John Herbert Jones (died 8 November 1977) was an Australian public servant. He spent most of his career in Papua and New Guinea, serving as an official member of the Legislative Council between 1951 and 1953.

Biography

Jones joined the civil service of the

Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an administrative union by the nam ...

in 1921. He became District Commissioner of Sepik District and later held the same role in Madang. Following the Japanese invasion he helped evacuate the civilian population and then became a

coastwatcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II t ...

for four months. After leaving his post, he walked over five hundred kilometres from

Wewak Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. It is on the northern coast of the island of New Guinea. It is the largest town between Madang and Jayapura. It is the see city (seat) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wewak. Hi ...

to Wau.Mr J.H. Jones
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1978, p85 He subsequently served as a colonel in the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit. During the war he met Edna Kaye in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

, who he later married.Edna Lucy (Kaye) Jones
PNGAA Following the war, he was appointed Director of District Services and Native Affairs. Between 1949 and 1951 he was Acting Secretary for Planning and Development, before returning to his previous role. He was appointed to the Legislative Council following the 1951 elections. He resigned in 1953 when he joined the Australian Department of Territories,Mr A.A. Roberts
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', December 1953, p43 becoming Australia's representative at the United Nations Trusteeship Council. He died on 8 November 1977 at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Bert Australian public servants Papua New Guinean civil servants Territory of New Guinea people Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea 1977 deaths