Harald Jensen (geologist)
Encyclopedia
Harald Ingemann Jensen was a Danish
-born Australian geologist and socialist.
Jensen was born at Aarhus
in Jutland
to farmer Niels Georg Oscar Jensen and Clara, née Nielsen, the latter of whom was purported to be a descendant of the great Danish poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann
. Around 1885 the family migrated to Queensland
, where young Harald attended public schools before winning a scholarship to Brisbane Boys' Grammar School
. In 1898 he was employed at Clement Wragge's observatory at Mount Kosciuszko
before briefly studying at the University of Sydney
; he took time off from 1900 to 1901 to teach in Sydney
and North Queensland
before returning to his studies in 1902, receiving a Bachelor of Science
specialising in geology
in 1904. He was employed as an assistant demonstrator to Edgeworth David
before becoming the first Macleay fellow of the Linnean Society of New South Wales
in 1905, allowing him to travel extensively in the Pacific, including to Fiji
, Samoa
, Tonga
and New Zealand
. He married Jane Elizabeth Ellen England on 26 September 1906 in Sydney. In 1908 he was awarded a Doctorate of Science and a university medal, and was employed by the New South Wales Department of Agriculture as a soil scientist, publishing Soils of New South Wales in 1914.
Jensen was a member of the Australian Labor Party
, publishing The Rising Tide: An Exposition of Australian Socialism in 1909 in which he advocated protectionism
. Appointed director of mines in the Northern Territory
in August 1912, he found himself in opposition to the Administrator
, John Gilruth
, who had him demoted in 1915, although he remained chief geologist. Jensen wrote to the minister for external affairs and territories and precipitated a royal commission into Gilruth's administration, which ultimately found against Jensen (a public service inquiry later exonerated him of making disloyal comments) and led to his forced resignation in September 1915. In 1917 he returned to Queensland, where he was a government geologist and contested the 1917 federal election
as Labor candidate for Lilley
. He ran on the Labor Senate
tickets in 1922 and 1925, but was expelled from the party in August 1926 after attacking a perceived move away from socialism
(he would run again for the Senate in 1928 as an independent
).
In 1923 Jensen was employed as a consultant geologist, searching for oil in the Roma basin
and in New Guinea
. Divorced in 1937, in 1938 he was appointed leader of the Queensland section of the Aerial Geological and Geophysical Survey of North Australia, which continued until 1940. He later became interested in meteorology
and published Seasonal Forecasting in 1956. He died in 1966 in Brisbane
after being badly burnt in a grass fire.
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
-born Australian geologist and socialist.
Jensen was born at Aarhus
Aarhus
Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...
in Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
to farmer Niels Georg Oscar Jensen and Clara, née Nielsen, the latter of whom was purported to be a descendant of the great Danish poet Bernhard Severin Ingemann
Bernhard Severin Ingemann
Bernhard Severin Ingemann was a Danish novelist and poet.Ingemann was born in Thorkildstrup, on the island of Falster, Denmark. The son of a vicar, he was left fatherless in his youth. While a student at the University of Copenhagen he published his first collection of poems Bernhard Severin...
. Around 1885 the family migrated to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, where young Harald attended public schools before winning a scholarship to Brisbane Boys' Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
. In 1898 he was employed at Clement Wragge's observatory at Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko
Mount Kosciuszko is a mountain located in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. With a height of 2,228 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in Australia...
before briefly studying at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
; he took time off from 1900 to 1901 to teach in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and North Queensland
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...
before returning to his studies in 1902, receiving a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
specialising in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
in 1904. He was employed as an assistant demonstrator to Edgeworth David
Edgeworth David
Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David KBE, DSO, FRS, was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter Valley coalfield in New South Wales and leading the first expedition to reach the...
before becoming the first Macleay fellow of the Linnean Society of New South Wales
Linnean Society of New South Wales
The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. It succeeded the Entomological Society of New South Wales, founded in 1862 and folded in...
in 1905, allowing him to travel extensively in the Pacific, including to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He married Jane Elizabeth Ellen England on 26 September 1906 in Sydney. In 1908 he was awarded a Doctorate of Science and a university medal, and was employed by the New South Wales Department of Agriculture as a soil scientist, publishing Soils of New South Wales in 1914.
Jensen was a member of the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, publishing The Rising Tide: An Exposition of Australian Socialism in 1909 in which he advocated protectionism
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
. Appointed director of mines in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
in August 1912, he found himself in opposition to the Administrator
Administrator of the Northern Territory
The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
, John Gilruth
John A. Gilruth
John Anderson Gilruth was a veterinary scientist and administrator. He is particularly noted for being Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1912 to 1918, when he was recalled after an angry mob demanded that he resign...
, who had him demoted in 1915, although he remained chief geologist. Jensen wrote to the minister for external affairs and territories and precipitated a royal commission into Gilruth's administration, which ultimately found against Jensen (a public service inquiry later exonerated him of making disloyal comments) and led to his forced resignation in September 1915. In 1917 he returned to Queensland, where he was a government geologist and contested the 1917 federal election
Australian federal election, 1917
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 May 1917. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election...
as Labor candidate for Lilley
Division of Lilley
The Division of Lilley is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1913. The division is named after Sir Charles Lilley, a former Premier of Queensland and a former Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of Queensland....
. He ran on the Labor Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
tickets in 1922 and 1925, but was expelled from the party in August 1926 after attacking a perceived move away from socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
(he would run again for the Senate in 1928 as an independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
).
In 1923 Jensen was employed as a consultant geologist, searching for oil in the Roma basin
Roma, Queensland
Roma is a town in the western Darling Downs area of Queensland, Australia, by rail WNW of Brisbane. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways...
and in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. Divorced in 1937, in 1938 he was appointed leader of the Queensland section of the Aerial Geological and Geophysical Survey of North Australia, which continued until 1940. He later became interested in meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
and published Seasonal Forecasting in 1956. He died in 1966 in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
after being badly burnt in a grass fire.