Nelson Lemmon (22 March 1908 – 20 March 1989) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the

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 t ...

(ALP) and served as Minister for Works and Housing (1946–1949) in the Chifley Government. He played a key role in establishing the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

Early life

Lemmon was born at

Williamstown, Victoria Williamstown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hobsons Bay local government area. Williamstown recorded a population of 14,407 at the 2021 census. ...

, the son of

John Lemmon Edward John Lemmon (1 June 1930 – 29 July 1966) was a British logician and philosopher born in Sheffield, England. He is most well known for his work on modal logic, particularly his joint text with Dana Scott published posthumously (Lemm ...

politician and

member for Williamstown in the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

from 1904 to 1955. He was educated at Williamstown State School and Longerenong Agricultural College, but subsequently moved to Ongerup, in the Great Southern region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, to take up farming, and married Ada Mary Jackel in 1930. Lemmon was later elected chairman of the Gnowangerup Road Board, becoming the youngest road board chairman in the state. He also served as a "prominent member" of the Wheatgrowers' Union.

Early political involvement

Running as an unendorsed Country Party candidate, Lemmon unsuccessfully contested the seat of Katanning in the Legislative Assembly at both a 1935 by-election and the 1936 state election. Lemmon was defeated by Arthur Watts, a future

deputy premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

, on both occasions, at the by-election losing by only 43 votes after five rounds of counting.

Federal politics

Remaining involved in politics, although switching to the Labor Party, Lemmon won the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

seat of Forrest at the 1943 election. He defeated longtime

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

member John Prowse on a swing of almost 14 percent as part of that year's massive Labor landslide. Notably, he won almost 53 percent of the primary vote, enough to take the seat off the Country Party without the need for preferences. He was Minister for Works and Housing in

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...

's November 1946 ministry. In that role, he was responsible for the commencement of the construction of the

, a complex of dams, power stations and tunnels in southern

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 ...

to produce hydroelectric power and divert water for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

to inland areas along the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

and

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

s. He chose William Hudson as Commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority and refused to follow the normal procedure of putting forward three alternatives to cabinet. Lemmon was also responsible for commencing a substantial program of construction of houses for ex-servicemen returned from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Lemmon's tenure in cabinet ended with his defeat at the 1949 election, in which he lost to

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Gordon Freeth Sir Gordon Freeth, KBE (6 August 191427 November 2001) was an Australian politician and diplomat. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1969, including as a minister in the Coalition governments from 1958 to 1969. He lat ...

despite being well ahead on the primary vote. However, on the third count, preferences from Country Party candidate and war hero

Arnold Potts Brigadier Arnold William Potts, (16 September 1896 – 1 January 1968) was an Australian grazier and army officer who served in the First World War and led the 21st Brigade of the Second Australian Imperial Force during its defence of the Koko ...

flowed overwhelmingly to Freeth, allowing Freeth to defeat Lemmon from third place on the primary vote. At the 1954 election he won the New South Wales seat of St George from Bill Graham and there was press speculation that he would run for Labor leadership. However, the Labor Party split in 1954 and Nelson lost to Graham at the 1955 election. He was one of only a small number of people who have represented more than one state or territory in the Parliament.

Later life

Lemmon returned to being a horse trainer and breeder in

Robertson, New South Wales Robertson is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town is located on the edge of an elevated plateau (the Illawarra escarpment) about from the coast. Robertson is known for its high ann ...

. He died on 20 March 1989, at Port Macquarie, NSW, the last surviving member of the Chifley Cabinet. He was survived by his wife and a son and a daughter.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemmon, Nelson Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Forrest Members of the Australian House of Representatives for St George Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of Australia Mayors of places in Western Australia National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia 1908 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians People from Williamstown, Victoria Politicians from Melbourne Western Australian local councillors