Thomas Joseph Hartigan C.M.G. (8 December 1877[1] or 8 December 1878[2] – 2 May 1963),[a] was a railways clerk who became Chief Railways Commissioner in New South Wales. He was a keen cricketer,[2] playing one
first-class match for
New South Wales in 1907/08.[4]
He joined the railway service as a junior clerk in 1892 and became assistant chief accountant in 1917, chief accountant in 1820. and controller of accounts and audit in 1921.[6]
In 1929 he toured Europe and America investigating railway matters.
He had a disagreement with
W. J. Cleary, which may have helped his relations with Lang.
He was appointed to the Transport Commission (finance branch) in 1932.[6]
He became Commissioner for Railways on 29 December 29 1932, succeeding
William James Cleary, who resigned after surviving a feud with Premier
Jack Lang.
After five years he was pleased to announce that the Railways had made a profit of £28,000, modest enough, but a welcome change from deficits in the millions.[7]
He was a popular official, with a ready smile and archetypical Irish flattery — blarney — and a politician's memory for names and faces. He was even popular with the unions, but that didn't arrest the wave of strikes in the late 1930s and late 1940s.
He was forced to retire in October 1948, to be replaced by his assistant,
F. C. Garside.[8]
Other interests
Hartigan was a keen cricketer: a useful bowler and secretary of the Gordon Cricket Club, which he founded.[7]
His brother
Roger Hartigan was a Test cricketer.
Family
Hartigan married Imelda Josephine Boylson on 26 March 1908.[9] They had two sons and two daughters:
Geoffrey Thomas Hartigan married Kathleen McBride on 20 June 1940[10] They had twin daughters a year later.
John Hartigan married Olga Ferguson on 3 January 1941.
^"New Railways Chief". The Barrier Miner. Vol. XLV, no. 13, 588. New South Wales, Australia. 28 December 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 9 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^
ab"T. J. Hartigan". Smith's Weekly. Vol. XXX, no. 30. New South Wales, Australia. 25 September 1948. p. 7. Retrieved 9 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Family Notices". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 31, 100. Victoria, Australia. 6 May 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 9 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Sporting Personalities". The Sun (Sydney). No. 6892. New South Wales, Australia. 1 February 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 9 April 2024 – via National Library of Australia.