Neil Maxwell Robson Department of Administration and Management was a Tasmanian member of parliament from 1976 to 1992.
Background
Robson was born in Smithton, Tasmania in July 1928. His father was a saddler, builder and undertaker from Sheffield, who was also a World War I veteran. His mother was from England, and moved to Smithton with her father after his retirement from the British Army.
Career
He was a Liberal member in the House of Assembly division of Bass. Robson is known for championing the introduction of a system of rotating the order of names printed on ballot papers at elections, often known as the Robson Rotation. He died in Roma, Queensland—three months after Robson"s birth—after contracting tuberculosis.
In 1944, Robson attempted to enlist in the Royal Australian Navy, although he was a year under the minimum age of seventeen, and his mother refused to provide a statutory declaration claiming he was old enough.
On 15 August 1945, he enlisted and was trained at Flinders Naval Depot and posted to the naval base HMAS Lonsdale. He gained a posting aboard HMAS Quickmatch by asking the captain for one, and served with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Papua New Guinea and Japan in the aftermath of World World War World War II Following his service overseas, he returned to Flinders Naval Depot, and was demobilised as an Able Seaman at HMAS Huon.
After leaving the navy, Robson refused a university place, to his later regret. He worked for many years at the Launceston Savings Bank (LSB), whilst completing an accounting degree as a correspondence course.