926)"</ref>
Personal life
Thomson married Mary Jane Tonsing and had at least nine children.<ref name=mb>Template:Cite news</ref>
Thomson died at his home in Bushley on 30 October 1926, aged 70.<ref name=obit/>
References
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