John Thomson (Australian politician)

In 1906, Thomson was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as a Protectionist, defeating Henry Lee of the Anti-Socialist Party for the seat of Cowper. In 1909 he became a member of the Commonwealth Liberal Party, the result of a fusion between the Protectionists and the Anti-Socialists. In 1911, he was part of the parliamentary party that visited England as guests for the Coronation of George V and Mary. He was a member of the Royal Commission on the Fruit Industry from 1912 to 1914, temporary chairman of committees from 1913 to 1917, a member of the Joint Committee on Public Accounts from 1914 to 1919 and its chairman from 1917. In 1917, the Commonwealth Liberal Party merged into the new Nationalist Party, and Thomson was Ministerial Whip from 1917 to 1919. He was defeated in 1920 by future Prime Minister of Australia Earle Page, who contested for the Farmers and Settlers Association.^[1]

Following his parliamentary defeat, Thomson briefly resided in Melbourne before returning to his family business, serving as chairman of directors of what was now incorporated as Thomsons Ltd., a role he held until his death. He also purchased a grazing and dairying property at Mount George, and increasingly retired there apart from his board duties in his later years. He died at Mount George in 1934 and was buried at the Dawson River Cemetery at Cundletown.^[1][2][3]