Thomas Chataway

Thomas Drinkwater Chataway (6 April 1864 – 5 March 1925) was an Australian journalist and politician. He was a Senator for Queensland from 1907 to 1913, representing the Anti-Socialist Party and Liberal Party. Prior to entering politics he served as editor and co-owner of the Daily Mercury in Mackay, Queensland. He was known for his advocacy for the Queensland sugar industry.

Early life Chataway was born on 6 April 1864 in Wartling, Sussex, England. He was the son of Elizabeth Ann (née Drinkwater) and Rev. James Chataway, an Anglican minister.

Chataway spent his early years in England, attending Charterhouse School. In 1881 he joined his older brother James Chataway in Australia. He worked on the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales for a year and then moved to Queensland where he was employed as a sugar-boiler at Habana near Mackay. In 1886, Chataway began writing for the Mackay Mercury of which his brother was editor and co-owner. He and his brother established the Sugar Journal and Tropical Cultivator in 1892, a monthly journal which claimed circulation in "Queensland, New South Wales, Fiji, Mauritius and other tropical and subtropical countries". He was elected on a ticket as one of three candidates endorsed by the Queensland Central Anti-Socialistic Council, alongside Robert Sayers and Anthony St Ledger. He joined the Anti-Socialist Party in parliament. He joined the new Liberal Party upon its creation in 1909 and was elected government whip in the Deakin government.

In the Senate, Chataway spoke frequently on the Queensland sugar industry where he supported protectionist policies,

Personal life and retirement In 1890, Chataway married Anna Altereith, with whom he had three children.