RSS
Home | Office Holder | Rex Patterson
|
|
|
Patterson was born in Bundaberg, Queensland and educated at the University of Queensland, the Australian National University, the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago. Patterson was elected as an Australian Labor Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Dawson at a by-election in 1966. When the Whitlam government was elected at the December 1972 election, he was appointed Minister for Northern Development. On 19 October 1973 he was sworn in as Minister for the Northern Territory by Elizabeth II, the only occasion when an Australian minister has been sworn in by a British monarch. On Christmas Day, 1974, the day after Cyclone Tracy, he flew into Darwin with Major-General Alan Stretton and they took responsibility for rebuilding Darwin. In June 1975 Patterson's portfolios were combined and he was retitled Minister for Northern Australia. On 14 October 1975, following Rex Connor's resignation from the ministry, he became Minister for Agriculture. Nevertheless, he lost this position when the government was dismissed on 11 November and he lost his seat in the subsequent election. |
