Thomas Henry Pearce (4 June 1913 – 10 November 1976) was a New Zealand politician, rugby union player and businessman.

A physically large man, he was an active athlete and enjoyed swimming, rugby and wrestling.

He cared for the state and condition of Auckland's beaches and was opposed to the proposed sewage dumping scheme (the Browns Island plan) that would have discharged untreated effluent into Waitematā Harbour.

His career peaked when he was a reserve for the All Blacks in three test matches against South Africa during the 1937 tour, some felt he should have been a starting player however.

As chairman of the Auckland Rugby Union, Pearce had led a delegation to the Auckland City Council in July 1962 and was aghast at the constant bickering between mayor Dove-Myer Robinson and councillor Charlie Passmore during their discussions and took exception to their behaviour.

[4] In 1963 he was disqualified from the council on a technicality, breaching the Local Authorities (Members Contracts) Act according to the Supreme Court, but was re-elected in April that year in the subsequent by-election.

[5] Once elected, Pearce was quick to clash with mayor Robinson, which was ironic given his previous criticism of the behavior of council members.

[2] Pearce showed himself as very old fashioned and notably objected to Robinson's plans to hold an official civic reception for The Beatles during their 1964 tour of New Zealand, describing it as pandering to a group of "long hairs".