George William Martens (1874 – 23 August 1949) was an Australian politician. He was an

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

from 1928 to 1946, representing the electorate of Herbert.

Early life

Born in

Mount Perry, Queensland Mount Perry is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Perry had a population of 538 people. The neighbourhood of Drummers Creek is in the locality (). Geography The Perry ...

, he received a primary education before becoming a bushworker. Martens gained work at the

Pleystowe Sugar Mill Pleystowe Sugar Mill is a former sugar mill in Pleystowe, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. It is owned by Mackay Sugar. It closed in October 2008 after 139 years, having been the oldest operating sugar mill in Australia at the time of its ...

, west of Mackay in northern Queensland, where two of his co-workers were future

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Arthur Fadden and Queensland state politician Maurice Hynes.

Politics

Martens was active in the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

movement, notably the Sugar Workers Union, and was an organiser with the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

, of which he eventually became

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

secretary. In 1928, he was elected to the

as the Labor member for Herbert, defeating the sitting

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Lewis Nott Lewis Windermere Nott (12 February 1886 – 27 October 1951) was an Australian politician, medical practitioner and hospital superintendent. He represented two federal electorates, more than and 21 years apart. Early life and war service ...

. He held the seat until 1946, when he retired from politics.

Later life

After retiring from politics, Martens become director of

Commonwealth Oil Refineries Commonwealth Oil Refineries (COR) was an Australian oil company that operated between 1920 and 1952 as a joint venture of the Australian government and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Early history The partnership was established in 1920 on ...

. Martens died on 23 August 1949 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. His death bed request was that there would be no newspaper nor radio announcements of his death and that he should be cremated quietly and privately.

Sources

* Arklay, T.M. (2016) ''Arthur Fadden: A Political Silhouette'', Australian Scholarly Publishing: North Melbourne. .

References

External links

* — obituary Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Herbert Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1874 births 1946 deaths People from North Queensland 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub