Thomas Price (19 January 1852 – 31 May 1909) was a stonecutter, teacher, lay preacher, businessman, stonemason, clerk-of-works, union secretary, union president and politician. He served as Labor's first Premier of South Australia from 1905 to 1909, and was the first leader of a stable Labor government in Australia.
He was born in Brymbo, Denbighshire, Wales, and emigrated to Australia with his family in 1883. There he quickly became involved in trade union activity, and was elected to the Lower House of South Australia in 1893, becoming Labor leader in 1899.
Price came to power at the 1905 election in a minority government, after increasing his party's representation from five to 15 in the 42-member lower house. With the support of eight liberals headed by Archibald Peake, Price forced conservative Premier Richard Butler to resign. Price retained the premiership at the 1906 double dissolution election with an additional four seats in the House of Assembly. Price obtained the double dissolution on the issue of reform to the Legislative Council. The council continued to be intransigent to reform, however Price accepted the council's compromise proposal of a £17 householder franchise. Labor's left wing criticized him for this compromise.
He introduced many social reforms including free state secondary schools, the formation of wages boards and a minimum wage, establishing the Municipal Tramways Trust through nationalisation, the costly administration of the Northern Territory was surrendered to the Federal government, and reform (though limited) of the upper house.
He died of phthisis (tuberculosis) and diabetes at Mount Lofty on 31 May 1909. He was given a state funeral and buried at Mitcham Cemetery.
Famous quotes containing the words thomas and/or price:
“The exile is a singular, whereas refugees tend to be thought of in the mass. Armenian refugees, Jewish refugees, refugees from Franco Spain. But a political leader or artistic figure is an exile. Thomas Mann yesterday, Theodorakis today. Exile is the noble and dignified term, while a refugee is more hapless.... What is implied in these nuances of social standing is the respect we pay to choice. The exile appears to have made a decision, while the refugee is the very image of helplessness.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)
“When rich villains have need of poor ones, poor ones may make what price they will.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)