Frank Henderson (public servant)

Frank Cotter Henderson OBE (8 March 1911 – 21 July 1969) was an Australian agriculturalist and public servant. He held senior positions in the government of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea and served as an official member of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly.

Frank Henderson
Assistant Administrator (Economic Affairs)
In office
1966–1969
Official Member of the Member of the House of Assembly
In office
1964–1969
Succeeded byJames Ritchie
Official Member of the Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1959–1964
Director of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries
In office
1958–1966
Personal details
Born8 March 1911
Broken Hill, Australia
Died21 July 1969(1969-07-21) (aged 58)
Port Moresby, Papua and New Guinea

Biography

Henderson was born in 1911 in Broken Hill.[1] After graduating from the University of Sydney with an agricultural science degree, he moved to the Territory of New Guinea in 1936 to become an Agricultural Officer.[2] He initially worked at Kerevat, before being transferred to Talasea. He married Joyce in 1938.[2] Following the Japanese invasion, he helped evacuate civilians, sailing from Talasea to Cairns in Australia. He subsequently served in the RAAF.[2]

He returned to New Guinea after the war, focussing on the development of cocoa plantations.[2] In 1951 he was appointed head of the Division of Plant Industry, moving to Port Moresby the following year. In 1958 he was appointed Director of Agriculture, Stock and Fisheries. He became an official member of the Legislative Council the following year,[1] and was appointed to the new Member of the House of Assembly following the 1964 elections. He was promoted to Assistant Administrator (Economic Affairs) in 1966, also becoming Leader of Government Members in the House of Assembly.[2]

Henderson was made an OBE in 1967. He died in Port Moresby in July 1969 at the age of 58.[2]

References
  1. Who's who in Australia, Volume 17, p414
  2. Tributes to New Guinea's Frank Henderson Pacific Islands Monthly, August 1969, p134
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.