Thomas Jefferson Connelly (1858–1892) was a storekeeper, solicitor, local politician and a Chief President of the Australian Natives' Association.

In 1886 – the year he became president of the Sandhurst ANA – Connelly was elected mayor of the city, the first native-born Australian to achieve this.

The firms he was a partner in were: Connelly was the founding editor of the second ANA journal, the National Australian; the first issue was published in November 1885.

He was an inspirational leader of the association, preaching a nativist message that brought unparalleled growth and enthusiasm to its branches.

A painting of Connelly was commissioned and paid for by public subscription hangs in the Bendigo Art Gallery.

His obituaries blamed overwork, leading to an attack of typhoid fever which weakened his heart, followed by a ‘paralytic stroke’.