Unmarried. Alfred crusaded for due recognition of his father’s part in the discovery of gold.

On his death, a newspaper wrote:

Alfred Tom’s Lifetime of Argument
With the recent death of Mr. Alfred Tom, of Blacktown, there ended a life time fight for recognition of the claims of his father and his two uncles to the honor of being the first discoverers of payable gold in Australia.

Until he died the old man attempted to have Australian school books altered, so that they would show William Tom, James Tom and James H. A. Lister, and not Hardgraves, as the first discoverers.

A few specks of gold were found by various persons before 1851, but in April of that year sufficient gold was found to make mining a payable proposition.

Alfred Tom had more than family history to back up his story, for in 1890 a select committee of the Legislative inquired into the claims of the three men, and heard evidence from the Tom brothers.

This is the finding of the committee that sat 44 years ago:—
Although E. H. Hardgraves is entitled to the to the credit of having taught the claimants the use of the dish and cradle, and otherwise the proper methods of searching for gold, your committee is satisfied that Messrs. Tom and Lister were undoubtedly the first discoverers of gold obtained in Australia in payable quantities.