George Martens

George William Martens (1874 – 23 August 1949) was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1928 to 1946, representing the electorate of Herbert.

For the American jockey, see George Martens (jockey).

George Martens
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Herbert
In office
17 November 1928 – 16 August 1946
Preceded byLewis Nott
Succeeded byBill Edmonds
Personal details
Born1874
Mount Perry, Queensland
Died23 August 1949 (aged 74–75)
Sydney, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
OccupationUnionist

Early life

Born in Mount Perry, Queensland, he received a primary education before becoming a bushworker. Martens gained work at the Pleystowe Sugar Mill, west of Mackay in northern Queensland, where two of his co-workers were future Prime Minister Arthur Fadden and Queensland state politician Maurice Hynes.[1]

Politics

Martens was active in the trade union movement, notably the Sugar Workers Union, and was an organiser with the Australian Workers' Union, of which he eventually became Queensland secretary. In 1928, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for Herbert, defeating the sitting Nationalist Lewis Nott. He held the seat until 1946, when he retired from politics.

Later life

After retiring from politics, Martens become director of Commonwealth Oil Refineries.[2] Martens died on 23 August 1949 in Sydney, New South Wales.[3] His death bed request was that there would be no newspaper nor radio announcements of his death and that he should be cremated quietly and privately.[4]

Sources
  • Arklay, T.M. (2016) Arthur Fadden: A Political Silhouette, Australian Scholarly Publishing: North Melbourne. ISBN 978 1 925003 84 0.

References
  1. Arklay, p.3.
  2. Carr, Adam (2008). "Australian Election Archive". Psephos, Adam Carr's Election Archive. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  3. "GEORGE MARTENS DEAD AT 75". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXX. Queensland, Australia. 29 August 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 21 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "EX-MP'S DEATHBED REQUEST". The Northern Miner. Queensland, Australia. 12 September 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 21 December 2016 – via National Library of Australia.

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