Thomas Collins

Thomas Joseph Collins (6 April 1884 – 15 April 1945) was an Australian politician and businessman. He was a member of the Country Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1931 to 1943. He briefly served as Postmaster-General of Australia in 1941. Early life Collins was born at Yass, New South Wales to storekeeper John Collins and Mary, née Hartigan. In 1902, having attended the local Catholic school, he enlisted in the 5th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, to fight in the Boer War. However, by the time Collins's unit arrived, the war had finished. Collins moved to Young in 1906, where in 1911 he began his own business, which prospered. On 17 February 1914 he married Ruby Violet Summerhayes. He built his firm Collins, Ellerman & Co., to one of the largest stock and property businesses in New South Wales. Politics Collins had always been interested in politics and had contested the federal seat of Newcastle in 1913, being a close associate of Charles Hardy, leader of the Riverina Movement. At the 1931 Australian federal election, he defeated Parker Moloney for the federal seat of Hume for the Country Party. He was never a significant parliamentarian, despite his entertaining manner, and was mainly a representative of rural issues.