Thomas Waddell

Thomas Waddell (1 January 1854 – 25 October 1940), an Australian politician, was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1887 to 1917, was briefly the premier of New South Wales during 1904, and was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1917 to 1934. His 75 days in office marks the shortest tenure of any New South Wales premier.

Early life He was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, son of John and Ann Waddell and was brought to Australia when a few months old. He grew up near Lake George, New South Wales, northeast of Canberra and was educated at Collector public school and at George Metcalfe's High School, Goulburn. At 15 he started work as a shop assistant and then became clerk of petty sessions at Collector Court. He began selling cattle and horses in 1876 and spent some time at Cooper Creek in western Queensland. Together with his brother George, he bought three stations in far western New South Wales and managed them for five years before selling them in the boom of the 1880s. He attempted to hold the Progressive Party together, but in May 1907 he accepted an offer to become Colonial Secretary in Carruthers Government. The Progressive Party disintegrated after the September 1907 election.

When Charles Wade became premier in October 1907, Waddell became colonial treasurer until the Government's defeat by James McGowen's Labor Party in the 1910 election. As treasurer, he reduced income tax and repealed stamp duty. and Sir Graham Waddell was a member of the Legislative Council from 1937 until 1949.

In Media Thomas Waddell is the target of Banjo Paterson's poem The Premier and the Socialist. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Premier_and_the_Socialist