He was a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the electorate of Perth from 1892 until 1894, and thereafter became a perennial candidate, unsuccessfully standing for parliament 14 times.

In 1862, they migrated to colonial Western Australia, where John Molloy served as a Pensioner Guard supervising convicts who had been transported from the United Kingdom.

Thomas Molloy, meanwhile, attended Christian Brothers College, Perth, and left school at the age of 13 to work at a printing office.

They moved to South Australia, where he worked as a merchant, but returned to Perth in 1875 where he became a successful baker, not only owning his Goderich Street shop but also 10 two-roomed cottages for his workers.

[5][6] In this, he had been supported by the infant Trades and Labor Council, who were advocating electoral reform, payment of Members of Parliament, prohibition of Asian immigration and introduction of an arbitration court.

[7] Being Roman Catholic and not part of the landed classes which dominated the Parliament of that time, he proved to be somewhat populist in character, advocating universal suffrage and public ownership of power and utilities.

In 1892, the Forrest government had overseen the creation of a Department of Education under ministerial control, while maintaining state aid to private schools.

[7][8] After this loss, Molloy unsuccessfully contested the Metropolitan Province seat in the Western Australian Legislative Council in 1894, when the body became fully elective.

He was known as something of a radical, espousing similar causes to those he had supported previously, with a notable achievement during his time as mayor being the ending of Perth Gas Company's monopoly on power and lighting in 1912.

It was completed at a cost of £A 63,000 (equivalent to A$11.1 million in 2022) by architect William Wolf and builder Friederich Liebe, although Liebe had to pursue Molloy (reputed to be one of the most litigious businessmen in Perth) through the courts at exorbitant costs all the way to the High Court and Privy Council for the final payment of £A 17,000 (equivalent to A$3 million in 2022).