John Norman Nelson known as Jock Nelson, was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician. Born in Bundaberg

Bundaberg, Queensland

Bundaberg is a city in Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Local Government Area of the Bundaberg Region and is a major centre within Queensland's broader Wide Bay-Burnett geographical region...

, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, the son of politician Harold Nelson

Harold Nelson (Australian politician)

Harold George Nelson was the inaugural member for the Northern Territory in the Australian House of Representatives....

, he was educated at state schools in Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 before becoming a jackeroo and goldminer, and later a bore contractor at Alice Springs. After serving in the military from 1942 to 1945, he became a pastoralist. In 1949, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 as the Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 member for Northern Territory

Division of Northern Territory

The Division of Northern Territory was an Australian Electoral Division in the Northern Territory. Throughout its existence, it was the only Division in the Territory....

, defeating the sitting independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

, Adair Blain

Adair Blain

Adair Macalister "Chill" Blain was a long serving independent member of the Australian House of Representatives....

. At this time, the member for Northern Territory could only vote on matters relating to the Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 itself. In 1963, he was re-elected unopposed, the last occasion when a member was returned to the House of Representatives in this fashion. He retired in 1966, an occasion used by the Country Party

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

 to take the seat. Nelson returned to pastoralism and served as Mayor of Alice Springs and Administrator of the Northern Territory

Administrator of the Northern Territory

The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...

(1973–1975) before his death in 1991.