Bawden, Thomas ( - 1897)

Bawden came to the Clarence River district in the early 1840s at the age of 10 with Dr Dobie. In 1869 he was elected unopposed as member for Clarence River. For many years he fought for a railway line from Grafton to Glen Innes, which fight he ultimately lost.

Among other things, he was a Justice of the Peace, Registrar, president of the Clarence River Pastoral, Agricultural and Horticultural Association, mayor of Grafton, and treasurer of Grafton hospital.

In 1880 he resigned as the local member. He was president of the School of Arts at Grafton in 1886 and 1888 and gave several addresses titled 'Personal Recollections of Early Days in the Clarence District', which were published in the Grafton Argus.

[Brief Biography compiled by Robin Hammond, January/February 2004]