Margaret Thomas (23 December 1842 – 24 December 1929) was an English-born Australian travel writer, poet and artist. Thomas was born at Croydon, Surrey, England, daughter of Thomas Cook, shipowner. Her date of birth is often cited incorrectly as 1843 and she was herself inconsistent about both her age and date of birth. It has as well as been discovered that she was originally named Margaret Cook and only innovative changed her surname to her father’s first name.