Neville John Harper (10 September 1926 – 29 September 2023) was an Australian politician.

Life and career

Neville John Harper was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on 10 September 1926, to Neville Barclay Harper and Hazel Jane, ''née'' Gardner. He attended New Farm and

Nundah Nundah (previously called German Station) is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It contains the neighbourhood of Toombul. In the , Nundah had a population of 13,098 people. Prior to European settlement, Nundah was ...

State Schools and then

Brisbane Grammar School Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...

(1940–44) before becoming a grazier, farmer and real estate valuer. On 12 November 1949, he married Marjorie Pointon, with whom he had two daughters. From 1945 to 1947 he served in the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

as a sub-lieutenant aboard HMAS ''Hawkesbury'' before returning to manage cattle properties in Barmundu and

Kingaroy Kingaroy () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Road Junction, junction of the D'Aguilar Highway, D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highway, Buny ...

. In 1952 he was appointed manager of Mactaggarts station in

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...

. Harper was a member of the

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, and served as chairman of the

Wandoan Wandoan is a town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was formerly known as Juandah. It is on the Leichhardt Highway about halfway between Taroom and Miles and is the centre for the local cattle industry. In the ...

branch. He served as chairman of the electorate councils for the state seats of

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(1969–72) and Auburn (1972–80) and president of the council for the federal seat of Maranoa (1972–77), for which he also directed the 1974 and 1975 campaigns. In 1976 he was elected to Taroom Shire Council, and he was also elected vice-president of the Queensland National Party in that year. Other party positions he held included chairman of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Policy Committee (1977–81), Membership Coordinator for Queensland (1978–80), member of the State Finance Committee (1979–80), and chairman of the Rural Policy Committee (1981). In 1980 he was elected to the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

as the member for Auburn. Promoted to the front bench as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and Minister for Justice in 1983, moving to Primary Industries in 1986 and to Land Management in 1989. He was mentioned as a possible successor for

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...

during this period. Following the Nationals' defeat in 1989 he became Shadow Attorney-General, but his seat of Auburn was abolished in 1992 and he was defeated for preselection in Callide by sitting member Di McCauley, choosing subsequently to retire. Neville Harper died in

Alexandra Headland, Queensland Alexandra Headland is a coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of Maroochydore in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Alexandra Headland had a population of 4,235 people. Geography Alexandra Headland is loc ...

on 29 September 2023, at the age of 97.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Neville 1926 births 2023 deaths National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Politicians from Brisbane Royal Australian Navy officers Attorneys-general of Queensland Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II People educated at Brisbane Grammar School