Merv Toms
{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = The Honourable
|name = Merv Toms
|honorific-suffix =
|image =
|alt =
|caption =
|office = Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
of Western Australia
|term_start = 15 July 1971
|term_end = 8 October 1971
|predecessor = Hugh Guthrie
|successor = Daniel Norton
|office2 = Member of the Legislative Assembly
of Western Australia
|constituency2 = Maylands
|term_start2 = 7 April 1956
|term_end2 = 1 March 1962
|predecessor2 = Edward Oldfield
|successor2 = Edward Oldfield
|constituency3 = Bayswater
|term_start3 =1 March 1962
|term_end3 = 23 March 1968
|predecessor3 = None {{Small|(new creation)}}
|successor3 = None {{Small|(abolished)}}
|constituency4 = Ascot
|term_start4 = 23 March 1968
|term_end4 = 8 October 1971
|predecessor4 = None {{Small|(new creation)}}
|successor4 = Mal Bryce
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|1|23|df=y}}
|birth_place = Boulder, Western Australia, Australia
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|10|8|1909|1|23|df=y}}
|death_place = Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
|party = Labor
|alma_mater =
|religion =
}}
John Mervin Toms (23 January 1909 – 8 October 1971) was an Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1956 to 1971. He was appointed Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in July 1971, but served only a few months before dying in office.
Early life
Toms was born in Boulder, Western Australia, to Lucy (née Kent) and John Pryor Toms. He moved to Perth during his childhood, attending Midland High School. Toms left school at the age of 15, initially working as a labourer and later as a carpenter and joiner. He married Winifred Ann Jenkinson in 1933, with whom he had three children. Toms was elected to the Bayswater Road Board in April 1944, and would serve on the council until May 1971, including as chairman from 1951 to 1956.{{cite book |last1=Sewell |first1=Margaret |title=Bayswater ... and 75 years |date=1972 |pages=35, 41 |publisher=Shire of Bayswater}}{{cite book |last1=May |first1=Catherine |title=Changes they've seen : the city and people of Bayswater 1827-2013 |date=2013 |pages=226, 264 |publisher=City of Bayswater |isbn=9780646596082}} He was recognised as an Honorary Freeman of the City in December 1971 due to his service on the board, and has the Mertome Village aged care complex named after him.{{cite web |title=Honorary Freemen |url=https://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/city-and-council/history-and-heritage/honorary-freemen |website=City of Bayswater |access-date=8 January 2023}} He was also prominent in the Building Workers' Industrial Union, a forerunner of the CFMEU.[http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/library/MPHistoricalData.nsf/(Lookup)/99976A64F11D9706482577E50028A80C?OpenDocument John Mervin Toms] – Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
Politics
Toms entered parliament at the 1956 state election, easily winning the seat of Maylands. At the 1962 election, he transferred to the new seat of Bayswater. When Bayswater was abolished at the 1968 election, he switched seats for a second time, winning the newly created seat of Ascot.{{cite book|last=Black|first=David|author-link=David Black (historian)|last2=Prescott|first2=Valerie|title=Election statistics : Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, 1890-1996|year=1997|publisher=Western Australian Parliamentary History Project and Western Australian Electoral Commission|location=Perth, [W.A.]|isbn=0730984095}} Toms was subsequently appointed deputy chairman of committees in the Legislative Assembly.
Following Labor's victory at the 1971 election, Toms was elected to the speakership. His elevation meant that the government and opposition had equal numbers on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, so he made frequent use of his casting vote as speaker. During a sitting in October 1971, Toms collapsed and was rushed to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, where he died. Because his death reduced Labor to a minority government, the premier, John Tonkin, advised the governor, Sir Douglas Kendrew, to prorogue parliament until the necessary by-election had been held (which Labor won).{{cite book|author=Phillips, Harry|chapter=The Modern Parliament, 1965–1989|year=1991|title=The House on the Hill: A History of the Parliament of Western Australia 1832–1990|editor=Black, David|editor-link=David Black (historian)|location=Perth, Western Australia|publisher=Parliament of Western Australia|page=206|isbn=0-7309-3983-9}}
See also
- James Lee-Steere, the only other speaker to die in office
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-wa}}
{{s-bef|before=Edward Oldfield}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for Maylands|years=1956–1962}}
{{s-aft|after=Edward Oldfield}}
{{s-new|creation}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for Bayswater|years=1962–1968}}
{{s-non|reason=Abolished}}
{{s-new|creation}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for Ascot|years=1968–1971}}
{{s-aft|after=Mal Bryce}}
{{s-bef|before=Hugh Guthrie}}
{{s-ttl|title=Speaker of the Legislative Assembly|years=1971}}
{{s-aft|after=Daniel Norton}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toms, Merv}}
Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia
Category:Mayors of places in Western Australia
Category:Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Category:People from Boulder, Western Australia
Category:Speakers of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly