Thomas Garrett (1830 - 1891)

Born 14 Jul 1830 in Liverpool, Lancashire, England

Husband of Mary Ann Elizabeth (Creagan) Garrett — married 30 Sep 1856 in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

Descendants

Died 25 Nov 1891 at age 61 in Newtown, New South Wales, Australia [uncertain]

Biography

Thomas Garrett is Notable.

1830 Thomas, son of John Garrett & Sarah Stafford, was born on 14 July 1830 and baptised on 22 August 1830 in Brunswick Chapel Moss Street Wesleyan, Liverpool, Lancashire, England.^[1]

Thomas arrived with his family in New South Wales on 12 November 1840 on the 'Argyleshire'. ^[2]

30 Oct 1856 Thomas and Mary Ann married in Wollongong ^[3]

Marriage notice published in the Illawarra Mercury:

On the 30th ultimo, at Wollongong, by the Rev. S. Wilkinson, by special license, Wr. Thomas Garrett to Mary Ann Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Mr. Edward Creagan, builder, of Braidwood. ^[4]

18 Dec 1860 Thomas was elected the Member for Monaro ^[5]

1862 A son, Monaro was born

1891 Died ^[6]

28 Nov 1891 His obituary published in the Maitland Mercury:

The late Thomas Garrett. The Echo of Wednesday gives the following par- ticulars of the career of the above gentleman, whose death was reported in our last issue :

Mr. Garrett was bom on July 16, 1830, at Liverpool (Eng.), and at the age of 9 years was brought by his parents to this colony. When only 10 years old he was apprenticed to the printing business, first with the late Mr. James Reading, and afterwards with Messrs Stratham and Fönten, the proprietors of the Australian newspaper. During his apprenticeship he ran away to sea, and shipped as a sailor-boy on board H.M.S. Fly, then engaged in resurveying the coast line between Port Jackson and Hobson's Bay.

From the latter locality he was sent back to Sydney to his place, and finished his term, after which he worked upon the Goulburn Herald, the Sydney Atlas, and the Melbourne Argus. Subse- quently he worked for three years in the Govern- ment Printing Office, Sydney, when Mr. Thos Richards, the late Government Printer, was an ap- prentice. In 1855 he established the Illawarra, Mercury, and later the Alpine Pioneer, and the Cooma Mercury.

Five years afterwards, at the general election on the Robertson Land Act. Mr. Garrett offered himself as a candidate for Parliamentary honours, and was elected by a fair majority for Monaro. After a lapse of four years he retired in favour of Mr. Alexander Montague, to whom he had promised to give way at the first , election. He then put up for Shoalhaven, and sat for that constituency until 1872, when he accepted a police magistracy at Berrima.

He soon tired of official life, however, and at the next general elec- tion, once more entered the political arena, that time as senior member for Camden, with Mr. Kidd, the present Postmaster-General, as his colleague. He sat for this electorate until about three years ago, when he retired from public life altogether. On three occasions Mr. Garrett has held office as Minister. In 1875 he took the portfolio of Minister of Lands in the Robinson-Dalley Adminstration during which time he introduced and carried through the House the Lands Act Amendment Act of 1875. On the defeat of the Parkes Government of 1877, he again took office under Sir John Robert- son, but he retired after a few months owing to a disagreement with his chief, and in January of 1887 he accepted a portfolio under Sir Henry Parkes. His knowledge of the land laws of this; colony was admitted to be of the most thorough character, and few men were considered to be better authorities upon the Robertson Land Act than he. ^[7]

• Father of test cricketer Thomas William Garrett, ancestor of musician and politician Peter Garrett^[8]
• Noted newspaper proprietor and Australian politician^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975"
   Ancestry au Record 9841 #42877103 (accessed 7 February 2022)
   Thomas Garrett baptism on 22 Aug 1830 (born 14 Jul 1830), son of John Garrett & Sarah Stafford, in Brunswick Chapel Moss Street Wesleyan, Liverpool, Lancashire, England.
2. ↑ Passenger List: "New South Wales, Australia, Assisted Immigrant Passenger Lists, 1828-1896"
   State Records Authority of New South Wales; Kingswood New South Wales, Australia; Persons on bounty ships (Agent's Immigrant Lists); Series: 5316; Reel: 2134; Item: [4/4787]
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry au Record 1204 #71107 (accessed 7 February 2022)
   Name: Thomas Garrett; Birth Year: abt 1830; Age: 10; Arrival Date: 12 Nov 1840; Vessel Name: Argyleshire.
3. ↑ Marriage Index (NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages : accessed 27 Apr 2022), Index entry for THOMAS GARRETT and MARY ANNE ELIZABETH CREAGAN; District: WOLLONGONG; Registration Number: 2182/1856
4. ↑ Family Notices (1856, October 6). Illawarra Mercury (Wollongong, NSW : 1856 - 1950), p. 3. Retrieved May 12, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136440587
5. ↑ RESULT OF THE ELECTIONS. (1860, December 19). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved May 12, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13050403
6. ↑ NSW BDM Death: GARRETT THOMAS 11155/1891 JOHN SARAH NEWTOWN
7. ↑ The late Thomas Garrett. (1891, November 28). The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843 - 1893), p. 6 (Second Sheet to the Maitland Mercury). Retrieved May 12, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19003836
8. ↑ "Peter Garrett." Who Do You Think You Are? (Season 8, Episode 2). SBS One. 20 September 2016.
9. ↑ Wikipedia: Thomas Garrett], accessed 20 Aug 2018.