Harold Nelson (Australian politician)
Encyclopedia
Division of Northern Territory
The Division of Northern Territory was an Australian Electoral Division in the Northern Territory. Throughout its existence, it was the only Division in the Territory....
in the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
.
Born in Botany, New South Wales
Botany, New South Wales
Botany is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Botany is located 10 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the City of Botany Bay....
, to a Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
shopkeeper and his wife, Nelson moved 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...
and worked as an engine driver at Gympie
Gympie
Gympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
and Mount Perry
Mount Perry, Queensland
Mount Perry is a small town in the North Burnett Region in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Mount Perry is about northwest of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, and about west of Bundaberg. At the 2006 census, Mount Perry and the surrounding area had a population of 431.It is a historically...
, marrying on 17 March 1904.
Nelson, his wife Maud, and their five children moved to Pine Creek, Northern Territory
Pine Creek, Northern Territory
Pine Creek is a small town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. According to the 2001 Australian census 665 people live in Pine Creek, which is the fourth largest town between Darwin and Alice Springs....
in 1913 where he continued to work as an engine driver and began his involvement in union affairs. Nelson started work as an organiser for the Australian Workers' Union
Australian Workers' Union
The Australian Workers' Union is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s, and currently has approximately 135,000 members...
in 1914 and became the first secretary of the AWU's Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
branch.
The influence of the AWU 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...
grew in significance and so did Nelson. By the end of 1917, 40% of all white men in the Territory belonged to the AWU and Nelson used his standing in the community to gain election to Darwin Town Council.
Described as a "medium-sized nuggety man" and a fiery orator, Nelson was an effective campaigner, as can be seen by his successful campaign to significantly raise the wages of Darwin meatworkers in 1917. He also led protests against the Northern Territory 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...
Dr John A. 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...
, which officially originated in November 1918 when Gilruth refused requests from barmaids for time off to celebrate the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(although tensions had been simmering between Gilruth and the union movement for some time). On 17 December 1918, in what has since been called the Darwin Rebellion
Darwin Rebellion
The Darwin Rebellion of 17 December 1918 was the culmination of unrest in the Australian Workers' Union which had grown between 1911 and 1919. Led by Harold Nelson, some 1000 demonstrators marched on Government House at Liberty Square in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia where they burnt an...
, Nelson led a protest march to Liberty Square, in front of Government House, to demand Gilruth's removal as Administrator. Continued protests eventually led to the removal of Dr Gilruth from the Administrator position in February 1919, followed by the departure of other senior officials soon after.
Nelson then turned his attention to campaigning for Northern Territory representation in the Australian parliament
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
, including refusing to pay taxes in an echo of the American War of Independence cry of "no taxation without representation
No taxation without representation
"No taxation without representation" is a slogan originating during the 1750s and 1760s that summarized a primary grievance of the British colonists in the Thirteen Colonies, which was one of the major causes of the American Revolution...
". After a brief gaol stint, Nelson's campaign resulted in the establishment of a Northern Territory based seat (albeit non-voting) in the House of Representatives.
After standing down as AWU secretary, Nelson successfully stood for the new seat as an independent at the 1922 election
Australian federal election, 1922
Federal elections were held in Australia on 16 December 1922. All 75 seats in the House of Representatives, and 19 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Nationalist Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia Billy Hughes lost its majority...
(although he would join 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...
soon after).
Nelson spent his time in parliament campaigning for greater expenditure and self-government for the Northern Territory, with little success. Following his defeat at the 1934 election
Australian federal election, 1934
Federal elections were held in Australia on 15 September 1934. All 74 seats in the House of Representatives, and 18 of the 36 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent United Australia Party led by Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons with coalition partner the Country Party led...
, Nelson moved to Alice Springs to work as an agent.
Nelson died from unexpected cardiac failure in Alice Springs in 1947, survived by his wife and five children. One of these children, Jock Nelson
John Nelson (Australian politician)
John Norman Nelson , known as Jock Nelson, was an Australian politician. Born in Bundaberg, Queensland, the son of politician Harold Nelson, he was educated at state schools in Darwin before becoming a jackeroo and goldminer, and later a bore contractor at Alice Springs. After serving in the...
, also served as member for the Northern Territory and in 1973 became the first Territory born Northern Territory Administrator.
The Northern Territory Electoral division of Nelson
Electoral division of Nelson (Northern Territory)
Nelson is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1990, and was named after Harold Nelson, the first member for the federal Northern Territory electorate...
is named for him.
As Nelson is usually referred to by his initials "HG", it is unclear whether Australian comedian Greig Pickhaver
Greig Pickhaver
alt=Greig Pickhaver|thumb|In May 2010Greig Pickhaver AM is an actor, comedian and writer, who forms one half of the Australian sports comedy duo Roy and HG...
named his character H. G. Nelson in honour of Nelson.