Harold George "H. G." Nelson (21 December 1881 – 26 April 1947) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who was the first person to represent the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. He arrived in the territory in 1914 to work as an organiser for the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoralism, pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 ...

(AWU), and was a leader of the Darwin rebellion of 1918. He subsequently served in the House of Representatives from 1922 to 1934, initially as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and then as a member of the Labor Party.

Early life

Nelson was born in

Botany, New South Wales Botany is a suburb in the south of the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Botany is 11 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Bayside Council. Botany sits on the northern ...

, the son of Elizabeth Ann (née Tighe) and John Nelson. His father was a Scottish-born shopkeeper. According to the ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', "little is known of his early years and nothing of his education". Nelson moved to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

as a young man, working as an engine-driver at

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

and Mount Perry.

Politics

Nelson, his wife Maud, and their five children moved to

Pine Creek, Northern Territory Pine Creek is a small town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia and is situated just off the Stuart Highway; it is 90kms north of Katherine. As at the 2021 Census there were 318 residents of Pine Creek, which is the fo ...

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

in 1914 and became the first secretary of the AWU's Darwin branch. The influence of the AWU in the

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 Dr

John A. Gilruth John Anderson Gilruth (17 February 1871 – 4 March 1937) was a Scottish-Australian veterinary scientist and administrator. He is particularly noted for being Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1912 to 1918, when he was recalled afte ...

, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(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, 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 The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

, including refusing to pay taxes in an echo of the American War of Independence cry of " no taxation without representation". 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 (although he would join the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

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, Nelson moved to

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

to work as an agent.

Personal life

Nelson married Maud Alice Lawrence on 17 March 1904 in

Mount Perry, Queensland Mount Perry is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Perry had a population of 487 people. The neighbourhood of Drummers Creek is in the ...

. The couple had five children, including John Norman "Jock" Nelson who followed his father into politics. In 1922, Nelson attempted to cross Australia north-south on a 1922

Velocette Velocette is a range of motorcycles made by Veloce Ltd, in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. One of several motorcycle manufacturers in Birmingham, Velocette was a small, family-owned firm, selling almost as many hand-built motorcycles during ...

motorcycle, but failed, and nearly died of dehydration en route. Nelson died from unexpected cardiac failure after a long illness in Alice Springs on 26 April 1947, survived by his wife and five children. His son Jock Nelson also served as member for the Northern Territory and in 1973 became the first Territory born Northern Territory Administrator.

Legacy

The Northern Territory Electoral division of Nelson is named for him.

Popular culture

As Nelson is usually referred to by his initials "HG", it is unclear whether Australian comedian

Greig Pickhaver Gordon Greig Pickhaver (born 10 February 1948) is an Australian actor, comedian and writer, who forms one half of the satirical sports comedy duo '' Roy and HG'' as the excitable sports announcer HG Nelson. The award-winning duo teamed up in 1 ...

named his character H. G. Nelson in honour of Nelson.

References

Documenting Democracy
''National Archives of Australia'' (2006). Accessed 25 October 2006. * d'Orléans, Paul.

' (10 December 2012). TheVintagent.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Harold George 1881 births 1947 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Australian trade unionists Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Northern Territory People from Darwin, Northern Territory Tax resisters Australian train drivers Australian MPs 1922–1925 Australian MPs 1925–1928 Australian MPs 1928–1929 Australian MPs 1929–1931 Australian MPs 1931–1934