Tom Rasey

Tom Rasey
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Windsor
In office 29 April 1950 –26 April 1957
Preceded by	Bruce Pie
Succeeded by	Ray Smith
Personal details
Born	Thomas William Rasey (1898-06-10)10 June 1898 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died	27 April 1989(1989-04-27) (aged 90) Caboolture, Queensland, Australia
Resting place	Nudgee Cemetery
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor
Other political affiliations	Queensland Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Johanna Eileen Dunlea (m.1936 d.1987)
Occupation	Drover, Clerk, Truck driver

Thomas William Rasey (10 June 1898 – 27 April 1989) was an Australian politician from Queensland. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life

Thomas Rasey served with the Australian army during World War I (1914-1918) after enlisting in Brisbane in September 1916. Serving in the 42nd Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Division as a signaler of D Company, Rasey became a casualty of gas attacks at Villers-Bretonneux, France, in June 1918. From the front, he was transferred to hospitals in France and England before being repatriated to Australia in March 1919. ^[3]

An accomplished sportsman, Rasey played rugby league for Fortitude Valley Rugby League Club in Brisbane and became a well known figure in community and sports groups during the inter-war years. Despite working outside Brisbane as a cattleman, truck driver, and even on a merchant ship for sometime, he had a passion for his home city. He represented Brisbane twice as a footballer and served on Queensland National Fitness Council for 27 years. ^[4] Actively involved in labour politics, Rasey was a member of the Transport Workers' Union of Queensland serving as both Vice-President and President.

• 
  T.W. Rasey, The Queenslander, 1917
• 
  Tom Rasey and Paddy Whyte, MLAs, in front of a Garatt locomotive, 1950

Politics

In 1943, Rasey was elected as an alderman on the Brisbane City Council. He was re-elected on two subsequent occasions (1946 and 1949) before make a transition to the state political sphere. As a member of the traditionalist arm of Labor trade union movement and as a committed Roman Catholic, Rasey was associated with the staunchly anti-communist "groupers" during the late 1940s. The so-called "groupers" were members of the ALP Industrial Groups Committee who were given "a blank cheque in determining how the (Labor Party's) crusade against communism would be fought" during the Cold War. ^[5]

Rasey was elected as representative of Windsor in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland on 29 April 1950). He represented the Labor until 26 April 1957, when he joined the breakaway Queensland Labor Party. However, he then lost his seat in the next election, held on 3 August 1957. ^{[1] [6]}

Later life

Rasey died in 1989 and is buried in Nudgee Cemetery. ^[7]

References

1. "Part 2.15 – Alphabetical Register of Members of the Legislative Assembly 1860–2017 and the Legislative Council 1860–1922" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2015–2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
2. "Representatives of Queensland State Electorates 1860-2017" (PDF). Queensland Parliamentary Record 2012-2017: The 55th Parliament. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
3. "Rasey, Mr Thomas William (Tom)". Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
4. "Queensland Parliamentary Debates: Legislative Assembly" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. 30 May 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
5. Stevenson, Brian F (2007), Queensland's Cold War Warrior: The Turbulent Days of Vincent Clair Gair, 1901-1980 (PDF), Griffith University, archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2017, retrieved 19 March 2017
6. Rasey, Mr Thomas William (Tom) Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine — Government of Queensland. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
7. Nudgee Cemetery Mapping Interface Archived 3 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine — Nudgee Cemetery Grave Location Search. Retrieved 30 January 2015.

Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Bruce Pie	Member for Windsor 1950–1957	Succeeded by Ray Smith