Hon Thomas Reynolds

Thomas Reynolds

Pre-Party System

Former Member

Encounter Bay

House of Assembly

02 July 1854

South Australia's fifth Premier, Thomas Reynolds came to the colony in 1840. From a lower social position than many other future Premiers, Reynolds was a successful grocer before his entry to politics. A pious man, and a religious dissenter opposed to state aid to churches, Reynolds also objected to the prevalence of alcohol consumption in South Australia. In addition to his radical liberal stance on the question of constitutional reform, these concerns defined his political activities in the 1850's - a period that saw him elected a member of the Legislative Council in 1854 and, in 1857, to the House of Assembly in the new parliament. Reynolds became Premier in May 1860 following his proposal of a no confidence motion in the Hanson government. His Premiership was characterised by cuts to spending in the public service and difficulty with the obstructionist Supreme Court judge, Justice Boothby. Confusion surrounding the validity of attempts to remove Judge Boothby saw the resignation of key members of the Reynolds ministry and the collapse of his administration in October 1861. Reynolds remained in parliament until 1873, acting as Treasurer in a number of ministries form 1865-68. Returning from Darwin to Adelaide in 1875, Reynolds and his wife were both drowned in a shipwreck off the Great Barrier Reef.

24 February 1875