Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Council, 1954–1957
This is a list of members of the Northern Territory Legislative Council from 29 May 1954 to 23 January 1957.
The council consisted of 14 members. Six members were elected to four single-member electorates (Alice Springs, Batchelor, Stuart and Tennant Creek), and one two-member electorate (Darwin). Seven members (called Official Members) were appointed by the Australian government, all of whom were senior public servants in the Northern Territory. The Administrator of the Northern Territory, Frank Wise and later James Archer, served as presiding officer (or president) of the council.[1]
| 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 |
| Harold Brennan [1] | Independent | Batchelor | 1955, 1956–1971 |
| Aubrey Callinan | Independent | Darwin | 1954–1957 |
| Fred Drysdale | Independent Labor | Darwin | 1954–1957, 1960–1969 |
| Keith Edmunds | Appointed | Crown Law Officer | 1951–1954 |
| Harry Giese | Appointed | Director of Welfare | 1954–1973 |
| Neil Hargrave | Independent | Alice Springs | 1954–1969 |
| Alfred Humphry | Appointed | Director of Health | 1954–1958 |
| John Huthnance | Appointed | Chief Clerk | 1949–1955 |
| Reg Leydin | Appointed | Government Secretary | 1948–1952, 1953–1954, 1963 |
| Reg Marsh | Appointed | Assistant Secretary, Department of Territories | 1955–1957, 1958–1962 |
| Reginald McCaffery | Appointed | Acting Director of Native Affairs | 1953–1954 |
| Wilhelm Petrick | Independent | Stuart | 1951–1962 |
| Len Purkiss | Independent | Tennant Creek | 1951–1965 |
| Tom Ronan [1] | Labor | Batchelor | 1954–1955 |
| Lionel Rose OBE | Appointed | Director of Animal Industry | 1954–1958, 1962–1965 |
| Charles Stahl | Appointed | Acting Government Secretary | 1952–1953, 1954–1955, |
| Frank Vidgen | Appointed | Director of Works | 1951–1954 |
| Dr Stephen Watsford | Appointed | Chief Medical Officer | 1951–1954 |
| Frank Wise | Appointed | Administrator | 1951–1956 |
| Ron Withnall | Appointed | Crown Law Officer | 1954–1966, 1966–1974 |
- 1 The Labor member for Batchelor, Tom Ronan, resigned on 5 April 1955, unhappy with the conditions for members of the council.[2] The Administrator, Frank Wise, called the Territory's first by-election (previous casual vacancies had been filled by appointment or left vacant until the next general election) for 6 August. Harold "Tiger" Brennan, who Ronan had defeated by only three votes at the 1954 election, won the by-election with a comfortable majority against the Labor candidate Alfred Forscutt. On 5 December 1955, Brennan resigned from the council in a public protest over the federal government ordering its official members to vote against a bill legalising off-course gambling. Another by-election was called for Batchelor, and Brennan returned to the council when he was unopposed at the close of nominations on 13 February 1956.[1]
See also
[edit]- 1954 Northern Territory general election
References
[edit]- ^ a b Jaensch, Dean (1990). The Legislative Council of the Northern Territory: An Electoral History 1947–1974. Darwin: Australian National University.
- ^ Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography. Charles Darwin University Press. 2008. ISBN 9780980457810.
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