Thomas Kennedy was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. Born in Gisborne, Victoria

Gisborne, Victoria

Gisborne is a town located approximately northwest of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As it is close to Melbourne, but in attractive countryside, it is proving an increasingly popular place to settle. The town was named after Henry Fyshe Gisborne , the first Commissioner for Crown Lands of the...

, he received a primary education and was a farmer by the age of 17. In 1894, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

 as the member for Benalla and Yarrawonga

Electoral district of Benalla and Yarrawonga

The Electoral district of Benalla and Yarrawonga was an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.-Members of Benalla and Yarrawonga:-See also:*Parliaments of the Australian states and territories...

, a position he held until 1901. In that year, he transferred to federal politics, winning the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 seat of Moira

Division of Moira

The Division of Moira was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was located in the north-east of the state, covering much of the Shire of Moira, after which it was named. It included the towns of Benalla and Yarrawonga. The Division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the...

 for the Protectionist Party

Protectionist Party

The Protectionist Party was an Australian political party, formally organised from 1889 until 1909, with policies centred on protectionism. It argued that Australia needed protective tariffs to allow Australian industry to grow and provide employment. It had its greatest strength in Victoria and in...

 at the first federal election. Kennedy's seat of Moira was abolished in 1906; he contested Echuca

Division of Echuca

The Division of Echuca was anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria.The division was created in 1900 and was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It was abolished in 1937. It was named for the town of Echuca. It was located in the Murray Valley area,...

 instead, but was narrowly defeated by Albert Palmer

Albert Palmer (Australian politician)

Albert Clayton Palmer was an Australian politician. Born in Melbourne, he received a primary education before becoming a bank clerk and later a flour-miller and grazier. He sat on Euroa Shire Council and was the leader of the Kyabram Reform Movement, a conservative rural group that aimed to reduce...

. He retired from politics and became a farmer at Buffalo

Buffalo, Victoria

Buffalo is a town in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia....

. Kennedy died in 1929.