Sir John Klunder Jensen (20 March 188417 February 1970) was a senior Australian

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. He was

Secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the

Department of Munitions The Department of Munitions was an Australian government department that existed between 11 June 1940 and April 1948. Reporting to it was the Factory Board, which was in charge of the six Small Arms Ammunition Factories, along with a ...

between 1942 and 1948.

Life and career

John Jensen was born in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

, Victoria on 20 March 1884. He joined the

Commonwealth Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the Gov ...

in 1901, the year of Australia's federation and the year the service was first established. In 1920, Jensen visited the United States on rifle-manufacturing business, and he went on to study factory administration in England and in the United States. In January 1942, Jensen was appointed Secretary of the Department of Munitions. During his time as permanent head of the Munitions department, he was a member of the Allied Supply Standing Committee and the executive of the Allied Supply Council. In the role, he played a leading part in organizing munitions supply during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His department was abolished in 1948 during scaling down after the end of world war II. At this time, Jensen was moved to head the Department of Supply and Development. In his role at the Department of Supply and Development, he found himself frequently journeying to South Australia, including to visit the

Woomera Rocket Range The RAAF Woomera Range Complex (WRC) is a major Australian military and civil aerospace facility and operation located in South Australia, approximately north-west of Adelaide. The WRC is operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), a S ...

, and in connection to

uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the earth. Over 50,000 tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% of w ...

. Jensen retired in 1949. Immediately after retirement he took work as a member of the Commonwealth Immigration Planning Council. On 17 February 1970, Jensen died in Hawthorn, Melbourne.

Awards and honours

In 1938, Jensen was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. In the

1950 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the ...

he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, for services to munitions production. In December 1969, the Victorian headquarters of the

Department of Supply The Department of Supply was an Australian government department that existed between March 1950 and June 1974. History Established in 1950, the Department of Supply headquarters transferred to Canberra in January 1968. In 1964 the D ...

was named Jensen House in his honour.

References

1884 births 1970 deaths Australian public servants Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Bendigo {{Australia-gov-bio-stub