Northern Territory Legislative Council

The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974.

Prior to 1947, there had been several attempts by sections of the Northern Territory population to introduce a self-governing body for the region. In 1943, the Minister for External Affairs, HV Evatt (who at that time had responsibility for the Northern Territory) recommended the foundation of a Legislative Council, arguing that Northern Territorians should have the same self-governing rights as those living in Australian administered New Guinea.

In 1947, Prime Minister Ben Chifley government created a 13 member Legislative Council consisting of six elected members and seven nominated by the federal government, including the Administrator of the Northern Territory, who held both deliberative and casting votes.

The total enrolment for the 1947 election was 4443, all of whom were white.Powell, A. (1988) Far Country: A Short History of the Northern Territory, Melbourne University Press, Carlton. ISBN 00 522 84377 8. The Territory was split into five electorates:...
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