Nelson Lemmon

The Honourable Nelson Lemmon
Member of the Australian Parliament for Forrest
In office 21 August 1943 – 10 December 1949
Preceded by	John Prowse
Succeeded by	Gordon Freeth
Member of the Australian Parliament for St George
In office 29 May 1954 – 10 December 1955
Preceded by	Bill Graham
Succeeded by	Bill Graham
Personal details
Born	22 March 1908(1908-03-22) Williamstown, Victoria
Died	20 March 1989(1989-03-20) (aged 80) Robertson, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Ada Mary Jackel
Occupation	Farmer

Nelson Lemmon (22 March 1908 – 20 March 1989) was an Australian politician and government minister. He was responsible for establishing the Snowy Mountains Scheme.^[1]

Nelson was born at Williamstown, Victoria, the son of John Lemmon, Australian Labor Party politician and Australian Labor Party member for Williamstown in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1904 to 1951.^[2] He was educated at Williamstown State School and Longerenong Agricultural College. He became a farmer in Ongerup, Western Australia and married Ada Mary Jackel in 1930.^[3][4]

Political career

Nelson won the House of Representatives seat of Forrest (WA) for Labor at the 1943 election. He was Minister for Works and Housing in Ben Chifley's November 1946 ministry until his defeat by Gordon Freeth at the 1949 election. He was responsible for the commencement of the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme a complex of dams, power stations and tunnels in southern New South Wales to produce hydroelectric power and divert water for irrigation to inland areas along the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers.^[5] 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.^[6]

Lemmon was also responsible for commencing a substantial program of construction of houses for ex-servicemen returned from World War II. 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.^[3]

He was one of only five people who have represented more than one state or territory in the House of Representatives, and was the most recent serving of those five.

Lemmon returned to being a horse trainer and breeder in Robertson, New South Wales. He was survived by his wife and a son and a daughter.

Notes

1. ^ "Members of the House of Representatives since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20071117114040/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/handbook/historical/representatives/kingston.maisey.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-04. 
2. ^ Smith, Ann G. (1986). "Lemmon, John (1875 - 1955)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100067b.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-04. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Hawke, Bob (4 April 1989). "Death of Hon. Nelson Lemmon". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?id=30554&table=HANSARDR. Retrieved 2008-02-04. 
4. ^ "Ada toasts her 105th birthday". Bayside Bulletin. 14 January 2008. http://www.redland.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/ada-toasts-her-105th-birthday/1161937.html. Retrieved 2008-02-05. 
5. ^ Endersbee, L A. "The Snowy Vision and the Young Team - The First Decade of Engineering for the Snowy Mountains Scheme". The spirit of the Snowy—fifty years on. Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=287. Retrieved 2008-02-04. 
6. ^ Sparke, Eric (1996). "Hudson, Sir William (1896 - 1978)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140579b.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-05. 

Political offices
Preceded by Hubert Lazzarini	Minister for Works and Housing 1946–1949	Succeeded by Richard Casey
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by John Prowse	Member for Forrest 1943–1949	Succeeded by Gordon Freeth
Preceded by Bill Graham	Member for St George 1954–1955	Succeeded by Bill Graham

Persondata
Name	Lemmon, Nelson
Alternative names
Short description	Australian politician
Date of birth	22 March 1908
Place of birth	Williamstown, Victoria
Date of death	20 March 1989
Place of death	Robertson, New South Wales