Thomas Finney

Thomas Finney (1837–1903) was an Australian businessman and politician. He represented the electoral district of Toowong in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1896 until 1900. Biography Thomas Finney was born 10 January 1837 at Currakeen House, Tuam, Galway, Ireland. His father was Thomas Finney and his mother was Eliza Finney, née Cornwall. He began work at a drapery shop in 1856, and in 1862 emigrated to Brisbane, Queensland with his partner James Isles. The two started a drapery business, Finney Isles & Co., which was extremely successful. In 1869 the company had branches in Rockhampton and Gympie, and by 1873 it had expanded into the areas of tailoring, furniture, furnishing, and hardware. In 1879, Finney pioneered 6 p.m. closing in Brisbane stores. In 1885, with other firms, he instituted 1 p.m. closing on Saturdays and even after other firms reverted to the old Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 11 p.m, Finney continued it. A charity fund of the employees was subsidized £ for £ by the management and was administered by a committee that included the managing director and two employees elected by the staff.