Thomas John Ley
Encyclopedia
Thomas John Ley was an Australian politician who was convicted of murder in England. It is highly likely that he was also involved in the deaths of a number of people in Australia.
movement, and he as a state (New South Wales
) and federal politician from 1917 to 1928.
of the New South Wales parliament (1917–25) as member for Hurstville
from 1917 to 1920, representing the Nationalist Party of Australia
, and St George
from 1920 to 1925, representing the Progressive Party
from 1920 to 1922. He was a prominent and vocal advocate of proportional representation
, which the state adopted in 1919. Both his electorates were in Sydney's southern suburbs.
As a teetotaller, Ley acquired the nickname Lemonade Ley, but the Temperance Movement
accused him of betrayal when he supported legislation which eased requirements for the sale of alcohol. It later became evident that he was being paid by the brewery lobby. Despite this, he was appointed New South Wales' Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1925 – in the cabinet of Premier Sir George Fuller
– and gained a reputation for harsh decisions.
Shortly after he became Minister for Justice, Ley made an official visit to Western Australia and there was introduced to Evelyn (Maggie) Brook, a magistrate's wife. Shortly afterwards the magistrate died; Ley acted for her and her daughter in various financial and legal matters.
member for Barton
in the federal House of Representatives. Ley's fellow-conservatives began to have doubts about him after the election. Accordingly he was never appointed to a federal ministry, such as would normally have been expected with a man who had held, after all, a senior state government portfolio.
During the 1925 federal campaign Ley had tried to bribe his ALP
opponent, Frederick McDonald
. McDonald revealed this in public, and also alleged that Ley had offered him a £2000 share in a property at Sydney's Kings Cross
in return for withdrawing from the ballot. Ley won the election, and McDonald appealed to the courts, but disappeared in mysterious circumstances; the case against Ley collapsed for lack of evidence when McDonald failed to show up.
McDonald's disappearance may have been a coincidence. But in 1927, Hyman Goldstein
(himself member for Coogee
in the NSW parliament's lower house, and another of Ley's public critics) was found dead after apparently falling from "Suicide Point" on the cliffs of Coogee
. Then a group of businessmen, concerned at Ley's reputation for dubious business dealings (SOS Prickly Pear Poisons Ltd being one of the more infamous), appointed Keith Greedor, an opponent of Ley but formerly an associate of his, to investigate. Travelling to Newcastle
by boat, Greedor fell overboard and drowned.
Little is recorded of Ley's life during the 1930s. About all which can be said for certain is that he used his move to England to start afresh in dubious business ventures, and during World War II he was arrested and convicted for black marketeering.
With Lawrence John Smith, Ley was tried at the Old Bailey, and both were sentenced to death in March 1947. However, both Smith and Ley escaped the noose: Smith's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, while Ley was declared insane and sent to Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane
. There he died soon after. He is said to have been the wealthiest person ever to be a Broadmoor prisoner.
Ley's wife had followed him to England in 1942. From Broadmoor, Ley wrote letters and poems and protested his innocence to his wife and children. After his death, Lewie Ley returned to Australia; she died at Bowral, New South Wales
, in 1956.
Early life
Ley was born in Bath, England, but his father died in 1882 and his mother brought him and three siblings to Australia in 1886. He attended Crown Street Public School in Sydney until he was ten; then he worked as an assistant in his mother's grocery store. Having learnt shorthand, he became a junior clerk-stenographer in a solicitor's office at 14. He married Emily Louisa (known as "Lewie") Vernon in 1898, the year she came to Australia from England. Both husband and wife were active in politics, she in the international suffrageSuffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
movement, and he as a state (New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
) and federal politician from 1917 to 1928.
State politics
Ley served in the lower houseNew South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
of the New South Wales parliament (1917–25) as member for Hurstville
Electoral district of Hurstville
Hurstville was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, named after and including the Sydney suburb of Hurstville....
from 1917 to 1920, representing the Nationalist Party of Australia
Nationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
, and St George
Electoral district of St George
St George was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1894 with the abolition of multi-member districts, from part of Canterbury and named after the St George district...
from 1920 to 1925, representing the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (1920)
The Progressive Party was a New South Wales political party that operated between 1920 and 1927, achieving representation in the Legislative Assembly due to proportional representation. The party attracted support from conservative voters in both rural and urban NSW. As a result, its policies were...
from 1920 to 1922. He was a prominent and vocal advocate of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
, which the state adopted in 1919. Both his electorates were in Sydney's southern suburbs.
As a teetotaller, Ley acquired the nickname Lemonade Ley, but the Temperance Movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
accused him of betrayal when he supported legislation which eased requirements for the sale of alcohol. It later became evident that he was being paid by the brewery lobby. Despite this, he was appointed New South Wales' Minister for Justice from 1922 to 1925 – in the cabinet of Premier Sir George Fuller
George Fuller (Australian politician)
Sir George Warburton Fuller KCMG was Premier of New South Wales, Australia on two occasions during the 1920s. His first term of office lasted less than one day ; his second lasted from 13 April 1922 to 17 June 1925.-Early life:Fuller was born in Kiama, New South Wales and was educated at Kiama...
– and gained a reputation for harsh decisions.
Shortly after he became Minister for Justice, Ley made an official visit to Western Australia and there was introduced to Evelyn (Maggie) Brook, a magistrate's wife. Shortly afterwards the magistrate died; Ley acted for her and her daughter in various financial and legal matters.
Federal politician
In 1925, Ley was elected as the Nationalist Party of AustraliaNationalist Party of Australia
The Nationalist Party of Australia was an Australian political party. It was formed on 17 February 1917 from a merger between the conservative Commonwealth Liberal Party and the National Labor Party, the name given to the pro-conscription defectors from the Australian Labor Party led by Prime...
member for Barton
Division of Barton
The Division of Barton is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1922 and is named for Sir Edmund Barton, the first Prime Minister of Australia...
in the federal House of Representatives. Ley's fellow-conservatives began to have doubts about him after the election. Accordingly he was never appointed to a federal ministry, such as would normally have been expected with a man who had held, after all, a senior state government portfolio.
During the 1925 federal campaign Ley had tried to bribe his ALP
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
opponent, Frederick McDonald
Frederick McDonald
Frederick Albert McDonald was an Australian politician and possible murder victim. Educated at public schools and at the University of Sydney, McDonald became a teacher and rose to become President of the Teachers Federation of New South Wales...
. McDonald revealed this in public, and also alleged that Ley had offered him a £2000 share in a property at Sydney's Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
in return for withdrawing from the ballot. Ley won the election, and McDonald appealed to the courts, but disappeared in mysterious circumstances; the case against Ley collapsed for lack of evidence when McDonald failed to show up.
McDonald's disappearance may have been a coincidence. But in 1927, Hyman Goldstein
Hyman Goldstein (politician)
Hyman Goldstein was an Australian politician. He was a Nationalist member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Eastern Suburbs from 1922 until 1925, and Coogee from 1927 to his death in 1928...
(himself member for Coogee
Electoral district of Coogee
Coogee is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Bruce Notley-Smith of the Liberal Party.-Members for Coogee:-Election results:...
in the NSW parliament's lower house, and another of Ley's public critics) was found dead after apparently falling from "Suicide Point" on the cliffs of Coogee
Coogee, New South Wales
Coogee is a beachside suburb of local government area City of Randwick. It is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is also a part of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney....
. Then a group of businessmen, concerned at Ley's reputation for dubious business dealings (SOS Prickly Pear Poisons Ltd being one of the more infamous), appointed Keith Greedor, an opponent of Ley but formerly an associate of his, to investigate. Travelling to Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
by boat, Greedor fell overboard and drowned.
Return to England
After his defeat in the 1928 election, Ley returned to England with Maggie Brook, his mistress of several years, leaving his wife in Australia.Little is recorded of Ley's life during the 1930s. About all which can be said for certain is that he used his move to England to start afresh in dubious business ventures, and during World War II he was arrested and convicted for black marketeering.
The Chalk-pit Murder
In 1946 Maggie Brook was living in Wimbledon, and Ley had his house at 5 Beaufort Gardens, London, converted into flats. Ley imagined (wrongly) that Brook and a barman called John McMain Mudie were lovers. Ley persuaded two of his labourers that Mudie was a blackmailer, and together they tortured and killed him. The case became known as the "Chalk-pit Murder" because Mudie's body was dumped in a Surrey chalk-pit.With Lawrence John Smith, Ley was tried at the Old Bailey, and both were sentenced to death in March 1947. However, both Smith and Ley escaped the noose: Smith's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, while Ley was declared insane and sent to Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane
Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...
. There he died soon after. He is said to have been the wealthiest person ever to be a Broadmoor prisoner.
Ley's wife had followed him to England in 1942. From Broadmoor, Ley wrote letters and poems and protested his innocence to his wife and children. After his death, Lewie Ley returned to Australia; she died at Bowral, New South Wales
Bowral, New South Wales
-Attractions:Bowral is perhaps the best known of the towns and villages of the Southern Highlands, and in recent years has become the commercial centre of the Wingecarribee Shire. Bowral is known for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants, and rich coffee culture.Bowral is home to the...
, in 1956.
External links
- Minister for Murder ABC TVABC TelevisionABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
– partial transcript of documentary recounting Ley's career (2004)