Thomas Arthur "Tom" Croydon is a fictional character in the long-running Australian police drama Blue Heelers, portrayed by John Wood.

The character of Tom Croydon was created by Hal McElroy and Tony Morphett to be the senior officer at the Mount Thomas Police Station.

A number of personal tragedies, including the loss of a colleague and the murder of his second wife cause the character's whole outlook to change from affable country peace-maker into a revenge-driven lone wolf.

[6] In his fictional backstory, the character is the son of a Roman Catholic dairy farmer, and was raised on his family's property located outside Mount Thomas, a short distance from an Aboriginal mission at Lake End where he attended the small one-teacher school.

Sometime in 1973, he joined Sergeant Rice in assisting the Welfare Department with the removal of three Aboriginal children living at Lake End Mission from a violent domestic situation.

[10] At some point prior to the first season, Tom was posted to the same station as Pat Doyle, the father of one of his future subordinates, and the pair's acrimonious relationship would persist for decades.

At first, Tom is positive that the driver of the other car was at fault, but was distraught to learn that his wife had suffered a heart attack and veered into oncoming traffic.

The incident causes a media circus to descend on the accident scene and the police station, and leaves Tom and fellow Catholic Maggie questioning their faith.

[15] A short time later, the station was rocked by the murder of their beloved colleague, Maggie Doyle, who was gunned down while on the brink of entering the witness protection program.

[9] Later that same year, his impending marriage to Grace was put at risk when her ex-husband arrived in town and Tom is suspected of playing a part in his subsequent death.

[18] In 2004, Tom narrowly escaped death when the police station is bombed with Jo Parrish (Jane Allsop) and Clancy Freeman (Michael Isaacs) still inside.

[19] When he later found Grace raped and murdered, this pushed him over the edge, causing him to seek vengeance against Barry Baxter (Danny Adcock), the man he suspected of committing both crimes.

[2] As he continued his single-minded campaign against the Baxters, his colleagues began to worry about the change in his personality, especially when he apparently tried to drown Barry's daughter, Tarni (Melissa Andersen).

[20] The feud with Baxter came to a head in the middle of the following season when Tom's daughter Anna Allcott (now played by Kate Mulvany) returned to Mount Thomas and her children, Sam and Daisy, were kidnapped and buried alive by Barry.

Baxter then took Joss Peroni (Danny Raco), one of Mount Thomas' junior constables, hostage in the Imperial Hotel in order to provoke a confrontation.

The couple frequently find themselves on opposite sides of the law and they ultimately separate after Sally takes on the defence of a drink-driver responsible for the death of one of Tom's friends.

[13] Tom is shown to be a caring father to both of his daughters, but he frequently shows a tendency to nag and the risks that his job can place those close to him under causes him to become estranged from both Anna and Susan on more than one occasion.

When Clancy and his girlfriend had a child and it became clear they were incapable of offering proper care, Tom organised a foster mother who was willing to let the parents visit regularly.

[27][28] Although he managed to cultivate a working relationship with St Davids' District Inspector Ted Faulkner (Nick Waters) and later Monica Draper (Peta Doodson) of the Ethical Standards Division (ESD), he was frequently at loggerheads with their successor, Russell Falcon-Price (Neil Pigot), a fast-track officer who saw Tom as a relic of the past.

[23] Although Blue Heelers was not expected to become a popular programme, the show became a hit shortly after it began airing, with much of this success credited to the quality of the ensemble cast, led by John Wood as Tom Croydon.