Thomas Richard Smith was born in 1843 at Mount Druitt to publican Thomas Smith and Jane Laimbeer. During his busy and varied life, he was briefly the owner of the Royal Hotel, Gulgong.
NEWS ITEMS
1895 - MR. T. R. SMITH.Mr. T. R. Smith, the newly-elected representative for The Nepean, was born at Mount Druitt, near Penrith, and was educated at St. Marys, and afterwards at King's School, Parramatta. In 1861 he took a contract to supply sleepers and square logs to Messrs. Peto, Brassey, and Betts, on the railway line between Blacktown and Penrith. In 1803, with his brother-in-law, Mr. Thurston, he carried out the railway contract from Blacktown to Windsor and Richmond. He then began business as a produce merchant and forwarding agent at Penrith, and when the train reached the Weatherboard started a branch there, and took into partnership Mr. John Woods and the late Mr. Edward Heaton, selling out to them in 1868, when the firm became known as Wright, Heaton, and Co.Mr. Smith then became the largest farmer at that time in the colony, cultivating 1000 acres of wheat and 360 acres of other produce. He sold out his farm in 1869, and purchased the Royal Hotel at Gulgong goldfields, where he became a miner, and two years afterwards having cleared £20,000 let his hotel to Mr. Nightingale. Mr. Smith then found his way to the Palmer goldfields, where he put up with great hardships, remained there three months, returned to Sydney, and joined Mr. Geo. Wells as a produce auctioneer. The business grew by leaps and bounds until the firm could boast of a turnover of one hundred thousand pounds a year. In 1876, he opposed Mr. J. S. Smith for The Nepean, and defeated him by a very large majority. He held the seat for 11 years, and was ultimately defeated by Mr. S. E. Lees by 18 votes.
During the 11 years Mr. Smith was in Parliament, he was a contractor to the City Council, supplying them with 50,000 tons of metal a year. He then started the Emu Gravel Company, which for a period of nine years supplied all the municipalities and the Government. A few years ago he became a large land speculator, and in that way lost his money. Eighteen months ago he commenced his old business as a contractor, and about six months ago sold out to the Emu Gravel Company, and started in the land and commission business, taking as his partner Mr. Stephen Sullivan. Mr. Smith has been defeated four times for The Nepean electorate by the present Mayor of Sydney, Mr. S. E. Lees, but on the 24th he succeeded in turning the tables upon his old opponent.Source: The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930) Tue 30 Jul 1895 Page 5
1901 - MR. T. R. SMITH, M.L.A.Mr. T. R. Smith, the elect for the Nepean, was born at Mount Druitt, near Penrith, on the 16th day of September, 1844, and is now 57 years of age, and is an old King's School boy. He commenced his career as a farmer on his father's estate at Colyton, Mount Druitt. He acquired considerable experience in stock and farm management, and was noted for being the best horseman in the colony. In his early days he carried out some extensive railway and other contracts, and supplied most of the timber for the railway Blacktown to Emu Plains; and in conjunction with the late J. Thurston, completed the construc-tion of the railway to Richmond. He subsequently purchased the produce and forwarding agencybusiness of Messars. G. Fox and Company, at Penrith, which business he carried on for severalyears, having as his manager the late Edward Heaton (of Wright, Heaton, and Company).In 1867, on the opening of the railway to Weatherboard (now Wentworth Falls), Mr. Smith transferred his business to the latter place, and admitted Mr. Heaton as a partner, and the business was carried on under the name of T. R. Smith and Heaton. Having established the business on a sound and satisfactory footing, Mr. Smith accepted an offer by J. Woods and Heaton to purchase the same. Subsequently the new firm joined the firm of Wright and Company, and ever since then has conducted its business under the name of Wright, Heaton, and Company. Mr. Smith, therefore, claims to have been one of the founders of this well-known firm. He then engaged in farming pursuits, and was the first men in the colony to cultivate 1000 acres of wheat on one farm, in addition to an area of 320 acres of other crops.
Two years later he entered into business as a large buyer of wool, tallow, and pastoral produce in New South Wales and Queensland, and while in the last-named State he had the honor of performing the opening ceremony of the tunnel near Grandchester, which was the first railway tunnel opened in Queensland. The great fall in the price of wool resulted in leaving Mr. Smith a loser to the extent of £10,000. He then transferred his attention to business and mining pursuits, having purchased two well-known hotels in Gulgong (the Royal and Redman's), also three shares in No. 4 Lower Paddock and half interest in one share on the Black Lead. He, in 1872, relinquished business at Gulgong, and returned to his old home at Penrith, having in a few years made fully £20,000.Being tired of a quiet life he again commenced business as a buyer of horses and cattle on stations all over the colony, a great many from Mr. Brown, of Caigen; the Messrs. Rouse and Bowman, of the Mudgee district. Most of these horses he shipped to Queensland; the last lot he took over himself in the Victoria to Cooktown; he then found his way to the Palmer goldfields, where he suffered great hardships. He returned to Sydney, and entered into partnership with Mr. George Wells, J.P. (now of Wells and Matthews), which business Wells and Smith carried on for over 12 years very successfully. Sold out the goodwill for £3000.He then commenced land speculation, giving Mr. Wentworth £50,000 for one property; he also bought the Want Estate, Botany, for £20,000, and several other smaller estates. He then entered into partnership with the Hon. Sydney Smith (his brother) and T. J. Chapman as land auctioneers, which business was carried on for some years, after which the partnership was dissolved. Since then he has carried on the business on his own account. From 1887 to 1894 he was employed a great number of times as arbitrator, umpire, and valuator, on very important arbitration cases all over the colony.In 1874 he was elected member of Parliament for the Nepean electorate, defeating the late Mr. J. S. Smith, once member for Molong. He was successful in defeating all comers for the above electorate until 1887, when he was defeated, by Mr. S. E. Lees, by 18 votes. He opposed Mr. Lees every election since, defeating him in 1895. Three years afterwards Mr. Lees again defeated Mr. Smith, owing to a third candidate being in the field, and on July 23 of this year, T. R. Smith was again successful in defeating Mr. Lees by a large majority.Some of the principal work of Mr. Smith's public career was the introducing and passing into law of the Grain Bill, fixing the standing weight of maize at 561b, wheat 60, barley 50, oats 40, and all other grains as per the Statute Book of the Colony. He also introduced and had passed into law the 14th clause of the Education Act, giving free passes to children attending schools throughout the length and breadth of the colony; was instrumental in getting great reductions in freights of hay and all kinds of produce; also on firewood, fruit, end everything produced from the soil. He was also instrumental in securing the abolition of the first and last tollbar in N.S.W.
