Alex Nelwson, Alice Springs News

This year, 2026, marks the 60th anniversary of a pivotal episode in the history of the Northern Territory. Seismic changes occurred in national and local politics that profoundly influenced the course of events shaping the Territory as we know it today.

Of national significance was the retirement on 20 January 1966 of Bob Menzies, Australia’s longest serving prime minister. Menzies retired well before that year’s Federal elections were due, giving his successor Harold Holt sufficient time to make his own mark as the new prime minister – the first since early December 1949.

Another politician, first elected to Federal parliament in 1949, also announced his impending retirement in early March. This was the genial Labor member for the Northern Territory, Jock Nelson, a resident of Alice Springs.

Although he’d spent his entire 17 years in Canberra on the opposition benches, Jock Nelson was warmly regarded on all sides and had proven unassailable in every Federal election campaign in the NT.

Almost immediately after his election in 1949, Nelson initiated cross-party delegations of Federal parliamentarians to extensively tour the Territory during the annual winter breaks of parliament.

A notable participant in July 1956 was the Member for Werriwa, Gough Whitlam, famously photographed in the audience at the Pioneer Walk-in Picture Theatre at the premiere of the movie “A Town Like Alice”.

More importantly, perhaps, was Nelson’s success in enticing the deputy Labor leader, Arthur Calwell, to tour the Territory in 1951; thereafter, Calwell was a frequent visitor and ardent promoter of the NT’s economic and political development for many years.

It’s likely Calwell visited the Territory more than any other major party-political leader. He became the Opposition Leader in 1960 and Whitlam his deputy.

It was during Calwell’s time that Federal Labor adopted policies for the NT, including full voting rights in parliament for the Federal member, and a fully elected legislative assembly (Calwell later advocated for two senators for the Territory, too).

The new Holt government lasted less than two years, and Harold Holt never visited the Territory, yet his brief tenure as prime minister became the most consequential in the NT’s postwar history.

Holt chose a new ministry that clearly broke from Menzies’ influence, including two appointments of major consequence for the Territory. These were William “Billy” McMahon as Treasurer, and Malcolm Fraser as the Minister for Army.

Historically, Billy McMahon is derided as one of Australia’s worst prime ministers (1971-72), but in the mid-1960s he shone as an effective Treasurer. While presiding over a major reduction in the national deficit, he financed generous Commonwealth largesse towards the NT, commencing a burst of unprecedented infrastructural and economic development, in turn triggering the nation’s highest per capita population increases in Darwin and Alice Springs.

Not even the big spending during the early years of NT self-government over a decade later matched the economic stimulation that occurred during the supposedly “bad old days” of Commonwealth control.

It was during this period that a fundamental shift occurred in the Territory’s demography, when the rapid increase of non-indigenous residents overtook all Aboriginal residents as the permanent majority of the population for the first time.

Malcolm Fraser’s first ministerial appointment unwittingly changed the course of Australian political history.

First elected in 1955, Fraser was ambitious and energetic but continuously overlooked by Menzies for promotion to the ministry. By early 1966, Fraser (only 35) was frustrated and considering resigning from politics. Harold Holt’s inclusion of Fraser as the Minister for Army circumvented that decision.

Fraser’s destiny was reset to eventually become prime minister himself, following the dismissal of the Whitlam government in November 1975. The Fraser government presided over the commencement of the first territory senators (NT and the ACT), the passing of the NT Aboriginal Land Rights Act in 1976, and the beginning of NT self-government in July 1978.

It’s difficult to be more consequential than that!

However, in late January 1966, Harold Holt retained the Country Party’s Charles (C. E.) Barnes as the Minister for Territories.

This didn’t go down well in the NT.

C. E. Barnes had replaced the long-serving Liberal minister Paul Hasluck as Minister for Territories in 1963. Despite some criticisms over his 12-year stint as Territories minister, Hasluck was well regarded – especially so by the independent Member for Alice Springs (1962-65), Colonel A. L. Rose.

Colonel Rose is one of the NT’s great characters, but nowadays largely overlooked. He was the foundation Director of the Animal Industry Branch of the NT Administration from 1946 to ’58. Thereafter, he was a member of the NT Reserves Board, taking over as its second chairman in 1963 until 1977 when it was replaced by the Parks and Wildlife Commission.

In 1962, Rose proved a popular candidate to be elected as the Member for Alice Springs in the NT Legislative Council.

Rose was fearsomely intolerant of poor performers, which he clearly regarded the new Territories minister C. E. Barnes to be; and out of frustration with the Commonwealth in August 1965, Rose announced the formation of the North Australia Party (the NAP).

Up to this time, the ALP was the only political party in the NT and had a strong presence in the Centre. Elected members of the Legislative Council were either Labor or independent, with some of the latter (like Colonel Rose) leaning towards the conservative side of politics.

The Legislative Council election campaign in late 1965 became the first in the NT fought between two political parties. In Alice Springs, it also led to the first newspaper war.

The Centralian Advocate was locally owned, and its two major directors were ALP heavyweights Frank Johnson (a former Member for Alice Springs) and NT Federal member, Jock Nelson. A recent editor, Paddy Ethel – somewhat of a crusader – established a rival weekly publication called simply, The Times, that endorsed the NAP.

The Advocate responded by becoming a bi-weekly newspaper during September 1965 but couldn’t sustain the effort beyond that month.

The election campaign was bitterly fought but proved a disaster for the NAP, with Rose himself narrowly beaten by Labor’s Charles “Chas” Orr. Only one NAP candidate, Tony Greatorex, was successful, wresting the seat of Stuart (then all of the Centre minus the Alice) from Labor incumbent D. D. Smith.

The Times continued publication during the first half of 1966 but ceased in July, and was replaced for a few years with the quarterly colour magazine, The Inland Review.

Change was afoot for the Centralian Advocate, too. Frank Johnson retired and quietly left town in late 1966; and Jock Nelson’s retirement from Federal politics was imminent, too.

In late May the Advocate announced an agreement with Mirror Newspapers Ltd (owned by Rupert Murdoch) for a cooperative arrangement “that will boost the operational capacity of the newspaper … widen the news scope … and lift the capacity and standard of the Advocate” (Advocate – Mirror agreement, 26/05/1966).

By the end of 1966, the Advocate was bought by Murdoch’s News Limited, joining his earlier acquisition of the Northern Territory News in Darwin.

Following Colonel Rose’s defeat in late 1965, the NAP sputtered on until about mid-1966. Rose never returned to politics but his associates, such as Tony Greatorex and non-official Legislative Council member Bernie Kilgariff, became part of a push to establish the Country Party in the NT.

From the ashes of the NAP and impending retirement of Jock Nelson, an opportunity was taken to establish a new force in Territory politics.

During early July, Eddie (E J) Connellan revealed he was approached to be the Country Party candidate for the NT. Although he was a non-official member of the Legislative Council, Connellan declined on account of his commitments operating Connellan Airways and running Narwietooma Station; however, he suggested they ask Sam Calder, a former Connellan Airways pilot.

With Connellan’s aid seeking endorsement from pastoralists, Sam Calder accepted the nomination. Calder, now a businessman in the Alice, hit the ground running, commencing an extensive tour of the length and breadth of the Territory, campaigning in every town, community and mission settlement.

On 29 July 1966, the first branch of the Country Party in the NT was established at a public meeting in Alice Springs. Among its founders were Bernie Kilgariff, Tony Greatorex, and a newcomer to town, Roger Vale, an employee of Magellan Petroleum.

Eight years later, in July 1974, at a conference in Alice Springs, the Country Party amalgamated with the Darwin-based branch of the Liberal Party to create the Country Liberal Party.

Roger Vale was chosen to succeed Tony Greatorex as the CLP’s candidate for Stuart, commencing a 20 year long political career.

Simultaneously, the ALP chose Dick Ward to succeed Jock Nelson as its candidate for the NT. Ward was a highly accomplished lawyer and former member of the NT Legislative Council. A resident of Alice Springs in the 1940s, he was a member of the NT Development League (along with Nelson, Frank Johnson, and E J Connellan) that led to the foundation of the Legislative Council in 1947. Ward was the first Member for Alice Springs but later moved to Darwin.

Not unreasonably, Ward and the ALP were supremely confident of retaining the safe Labor seat of the Northern Territory – Ward even resigned from his legal practice in Darwin.

Ward’s campaign was officially launched at a packed Labor public meeting in Darwin on 9 August 1966. Guest speakers included the Federal Opposition Leader, Arthur Calwell, and the new Member for Dawson (Queensland), Dr Rex Patterson.

Dawson was always a safe Country Party seat, but Patterson achieved an upset victory for Labor in a by-election held in February 1966. Patterson was a strong advocate for developing the north of Australia and highly critical of the national Coalition government’s track record.

During the Whitlam government less than a decade later, Rex Patterson was the Minister for Northern Development and Minister for the Northern Territory (later Northern Australia), overseeing the replacement of the part-elected NT Legislative Council with the Legislative Assembly in 1974 and two senate positions each for the NT and the ACT.

August 1966 was a momentous month in the Territory. On 23 August, Vincent Lingiari led a strike and walk-off on Wave Hill Station of 200 Gurindji stockmen, house servants and families which lasted for seven years. The walk-off was a major impetus for the Aboriginal land rights movement, in this case culminating in the hand back of land to the Gurindji in August 1975 by PM Gough Whitlam in a highly symbolic ceremony.

Few know, however, that another significant political figure visited the Gurindji people during the walk-off – it was Malcolm Fraser in March 1968, by then the Minister for Education and Science. Fraser was profoundly affected by this encounter, leading ultimately to his government’s passing of the NT Land Rights Act in 1976.

Meanwhile, also in August, another identity from Queensland came to the Territory. On 5 August, Paul Everingham was admitted as a solicitor in Mt Isa. Shortly afterwards, he moved to Alice Springs and soon established his own legal practice in town. Everingham was elected as an alderman of the first Alice Springs Town Council in 1971 (under mayor Jock Nelson), before moving to Darwin in 1973.

In 1974, Everingham joined the CLP and was elected to the first NT Legislative Assembly. In August 1977, he took over as the Majority Leader of the CLP and became the first chief minister in July 1978. He eventually served one term as the Member for the Northern Territory in 1984-87.

During 1966 the Holt government escalated Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, announcing in March the trebling of the armed forces committed to the conflict. This was fiercely opposed by Labor, not least by Arthur Calwell (a descendent of an American migrant), creating a febrile political environment. In June, Calwell narrowly escaped assassination when he was shot after a political meeting in Sydney.

Later that month, Harold Holt visited Washington, giving full-throated support for US escalation in the Vietnam War under President Lyndon Johnson (“all the way with LBJ”).

President Johnson in turn visited Australia during October, triggering wild protests and demonstrations.

Thus the scene was set for the Federal election campaign during November 1966, with the Holt Coalition government in support of the Vietnam War and the Calwell Labor opposition firmly against it.

On 29 November, the result was a massive victory for the Holt government with Labor suffering a major swing against it. It was a devastating blow for Arthur Calwell, who later resigned as Labor leader and was replaced by his deputy, Gough Whitlam, in February 1967.

The result was no less a shock in the NT, with Sam Calder victorious over Dick Ward – it was the Country Party’s first victory in the Territory, commencing an era of conservative political dominance that lasted until 2001.

Calder’s assiduous campaigning had paid off handsomely; and it turned out Labor’s earlier dominance under previous member Jock Nelson was its Achilles Heel.

In 1962, all “full-blood” Aboriginal adults in the NT won the right to vote for the first time; however, in 1963 Jock Nelson was returned unopposed in that year’s Federal elections – he was the last Federal member in Australia to achieve this distinction.

Aboriginal voters in the NT only got to vote first for the 1966 campaign. 

Calder had made himself known to all the communities across the Territory, whereas Labor assumed the seat would remain in its hands.

It was a fatal error of judgement; and Aboriginal voters across the NT had abruptly changed the course of the Territory’s political history. Calder held the seat until retiring in 1980.

Following the Holt government’s emphatic victory, there was one major event left in store for the Territory that year.

On 9 December 1966, the Australian and American governments announced an agreement to establish a “space research facility” at Pine Gap near Alice Springs.

This shock announcement aroused controversy across the country (there was no mention of it during the election campaign), again split along major party lines with Labor firmly opposed.

This was reflected locally with Labor member for Alice Springs, Chas Orr, decrying the decision while newly elected Country Party federal member Sam Calder strongly endorsed the project.

This controversy played out for the next two years until the NT Legislative Council elections in late 1968. The three unelected “non-official members” positions (of which Bernie Kilgariff was one since 1960) were abolished, so Kilgariff was endorsed as the Country Party candidate to run against Labor incumbent Chas Orr.

Kilgariff easily defeated Orr, and Labor was not to win an urban seat in Alice Springs again until Dale Wakefield took Braitling in 2016, almost half a century later.

Kilgariff was later a foundation member of the CLP, the first Speaker of the NT Legislative Assembly, and one of the first two NT senators commencing in 1976.

Thus, from January to December, the year 1966 through a combination of key identities and crucial events, set the template that continues to influence and define the Northern Territory to the present day.

This article appeared on Alice Springs News on 3 February 2026.