Thomas Paterson

Thomas Paterson (20 November 1882 – 24 January 1952) was an Australian politician who served as deputy leader of the Country Party from 1929 to 1937. He held ministerial office in the governments of Stanley Bruce and Joseph Lyons, representing the Division of Gippsland in Victoria from 1922 to 1943. He played a leading role in the creation of the Victorian Country Party as the political arm of the Victorian Farmers' Union. Early life Paterson was born on 20 November 1882 in Aston, Birmingham, England. He was the son of Scottish parents Elizabeth Mitchell (née Donald) and George Paterson. Paterson attended King Edward's School, Birmingham, and Ayr Grammar School in Scotland. He left school after his father's death in 1897 and began working for footwear retailer Morton's, his father's former employer. He worked in England and Scotland as a shoe salesman and branch manager, resigning in 1908 in order to immigrate to Australia. Prior to leaving he worked on a farm and attended the Dairy School in Kilmarnock in order to gain experience in agriculture. Together with four other family members, Paterson arrived in Melbourne in December 1908. They joined two of his brothers who had previously established a dairy farming property at Springfield, Victoria. The brothers developed a mixed farm on scientific principles, while Paterson also bred Clydesdale horses. He joined the Victorian Farmers' Union in 1916 as a member of the Springfield branch, and was elected vice-president in 1920 and state president in 1922.