Roger Nott

Background

Nott was born at Gulgong, New South Wales and was the son of a farmer.

Education

He was educated to elementary level at Gulgong Primary School and initially worked as a shearer and farm hand.

Career

He was the Administrator of the Northern Territory between 1961 and 1964. He later became a wheat farmer at Dunedoo. Nott was elected to the parliament as the Labor member for Liverpool Plains at the 1941 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.

Nott retained the seat at the next 6 elections but controversially resigned in 1961 to accept an appointment from the Federal government as the Administrator of the Northern Territory. The Country Party"s Frank O"Keefe, who had been an unsuccessful candidate at four previous elections and a rising star for the party, was successful.

Nott was the unsuccessful candidate at the 1970 Upper Hunter by election caused by Frank O"Keefe"s transfer to the federal seat of Paterson. He was appointed as a Minister without Portfolio in 1954 and between 1956 and 1957 was the Secretary for Lands and Secretary for Mines.

From 1957 until his retirement he was the Minister for Agriculture.

Achievements

• 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.

Membership

He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (NSW) and held numerous ministerial positions between 1954 and 1961. This position was often a sinecure for retiring members of the ruling party but the government of Robert Menzies offered it to Nott to force his resignation from parliament and cause a by-election. Nott was a member of the governments of Joseph Cahill and Robert Heffron.