Ian Lindsay Tuxworth (18 June 1942 – 21 January 2020) was an Australian politician, who was

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government w ...

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from 17 October 1984 until his resignation on 10 May 1986.

Early life

Tuxworth was born on 18 June 1942 in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, to Lindsay and historian Hilda Elsie Tuxworth, and moved with his family to

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek () is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the Northern Territory#Cities and towns, seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with ...

in 1951. He was educated at Tennant Creek Primary School, and Rostrevor College in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Before entering politics, Tuxworth, known affectionately as "Slim", started a soft drink factory in Tennant Creek, called Crystal Waters, with his father and brother Robert (Bob), which was later sold to

Coca-Cola Amatil Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCAL) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of ...

. Tuxworth also played baseball and was a member of the 1975 North Australian Kiewaldt team.

Member of the Legislative Assembly

Tuxworth was elected as the

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system wi ...

(CLP) member for the electoral division of Barkly (which included

), in the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...

at its inaugural election in 1974. As the representative for Barkly, Tuxworth was instrumental in facilitating the government support for the construction of the Mary Ann Dam, north of the town of Tennant Creek. Following the resignation of Paul Everingham, Tuxworth was elected Chief Minister on 17 October 1984. In 1985, he opposed the federal government's transfer of the ownership of

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

to its

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

, the Aṉangu people and boycotted the hand-over ceremony. However, 30 years later, he acknowledged the hand-back had been a success. He resigned as Chief Minister and from the CLP on 10 May 1986 to form the NT Nationals party At the 1987 election Tuxworth was elected as the NT Nationals member for Barkly by 19 votes. His victory was annulled by the Court of Disputed Returns after a successful challenge from losing independent candidate Maggie Hickey. On 5 September 1987, he won a by-election, again defeating Hickey, who was then representing the Labor Party (ALP). After a redistribution turned Barkly into a nominally Labor-held seat, Tuxworth stood unsuccessfully for the seat of Goyder at the 1990 election. Tuxworth became the first CLP leader not to lead the party to an election. Until Natasha Fyles' resignation in 2023, Tuxworth was the only Chief Minister who never faced an election.

After politics

Following his defeat, Tuxworth moved to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, where he died on 21 January 2020, aged 77. He was survived by his wife Ruth, children Sonia, Guy and Gemma, and eight grandchildren.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuxworth, Ian 1942 births 2020 deaths People educated at Rostrevor College Chief ministers of the Northern Territory Country Liberal Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly Treasurers of the Northern Territory Northern Territory Nationals members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly