thomas laing ( – ) was the youngest son of james laing sen. he was skipper of "rob roy" 1876 and "agnes" 1879 (also engineer and part-owner of "agnes" 1877–1880 and barge "rabbie burns" from before 1877). he was accused in 1878 of tampering with steam safety valves. thomas laing and company was taken over by principals james randell and david luttet in 1880. he found employment with robinson bros., implement makers of melbourne. he invented a harvester which performed well in trials around 1888. he married (alvina) janet wark (c. 1857 – 31 october 1884) around 1878; the marriage was unstable; they separated 1884 and she died in melbourne the same year. he married harriett burke in 1885; she died four years later.