Senator Thomas Henry Givens

Biography

Senator Thomas Givens was born on February 26, 1864 in Tipperary, Ireland. His parents were Robert Givens and Mary Ann White.

He died in June 1928 in Camberwell, VIC, Australia.

Senator Givens was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, on June 12,1884, of parents who belonged to the class of small farmers.

He came to Australia in 1882, and decided to try his fortune in Queensland. For some time he worked on the sugar plantations, and afterwards he was engaged in bush work in North Queensland. Then he became a miner, and followed that occupation for 16 years at Charters Towers and elsewhere. Later he conducted a newspaper at Cairns. He was a typical young orator, impetuous, and determined, and bis ability brought him under the notice of the Labour organisations in North Queensland. In 1899 he was elected member for Cairns in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, but he was defeated at the general election in March. 1902. In the following year, how ever, he entered the Senate, and was a member without an interval until the time of his death. At that time the Labour party was making a strenuous effort to assert itself in Federal politics, and Senator Givens's rouged personality soon made itself apparent in the many lively debates which occurred at that time. In .1909 he was a member of the Select committee on the press cable service.. and he. was temporary Chairman of Committees from 1910 to 1912. In 1913 he was a member of the Royal commission on the pearling industry.

DEATH OF SENATOR GIVENS (1928, June 23). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 13 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved October 28, 2019, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140812331