Tom Price was born in Brymbo, Denbighshire, Wales in 1852 to John and Jane Price. His family moved to Liverpool in 1853 where Tom grew up. Tom Price emigrated to South Australia with his family in 1883. He was a stonecutter, teacher, lay preacher, businessman, stonemason and clerk-of-works.
Price came to power at the 1905 state election in a minority government, the Price-Peake administration, after increasing his party's representation from five to 15 in the 42-member lower house, with a primary vote of 41.3 percent, an increase of 22.2 percent. With the support of eight liberals headed by Archibald Peake, Price forced conservative Premier Richard Butler to resign. Price retained the premiership at the 1906 double dissolution election with an additional five Labor seats in the House of Assembly, just two short of a parliamentary majority in their own right, with a primary vote of 44.8 percent, an increase of 3.5 percent. It was the world's first stable Labor government, and was so successful that, following the 1910 election, Labor, led by John Verran, formed the first of the state's many majority governments. On Price's death in 1909, Peake formed a minority government until 1910. Price introduced many reforms, including free state secondary schools, the formation of wages boards, the institution of a minimum wage, and the establishment of the Municipal Tramways Trust through nationalisation. The costly administration of the Northern Territory was surrendered to the Federal government, and there was limited reform of the Legislative Council. Price obtained a double dissolution on the issue of the reform of the upper house. Nevertheless, the Council continued to be intransigent regarding its reform, and Price accepted its compromise proposal of a £17 householder franchise. Labor's left wing criticised him for the concession. The Price Government enacted a number of laws relating to social matters: the suppression of brothels and gaming, the control and care of drunkards, and the consolidation of legislation on the supply of alcohol and local option in liquor licensing. The government also achieved successive budget surpluses and reduced the accumulated public debt.
John Lloyd Price MHA for Port Adelaide 1915–1925 and MHR.
Walter Davies Price MC distinguished soldier and public servant.
Other children were Edward Hugh Price, engineer with the Harbors Board, Arthur Price, a railways employee, Annie Mary "Ann" Price, Ada Olive "Olive" Price married Horace Wicks and Florence Gwendoline "Flo" Price married Alfred Charles Clarke in 1920. His widow was in 1915 one of four women appointed a Justice of the Peace, the first in Australia. Tom Price was an active Methodist and Freemason.
