View source for Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Council, 1949–1951

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This is a list of '''members of the [[Northern Territory Legislative Council]]''' from 10 December 1949 to 28 April 1951.
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]], [[Arthur Driver]], served as presiding officer (or president) of the council.<ref name="jaensch">{{cite book |last1=Jaensch |first1=Dean |title=The Legislative Council of the Northern Territory: An Electoral History 1947–1974 |date=1990 |publisher=Australian National University |location=Darwin}}</ref>
The Commonwealth Act establishing the Legislative Council contained a provision that elections for the non-appointed seats would occur on the same day as federal elections for the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]. In 1951, the [[Menzies government (1949–1966)|Menzies government]] called an [[1951 Australian federal election|early federal election]] for 28 April. On 23 March, the acting Administrator stated that there was doubt over this interpretation of the Act, and that the Administrator had decided not to hold a council election that year, which would result in the council term continuing until the next federal election in 1954—however, this five-year term would be a breach of the Act which specified a three-year term length. Additionally, the federal electoral office in Canberra issued a telegram which stated that it was 'expected' that an election would be held to coincide with the federal one.<ref name="jaensch" /> On 29 March, the Administrator announced that an election would be held on 28 April.<ref name="writ">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49477238 |title=Advertising |newspaper=[[Northern Standard]] |volume=6 |issue=251 |location=Northern Territory, Australia |date=30 March 1951 |accessdate=28 June 2018 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name
! Party
! [[Electoral divisions of the Northern Territory|Electorate]]/Title
! Years in office
|-
|| [[Frederick Austin (politician)|Frederick Austin]] || Independent || Darwin || 1949–1951
|-
|| [[Hugh Barclay (surveyor)|Hugh Barclay]] || Appointed || Director of Lands || 1948–1963
|-
|| [[William Braitling]] || Independent || Stuart || 1949–1951
|-
|| [[Robert Coxon]] || Appointed || Director of Mining || 1948–1954
|-
|| [[Les Dodd (public servant)|Les Dodd]] {{ref label|2|2|2}} || Appointed || Director of Education || 1949–1951
|-
|| [[Frederick Dowling]] || Labor || Batchelor || 1949–1954
|-
|| [[Arthur Driver]] || Appointed || [[Administrator of the Northern Territory|Administrator]] || 1947–1951
|-
|| [[William Flynn (lawyer)|William Flynn]] || Appointed || Deputy Crown Solicitor || 1948–1951
|-
|| [[John Higgins (politician)|John Higgins]] {{ref label|1|1|1}} || Independent || [[Electoral division of Tennant Creek|Tennant Creek]] || 1950–1951
|-
|| [[John Huthnance]] || Appointed || Chief Clerk || 1949–1955
|-
|| [[Frank William Johnson|Frank Johnson]] || Labor || Alice Springs || 1949–1954
|-
|| [[Robert Jones (public servant)|Robert Jones]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|MBE}} || Appointed || Apprentice Board Member || 1950–1951
|-
|| [[Reg Leydin]] || Appointed || Government Secretary || 1948–1952, 1953–1954, 1963
|-
|| [[Matthew Luke (politician)|Matthew Luke]] || Independent Labor || Darwin || 1947–1954
|-
|| [[Francis Moy]] || Appointed || Director of Native Affairs || 1948–1953
|-
|| Dr [[Stephen Watsford]] {{ref label|2|2|2}} || Appointed || Chief Medical Officer || 1951–1954
|-
|| [[Victor Webster (politician)|Victor Webster]] {{ref label|1|1|1}} || Independent || [[Electoral division of Tennant Creek|Tennant Creek]] || 1947–1950
|-
|}
:{{note label|1|1|1}} [[Victor Webster (politician)|Victor Webster]], the elected member for [[Electoral division of Tennant Creek|Tennant Creek]], resigned from the council on 17 May 1950 (before the first meeting of the term) after losing his job as a medical officer with the federal Department of Health when the [[Chifley government]] was defeated at the [[1949 Australian federal election|1949 federal election]], and having to leave the Territory. On 16 November 1950, Administrator [[Arthur Driver]] appointed [[John Higgins (politician)|John Higgins]] as his replacement, ignoring Charles Priest who had contested the seat against Webster at the 1949 election.<ref name="jaensch" />
:{{note label|2|2|2}} Appointed member [[Les Dodd (public servant)|Les Dodd]] resigned on 15 March 1951. His place on the council was filled by Chief Medical Officer Dr [[Stephen Watsford]].<ref name="watsford">Watsford, Stephen and Penny: ''Much have I seen and known'' (NTRS 3030), Northern Territory Archives.</ref>
==See also==
*[[1949 Northern Territory general election]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Members of the Parliament of the Northern Territory}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, 1949-1951}}
[[Category:Members of Northern Territory parliaments by term]]