Obituary Mr Charles Thomas

Press, 7 April 1988, Page 6

Obituary Mr Charles Thomas

The man who launched the concept of the Totalisator Agency Board, Mr Charles Stewart. Thomas, died in Christchurch this week. He was 99. Mr Thomas combined a lifetime’s involvement with New Zealand harness racing with a career as one of New Zealand’s leading criminal lawyers. Mr Thomas was born in Ashburton and educated at Christ’s College. He studied law at Canterbury University College, overcoming a serious childhood illness to become the university’s all-round athletic champion. He represented New Zealand at the English and Scottish athletic championships in 1914. His law training con-

tinued in the office of O. T. J. Alpers before he established an office which became New Zealand’s largest single practice. During a distinguished legal career Mr Thomas appeared as defence counsel in a number of murder trials, including the case of Frederick Mouat who was accused of the murder of his wife in 1926 but was found guilty of manslaughter. I Mr Thomas’s long association with New Zealand harness racing began with his election as vicepresident of the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club in 1938. He became the club’s president in 1945, and represented the New Zealand Trotting Conference before the

Royal j Commission on Gambling and Racing. During the hearing, Mr Thomas proposed his plan for off-course betting, later adopted by the commission as the pattern for the T.A.B. •! In 1957, Mr Thomas was appointed to the Totalisa.or Agency Board, serving as chairman from 1958 to 1960. He also served as chairman of the Trotting Conference, from 1957 to 1961. He was a former president of the Canterbury Caledonian Society and patron of the New Zealand ’ Highland Pipe Bands’ Association. He was awarded the 0.8. E. in 1974 for services to the community; Mr Thomas is survived by a son and two daughters.