Thomas Houghton

Biography

Early years

Thomas John Houghton was born on 24 December 1861 at Liverpool in county Lancashire, England, the son of George Houghton and Frances (née Fairclough). His father was a painter and glazier.[A]

The Houghton family emigrated to New South Wales aboard the ship Parramatta, probably arriving at Sydney in December 1866. Thomas' sister died during the voyage.[B] Both parents of the family died after a "few years" in Australia. Young Thomas probably attended school in Sydney. He had only "a moderate amount of schooling, but made very good use of his opportunities in this direction".

Houghton left school in about 1874, aged thirteen. After working as an office boy "in one of the city institutions", in July 1875 he was apprenticed to the printing trade on the staff of the Grafton local newspaper, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, owned by James D. Gray and James McNaughton. Houghton spent the next six years as an indentured apprentice at Grafton, in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, "to learn the trade and business of a printer".

In March 1877 Houghton appeared on summons at the Grafton Police to answer a complaint by A. Helmich, who stated he had been subjected to "much annoyance and insult" in the public street by Houghton and others, culminating in "the use of filthy and disgusting language". Houghton, a youth of fifteen, "had nothing to say in mitigation". He was fined five shillings, or 24 hours' imprisonment, and "warned that a second offence of the kind would be severely punished". In October 1878 at the Grafton Police Court, Houghton and eight other "boys" were charged with "behaving in a riotous manner" in Queen Street. They had been engaged in an activity called "tin kettling", carried out by "beating on kerosene tins and cans, and hooting". Most of the young men received fines, though Houghton "was admonished by the Bench and discharged".

By early 1881 Houghton was actively involved with an amateur dramatic club at Grafton.

A Grafton newspaper made the following comments about Houghton as a youthful resident of the township (in response to a November 1891 visit to Grafton by Houghton, who had been recently elected to the Legislative Assembly): "From his boyhood's days – as we were informed by one who knew him then – his mind has had an anarchical twist; a kind of unrest, impatient of restraint". The writer added a reproach: "It would be well if he would educate himself to restrain this propensity".

Government Printing Office

From about August 1881, after completion of his apprenticeship indentures, Houghton was employed as a compositor at the Government Printing Office (GPO) in Sydney, where he remained until 1889. He joined the New South Wales Typographical Association soon after being employed and shortly afterwards was appointed as a workplace 'collector' for the union. At the GPO Houghton was engaged in the printing of Hansard, the transcripts of New South Wales parliamentary debates.[C]

Thomas John Houghton and Catherina Suzanne Kritsch were married on 31 December 1884 at Grafton. The couple had three children born from 1885 to 1896.[D]

In February 1887 Houghton received a promotion at the Government Printing Office. At about the same time he was elected by his fellow employees as 'father' to the supernumerary compositors' 'chapel'. In the print industry a 'chapel' referred to a collective of unionised print workers within a workplace. The 'father' of the 'chapel' referred to the senior union representative at the printing establishment. Houghton later served in other administrative positions within the unionised 'chapel' at the GPO. He was also active on the annual picnic committee.

In July 1887 a "fairly-attended" meeting of the employees of the Government Printing Office agreed to inaugurate a dramatic and musical club in connection with their workplace. Houghton spoke at the meeting, briefly stating the objectives of the proposed club, and was one of those appointed to the committee to draft club rules. Houghton was elected as the first secretary of the Government Printing Office's Dramatic and Musical Society, which "gained for itself the reputation of the premier institution of its kind in Sydney".

In about 1888 Houghton served on the board of management of the Typographical Association and on three occasions he was elected to represent the union at the Trades and Labor Council. He also represented the union on the Trades Hall and Eight-hour Demonstration Committee.

Trades and Labour Council

In March 1889 Houghton was elected as the part-time general secretary of the Sydney Trades and Labor Council (TLC), on a salary of thirty pounds a year. In September that year he organised a mass public meeting in the Sydney Domain to raise funds to support striking London dock workers. In October 1889 Houghton submitted his resignation as secretary of the TLC "owing to [the] enormous increase in duties and failing health". He was persuaded to remain and given assistance to perform his duties. In December Houghton was appointed as the Council's first full-time general secretary. He was re-elected to the role on two subsequent occasions without opposition. Houghton represented the Sydney TLC at the Victorian Eight-hour anniversary celebration held in Melbourne last year, on the Intercolonial Labor Federation Conference, on the New South Wales' Labor Defence Committee at the Intercolonial Labor Congress held in Ballarat, at the western miners' demonstration, and on numerous deputations and conferences. Houghton was described as "the very model of a meticulous secretary".

In March 1890, in his role as secretary of the TLC, Houghton was involved in settling a dispute at Bathurst between a mill-owner named Crago, owner of the National Mills, and his unionised labour-force. Crago had dismissed those of his employees who had joined the recently-formed Mill Employees' Union, but he was eventually persuaded to reinstate the men. In June 1890 Houghton was elected president of the Sydney branch of the Mill Employees' Union. In August 1890, in a visit to Bathurst, Houghton convinced the proprietors of the local flour mills to employ only union labour.

The maritime dispute that began in August 1890 eventually involved ten unions in New South Wales, including the shearers union, and spread to unionists in three other colonies. The executive committee of the Sydney Trades and Labor Council was engaged full-time in the strike until it was called off in early November. Houghton was a member of the Labor Defence Council, which controlled the strike in New South Wales.

By the close of 1890 the Sydney TLC had decided to form a political organisation "with a view of securing better representation of Labor in Parliament and to effectively organise all that are favourable to the said object". In February 1891 a sub-committee of three, made up of Houghton, Francis Cotton and Robert Boxall, was appointed to "draft a scheme for government" by establishing district Labor Electoral Leagues that would select candidates in each electorate. They submitted their scheme for the organisation and government of Labor Electoral Leagues in March, which was debated, revised and adopted by the TLC.

Political career

The 1891 general election in New South Wales, held in June and early July 1891, saw the first electoral successes of the Labor Party (then known as the Labour Electoral League). Thomas Houghton was selected as a candidate to contest The Glebe electorate in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. At that time The Glebe was a two-member electorate. Both sitting members, Michael Chapman and Bruce Smith, re-contested the election, each of them representing the Free Trade Party. The other nominees were two independent free trade candidates and a representative of the Protectionist Party. At the election held on 17 June 1891, Bruce Smith was re-elected and Houghton polled second, elected with 1,472 votes (just seven behind Smith). Houghton's fellow member for The Glebe electorate, Bruce Smith, was a member of Henry Parkes' ministry when he was re-elected in June 1891. He had been appointed secretary for public works in March 1889, though he was seen as an abrasive figure and often clashed with the premier. In August 1891 he was appointed as colonial treasurer, serving for only a few months until the government was defeated in parliament in October and Parkes resigned as premier and leader of the Free Trade Party.

After the election Houghton's views about the manner in which Labor members would operate in parliament was reported in The Daily Telegraph. He explained that the Labor Electoral League (LEL) members would "sit together on the cross-benches" and "on all questions embodied in the labor platform, we will vote in accordance with the decision of the majority of our party". In regard to the issue of free trade versus protectionism, he added: "On the fiscal question we will vote according to conviction untrammelled by the league". Houghton's assertion that Labor members would have a free vote on the fiscal issue was met with immediate resistance and he modified his stance soon afterwards by advocating that the Labor position should be determined by a future referendum. The newly-elected LEL members held their first caucus meeting before parliament was assembled, at which it was decided not to appoint a leader. A five-member managerial committee was formed instead, which included Houghton as secretary.[E]

In September 1893 the Electoral Districts Commissioners presented their scheme of redistribution of seats under the new Electoral Act before the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. As part of the process, multi-member electorates were abolished and the electorates were realigned and in some cases renamed. The Glebe electorate became a single-member electorate and, after Bruce Smith decided not to re-contest the seat, Houghton became the only sitting member at the 1894 general election.

Post-parliamentary career

In late 1898 Houghton took over the defunct South Grafton Leader and began publishing the weekly newspaper The Clarion. The newspaper, published at South Grafton, was described as being "vigorous in tone" and "run on rather sensational lines". To all appearances Houghton was the proprietor of The Clarion, as well as the printer, publisher and editor. However, as it was later revealed during a court case in December 1899, he was actually managing the newspaper for William J. Hawthorne. In November 1898 Houghton had wanted to purchase the plant from Hawthorne, at that time mayor of South Grafton, but they could not agree on a price. Instead, Hawthorne asked if they could "enter into an agreement... to start the paper and run it" on Hawthorne's behalf. The mayor asked Houghton "to put his imprint to the paper, advertise himself as proprietor, and do everything in his power to conceal [Hawthorne's] identity with the paper". Houghton continued under that agreement until the end of September 1899 when he relinquished his connection with the newspaper.

During the campaign and debates prior to the Federation of Australia, Houghton was an advocate for the "unpopular 'anti-Bill' side", arguing against the Commonwealth Constitution Bill on the basis that a new national parliament and defence force would lead to higher taxes and smaller states would be dominated by the wealthier and more populous New South Wales and Victoria.

In about June 1900 Houghton and his family re-located to Launceston in north-eastern Tasmania where he worked as the advertising manager of The Examiner newspaper. In about early 1902 he moved to Hobart and joined the staff of The Mercury as a "city traveller".

Houghton returned to Sydney in 1904. From about 1907 he compiled and published the Australian Manufacturers' Journal for the New South Wales Chamber of Manufacturers, work that he carried out for nine years.

In about 1916 Houghton worked for the Chamber of Commerce in Sydney and was responsible for the body's monthly journal Commerce.

In October 1920 the third edition of The North Coast Guide was released to the public, compiled, edited and published by Houghton for the North Coast Steam Navigation Company. Previous editions of the guide had been more modest publications. The third edition of The North Coast Guide was "profusely illustrated", such that one reviewer wrote that "in its pictorial wealth it could hardly be excelled". The publication featured suggested tours "by land and sea", including schedules and transport options, special articles on regional industries, information on townships, rivers and natural attractions and a history of the North Coast Steam Navigation Company.

Last years

In February 1929 Houghton suffered a "sudden seizure" at his son's home at Lindfield. He was taken to the 'Dalcross' private hospital at Killara and his condition was described as critical.

In his later years 'Tommy' Houghton was recognised identity about Sydney streets, "being an inveterate pedestrian" and known for his genial personality.

Thomas John Houghton died at Artarmon on 30 August 1933, aged 71.