Family background
Thomas Hayes was born in 1811 in India, the son of James and Mary Hayes.
On 24 December 1853 Hayes married Eliza Barker, the widow of Thomas Barker, who had owned the Waterloo Mills. They had four children, one of whom, Cecil Edwin, died aged 5 months in 1861.
Hayes died on 1 April 1863 at his residence next to the Waterloo Mills, Botany Road. He was buried at Camperdown Cemetery.
Occupation & interests
Thomas Hayes became the proprietor of the Waterloo Mills in 1851, following the death of its original owner, Thomas Barker. Under Hayes the company became renowned for premium scoured wool, fetching to prices at the markets. His reputation was reinforced when he was awarded first prize, for scoured wool, at the inaugural Cumberland Agricultural Society exhibition in 1858.
Local government service
Hayes was elected as an alderman for the Waterloo Ward, Redfern Council on 14 September 1859. He was also elected inaugural Chairman (Mayor) of the council. In May 1860, Hayes was appointed the first returning officer of the newly formed Waterloo Council.
References
Souvenir to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of the Municipality of Redfern, 1859-1909, Sydney, Redfern Municipal Council, 1909 (Sydney, NSW: McCarron, Stewart and Co)
‘Redfern, Historic and Industrial Suburb’, Daily Telegraph, 12 May 1922, p. 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245734648
‘Advertising’, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 September 1859, p. 1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13030468
‘Advertising’, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 August 1859, p. 5, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13029793
‘Family Notices’, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 December 1853, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30939535
‘Sydney News: Produce Circular and Markets’, Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 25 May 1853, p. 4, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article667301
‘The Cumberland Agricultural Society’, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 January 1858, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13004735
‘Family Notices’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 April 1863, p. 1, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13076460