Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Council, 1960–1962
This is a list of members of the Northern Territory Legislative Council from 20 February 1960 to 8 December 1962.
The mass resignations from the Council in April 1958 forced the government's hand, and all council members attended a July 1958 reform conference in Canberra at the invitation of Paul Hasluck, the federal Minister for Territories. The conference resulted in a number of reforms which were legislated in the Northern Territory (Administration) Amendment Act 1959.
The reforms led to the first re-structure of the Council since its inception. The number of members of the Council was increased from 14 to 17. Eight members were elected to eight single-member electorates: Alice Springs, Arnhem, Barkly, Elsey, Fannie Bay, Larrakeyah, Port Darwin and Stuart. The remaining members were appointed by the Administrator, but with a distinction between Official Members and Non-official Members. Non-official members were not to be government officers as the official members were. The Administrator retained his regular and casting vote, but it was possible for the elected members voting as a bloc to obtain a majority by gaining the support of one or more non-official members.[1]
The 1962 election saw the first woman member of the Legislative Council, Lyn Berlowitz, an independent member for Fannie Bay.[2]
| Name | Party | Electorate/Title | Years in office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Adams | Appointed | Director of Mines | 1955–1970 |
| James Archer OBE | Appointed | Administrator | 1956–1961 |
| Hugh Barclay | Appointed | Director of Lands | 1948–1963 |
| Lyn Berlowitz | Independent | Fannie Bay | 1960–1962 |
| Harold Brennan[3] | Independent | Elsey | 1955, 1956–1958, 1958–1971 |
| Bill Curteis | Appointed | Director of Agriculture | 1962–1964 |
| Fred Drysdale | Labor | Arnhem | 1954–1957, 1960–1969 |
| Joe Fisher | Appointed (N)[1] | 1961–1968, 1969–1974 | |
| Harry Giese | Appointed | Director of Welfare | 1954–1973 |
| Neil Hargrave | Independent | Alice Springs | 1954–1958, 1958–1962 |
| Bernie Kilgariff | Appointed (N)[1] | 1960–1968, 1969–1974 | |
| Reg Marsh | Appointed | Assistant Secretary, Department of Territories | 1955–1957, 1958–1962 |
| Duncan Mathieson | Appointed (N)[1] | 1960–1963 | |
| Roger Nott | Appointed | Administrator | 1961–1964 |
| Wilhelm Petrick | Independent | Stuart | 1951–1958, 1958–1962 |
| Len Purkiss | Independent | Tennant Creek | 1951–1966 |
| Lucius Richardson[2] | Independent Labor | Larrakeyah | 1960 |
| Lionel Rose OBE | Appointed | Director of Animal Industry Branch | 1954–1958, 1962–1965 |
| John Tonkin | Appointed (N)[1] | 1960–1961 | |
| Richard Ward | Independent Labor | Darwin | 1957–1958, 1958–1963 |
| James Watts[2] | Labor | Larrakeyah | 1961–1962 |
| James Whittam | Appointed | Director of Animal Industry Branch | 1958–1963 |
| Ron Withnall | Appointed | Crown Law Officer | 1954–1966 |
- 1 "Appointed (N)" indicates the councillor was a Non-official Member appointed by the Territory Administrator, but generally from a community or business background, not a government official or public servant.
- 2 Lucius Richardson resigned from the Council on 1 December 1960. Labor member James Watts replaced him in a by-election held on 28 January 1961.
- 3 Harold Brennan resigned as member for Elsey on 9 December 1961, to contest the federal Division of Northern Territory at the federal election on the same day. He was unsuccessful in unseating Jock Nelson, and nominated at the by-election to fill the vacancy. Brennan was re-elected on 17 February 1962.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Heatley, Alistair (1979). The government of the Northern Territory. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0702211400.
- ^ Jaensch, Dean (1990). The Legislative Council of the Northern Territory: An Electoral History 1947–1974. Darwin: Australian National University.