Thomas William Hoey

After migrating to Australia, Thomas travelled from Melbourne to Ballarat and set up a shop in the Goldfields in a tent. He moved to Drayton near Toowoomba c.1865 where he worked as a clerk in the office of the Clerk of Petty Sessions.

On the 14th November 1868 the famous author Arthur Hoey Davis (Steel Rudd) was born in Drayton. His father, Thomas Davis, in celebrating his birth, it is said, took a drop too much and found himself a guest of Her Majesty, and was provided with bed and breakfast. He was unable to raise bail and when he sobered up, he became very lachrymose (tearful), and poured out his troubles to the young Clerk, Thomas Hoey. Thomas paid the the bail for Thomas Davis and won the undying gratitude of the Davis family. The baby was duly baptised Arthur Hoey Davis in recognition of the kindness of the young Clerk  (from the Life and Times of Steele Rudd by Eric Drayton Davis).

Thomas Hoey moved to Ipswich and became a bookseller in Brisbane Street. He was appointed the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

In 1878, after a disastrous fire in Ipswich, Thomas and several other businessmen petitioned the Mayor to form a Fire Brigade. He was subsequently appointed to the Board of Directors of the newly formed brigade. He had an office in the School of Arts building where he conducted a business as Fire, Life and General Commission Agent.

Thomas died in 1900, shortly after the family moved to Brisbane.