Roger Bede Nott (20 October 1908 – 28 September 2000) was an Australian politician and a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

from 1941 until 1961. He was a member of the Labor Party and held numerous ministerial positions between 1954 and 1961. He was the

Administrator of the Northern Territory The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory. They perform functions similar to those of a state governor. Strictly speaking ...

between 1961 and 1964.

Early life

Nott was born at

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West (New South Wales), Central West regions of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. The town is situated within th ...

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 ...

and was the son of a farmer.

Leo Nott Leo Mervyn Nott (27 October 1915 – 19 September 1992) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly between 1953 and 1968 and again between 1971 and 1973. He was a member of the NSW Branch of the Labor ...

, Gulgong Shire President and member of the Legislative Assembly for Mudgee and Burrendong, was his brother. He was educated to elementary level at Gulgong Public School and initially worked as a shearer and farm hand. He later became a wheat farmer at Dunedoo.

Political career

Nott was elected to the parliament as the Labor member for

Liverpool Plains The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia. These plains are a region of prime agricultural land bounded to the east by the Great Dividing Range, to the s ...

at the

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

state election. He replaced the Country Party member Harry Carter and defeated the Country Party candidate Alfred Yeo who had been the member for Castlereagh. Liverpool Plains was one of a number of rural seats that Labor won at the 1941 election and these victories contributed to the formation of the Labor government of

William McKell Sir William John McKell, (26 September 1891 – 11 January 1985) was an Australian politician who served as the 12th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1947 to 1953. He had previously been Premier of New South Wales from 1941 to 19 ...

. Nott was a member of the governments of

Joseph Cahill John Joseph Cahill (21 January 189122 October 1959), also known as Joe Cahill or J. J. Cahill, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, railway worker, trade unionist and New South Wales Labor Party, Labor Party Premier of New South Wale ...

and

Robert Heffron Robert James Heffron (10 September 189027 July 1978), also known as Bob Heffron or R. J. Heffron, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, union organiser and AustralianLabor Party (ALP) Premier of New South Wales from 1959 to 1964. Bor ...

. He was appointed as a

Minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

in 1954 and between 1956 and 1957 was the Secretary for Lands and

Secretary for Mines The position of Secretary for Mines was an office in the United Kingdom Government, associated with the Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for ...

. From 1957 until his retirement he was the

Minister for Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

Later life and career

Nott retained his seat in parliament at a further six elections, but resigned in 1961 to accept an appointment from the Federal government as the

. It is uncertain why the Liberal–Country Coalition government of

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

offered the position to a Labor minister. Accepting the position required Nott to resign from parliament, and the Country Party's

Frank O'Keefe Frank Lionel O'Keefe, AM (6 October 1912 – 21 April 1989) was an Australian politician. Born in Gunnedah, New South Wales, he attended state schools before becoming a farm machinery distributor and oil merchant. He was mayor of Gunnedah Sh ...

, who had been an unsuccessful candidate at four previous elections, won the resulting by-election. He resigned as administrator of the Northern Territory to be appointed

Administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of the Crown and the Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Exe ...

in July 1964. Nott ran as the Labor candidate for the 1969 Gwydir by-election and the subsequent

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. He then ran for the 1970

Upper Hunter The Upper Hunter Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in May 2004 from the Scone Shire and parts of Murrurundi and Merriwa shires. The mayor of the Upper Hunter Shir ...

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

caused by O'Keefe's transfer to the federal seat of

Paterson Paterson may refer to: People *Paterson (surname) *Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales * Paterson River, New South Wales *Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales * Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...

, coming within 1.6% of winning the seat. Granted retention of the title "The Honourable" in 1961, Nott was appointed a

Commander 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 ...

(CBE) in 1977 for services to the state of New South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nott, Roger 1908 births 2000 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Administrators of Norfolk Island Administrators of the Northern Territory Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales 20th-century Australian politicians Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Ministers for agriculture (New South Wales)