Thomas Givens

Henry Thomas Givens (26 February 1864 – 19 June 1928) was an Irish-born Australian politician. Born in County Tipperary, he received a primary education before migrating to Australia in 1882. He became a bush worker and miner in Queensland, and was secretary of the Queensland Miners' Union, as well as proprietor of the Cairns Daily Times. In 1899, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the Labor member for Cairns, a position he held until 1902.[1] In 1903, he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Queensland Labor Senator.

1910 Labor Senate ticket, with Givens on left

The Honourable Thomas Givens
President of the Senate
In office 9 July 1913 – 30 June 1926
Preceded by	Harry Turley
Succeeded by	John Newlands
Senator for Queensland
In office 1 January 1904 – 19 June 1928
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Cairns
In office 11 March 1899 – 11 March 1902
Preceded by	Isidor Lissner
Succeeded by	James Lyons
Personal details
Born	Henry Thomas Givens 26 February 1864 Tipperary, Ireland
Died	19 June 1928 (aged 64) Canterbury, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Resting place	Box Hill Cemetery
Nationality	Irish Australian
Political party	Labor
Other political affiliations	Nationalist Party
Spouse(s)	Katie Allen (m.1901 d.1945)
Occupation	Miner, Newspaper owner

On 9 July 1913, he was elected President of the Senate, succeeding his Labor colleague Harry Turley. He left the Labor Party in the wake of the 1916 split over conscription and joined the new Nationalist Party, keeping his position as President of the Senate. On 30 June 1926, he was succeeded as President by John Newlands. His 13 years as President make him the second longest serving President after Alister McMullin.

Givens died in 1928 while still a Senator; the Queensland Parliament appointed Labor member John MacDonald as his replacement.[2] He was accorded a State funeral and buried in Box Hill Cemetery.[3]

References

1. "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
2. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
3. Givens, Thomas (1864–1928) — Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 5 February 2015.