Horace Keyworth Nock (26 October 1879 – 2 August 1958) was an Australian politician, farmer and company director.

Early years and background

He was born at

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, South Australia to Joseph Nock and his second wife Eliza, née Keyworth. Nock attended Tarlee State School and

Prince Alfred College Prince Alfred College is a private, independent, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, South Australia, Kent Town, near the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, South Australia. One of th ...

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, and joined his father's store and wheat buying business, which he ran from his father's death in 1904 until 1914, when he relocated to a grazing property, Nelungaloo, near

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

, New South Wales. Here, he established a prosperous mixed farm. He was president of the Farmers and Settlers' Association of New South Wales from 1928 to 1932, and was treasurer from 1938 to 1958.

Political career

Nock was elected to the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

for the

Division of Riverina The Division of Riverina () is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the states and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. It is located in southwest New South Wales and include ...

in 1931, representing the Country Party. He was temporary chairman of committees (1935–37) and then secretary and

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of the party in 1937. Nock was appointed Minister without portfolio administering External Territories in 1940, when Archie Cameron led the Country Party into the

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ministry. Later that year, he was defeated in his own electorate, and his campaign for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 1943 was unsuccessful.

Business career

A well-known representative of rural interests, Nock was known as the " Cockies' Patron Saint", and was a vigorous watchdog over

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s. After leaving parliament, he remained closely involved with the Farmers and Settlers' Association, and also became involved with the Australian Wheatgrowers' Federation, Australian Pastoral Research Trust (of which he was a director), the Australian Wool Board and the Australian Wool Council, and was Australia's representative at the International Wool Secretariat of 1948. In 1946 Nelungaloo Pty Ltd, Nock's company, challenged the

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's power of compulsory acquisition of wheat crops in the

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. The case did not succeed, although it provided inspiration for the Commonwealth and State wheat industry stabilisation Acts of 1954. Nock was known as a nonconformist when it came to religion, and was always an active, vigorous and philanthropic man. He died in Sydney on 2 August 1958, having collapsed on his way to a meeting of the Farmers and Settlers' Association, and was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

Personal

On 19 February 1908 Nock married Marcia Nessie Clarke at Tarlee, South Australia. She died in 1956, and Nock was survived by two sons and a daughter.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nock, Horace Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Riverina Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia People educated at Prince Alfred College 1879 births 1958 deaths Australian MPs 1931–1934 Australian MPs 1934–1937 Australian MPs 1937–1940