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Australian Broadcasting Corporation, often attacked Tuxworth. Though the Chief Minister had a well-deserved
reputation for being an effective representative of his own electorate, he was less able to ‘keep in touch’ with the
Territory as a whole and, in particular, the mood of Darwin. Yet in spite of his many problems, he came to power
at a very difficult time. The Australian economy was in decline and he had to make some inevitably unpopular
decisions that resulted from quite savage reductions in Commonwealth funding to the Territory.
Tuxworth’s downfall followed allegations made in the Legislative Assembly in late March 1986 that for over
a year from 1981 he had fraudulently obtained thousands of dollars in travelling allowances that Everingham
as Chief Minister had later made him repay. Tuxworth did not deny the substance of the charge but said that
‘strictly speaking’ he was within his rights. The allegations caused widespread public outrage and were seen as
resulting in a large swing against the government in the Araluen by-election on 19 April 1986. On 2 May, the
President of the CLP, Graeme Lewis, claimed that party funds were used to reimburse Tuxworth’s contentious
travel allowances. On the same day, Everingham declared that the government was in ‘total disarray’. A meeting
of CLP parliamentarians on 7 May, to the surprise of many observers, resulted in a unanimous vote of confidence
in Tuxworth. There was immediate criticism of the vote from senior CLP figures outside the parliament, most
notably Everingham and Lewis. Another parliamentarians’ meeting on 14 May saw Tuxworth forced to step down.
Hatton was elected the new party leader and Tuxworth was not included in his government.
Expelled from the CLP in early December 1986 on the basis of alleged ‘disloyalty’, he joined the new
Territory National Party later that month and very energetically led the party in the campaign for the elections on
7 March 1987. Although the Nationals, with strong support from the Queensland Premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen,
won 17.8 per cent of the vote, only Tuxworth among its candidates won a seat. His margin was extremely narrow
and he was forced to contest a by-election for Barkly on 5 September 1987 after the Northern Territory Supreme
Court declared the general election result void. He was able, again with a slim margin, to hold the seat. Between
then and 1990, he was a vociferous critic of the Hatton and Perron governments. After September 1988, he had a
fellow National member in parliament when Enzo Floreani won the Flynn by-election. In the general elections of
27 October 1990, however, both were unsuccessful and no other National Party candidate won a seat. In that poll,
Tuxworth made the surprising decision to contest the electorate of Goyder, in the rural area south of Darwin where,
unlike Barkly, he had never lived and had no personal following. He only attracted 9.5 per cent of the valid votes
cast. Following his loss, Tuxworth and his family moved to Perth, where he established a retirement home.
Tall, fair and well built, Tuxworth had a commanding physical presence. His prominent ears made him a
popular subject for cartoonists, who sometimes likened him to a large rabbit. He possessed enormous energy.
Like many Territory politicians, he had a wide range of contacts and an impressive memory for names. Despite
his problems with public servants, his personal staff were, for the most part, extraordinarily loyal to him. After his
fall as Chief Minister some continued to support him at a cost to their own careers. A devoted family man, in 1981
Tuxworth made his home in Darwin rather than Tennant Creek so that he would not be separated for long periods
from his wife and children. He was also very supportive of his mother following his father’s death in 1981. It was
a tragedy for both Tuxworth and the Northern Territory that his impressive personal qualities were of so little
assistance to him during his stormy period as Chief Minister.
D Carment, The Tuxworth Government, 1987; A Heatley, Almost Australians, 1990; D Jaensch, The Legislative Council of the Northern
Territory, 1990; D Jaensch & P Loveday (eds), Challenge from the Nationals, 1987; D Jaensch & D Wade-Marshall, Point of Order!, 1994;
J P Lea, Government and Community in Tennant Creek 1947–78, 1989; J Orton (ed), Debrett’s Handbook of Australia, 1987; information to
author from late H E Tuxworth.
DAVID CARMENT, Vol 3.
TYE, JANE ELIZABETH (GRANNY) nee HANG GONG (1869–1934), midwife, was born on 28 July 1869 in
Creswick, Victoria, to Lee Hang Gong and his wife Sarah, nee Bowman. She first came to the Northern Territory
with her parents and brothers and sister in about 1881 when her father quickly became a prominent Chinese
merchant and her mother a sought after midwife.
In about 1883, Jane and her mother left Palmerston by ship for New South Wales where Jane appears to have
remained while Sarah returned to the Territory. In August 1885, Sarah returned to Sydney to give her consent
to the marriage of Jane to George Tye, 27, a storekeeper from Canton, China. The Tyes subsequently had five
children—three sons and two daughters—born in New South Wales between 1886 and June 1896 when Jane
and family arrived by ship in Palmerston, presumably to join George who had most likely come ahead of them.
In April 1898, Jane gave birth to another son in Palmerston, but he appears never to have reached adulthood.
Both George and Jane became active members of the community and George established a contracting business.
Among the tenders he was successful at getting was one in 1901 for the construction of the cement culvert under
Cavenagh Street, referred to as the ‘cement subway’. When the job ended up costing more than George had
anticipated, he had to put a case for alterations to the Council. The newspaper report refers to him using an
interpreter, indicating he had a limited command of English, unlike his wife who spoke the language fluently.
George and his brother Jack were involved in a number of contracts over the years including the sinking of
graves, the construction of kerbing in Mitchell Street, the pitching of spoon drains in the Esplanade, the erection
of outer compartments for the Darwin sea baths and the removal of human refuse. A contract George won in 1902
for supplying 1 800 bushels of lime for a furnace highlighted the tension in the community regarding Asian versus
European labour. The newspaper reported that he got the contract because his tender was 157 Pounds below the
nearest European tender.
This prompted George, presumably with the assistance of his wife, to write an angry reply to the paper, saying:
‘You ask the reason why the government contract for lime was given to a Chinaman. Although I am a Chinaman