James Christian "Jens" Petersen (11 December 1880 – 30 April 1953) was a

builder Builder may refer to: * Construction worker, who specializes in building work * Carpenter, a skilled craftsman who works with wood * General contractor, that specializes in building work ** Subcontractor * Builder (detergent), a component of moder ...

and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Biography

Petersen was born in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

, Queensland, to parents Neils Petersen and his wife Maria Elizabeth (née Thorsen). He attended school in Rockhampton and became a builder, working in Rockhampton, Mount Morgan, and

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 ...

. He was secretary of the Rockhampton Workers Political Organisation in 1898. In 1905 he married Cordelia May Dawbarn in Sydney and together had two daughters.Family History Search
— New South Wales Government, New South Wales Government births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Retrieved 29 March 2016.Family history research
— Queensland Government, Queensland Government births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. Retrieved 29 March 2016. He died in Sydney in April 1953 and was buried in Frenchs Forest Cemetery.

Political career

Petersen, at first representing the Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), Labor Party, won the Queensland seat of Electoral district of Normanby (Queensland), Normanby at the state election of 1915 Queensland state election, 1915, defeating the Liberal Party (Queensland, 1908), Liberal's Edward Archer (politician), Edward Archer. He held the seat until 1932 Queensland state election, 1932 when he changed to Electoral district of Fitzroy (Queensland), Fitzroy and then retired from politics three years later. He resigned from the Labor Party while still an elected member for the seat of Normanby and joined the Country Party because he was disillusioned with Labor's socialist policies. In his resignation speech he blamed the government for maladministration, the crippling of industry, the restriction of development and the creation of financial stringency and unemployment because of legislative measures. Petersen's defection came at a crucial time for the Government as at the time there was a serious outbreak of influenza leaving the Government with a one-seat majority. Subsequently, Premier Ted Theodore, Theodore ordered two of the ALP's strongest members to bring a very sick Labor member into the chamber on a stretcher and transport him across from one side of the House to the other during the remaining Division of the assembly, divisions. He also introduced proxy voting whereby an ill, absent member's vote could be counted. From 1929 until 1932 Petersen, by now a member of the governing Country and Progressive National Party, was the Home Secretary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Jens Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly 1880 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians