Thomas Bakhap | |
---|---|
Senator for Tasmania | |
In office 1 July 1913 – 18 August 1923 |
|
Succeeded by | John Hayes |
Personal details | |
Born |
Ballaarat, Victoria |
29 October 1866
Died | 18 August 1923 | (aged 56)
Political party |
Liberal (1913–17) Nationalist (1917–23) |
Thomas Jerome Kingston Bakhap (29 October 1866 – 18 August 1923) was an Australian politician. He was born in Ballaarat, Victoria, the adoptive son of a Chinese immigrant, Bak Hap. He received no formal education but became a shopworker, and was later a tin miner at Lottah, Tasmania. In 1909, he was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for Bass. In 1913, he transferred to federal politics, winning a Tasmanian Senate as a member of the Commonwealth Liberal Party. He died in 1923; John Hayes was appointed to replace him. Bakhap was fluent in Chinese. He advocated for the Chinese community when Chinese Australians encountered problems arising from the application of the White Australia Policy. He visited China in 1922.