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1068 Northern Territory Pastoral Lessees' Association

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Attendees at the meetings held during 23-28 February 1923 included; CWD Conacher (representing Vesteys), Douglas Fraser (representing Alexandria Station), MP Durack, MLA (Auvergne, Victoria River Downs and Rosewood Stations, and Bullita Pastoral Company), TA Snelling (representing Lake Nash Station), Walter Massy Greene (representing Brunette Downs, Eva Downs, and Walhallow Stations) and H Brown (representing Bradshaw's Run). The Administrator of the Northern Territory, Mr Frederic Charles Urquhart, was also present. Mr Massy Greene was elected the first Chairman of the Association with Mr Leslie Smith appointed as the Secretary.

The NTPLA headquarters were initially based in Melbourne while members discussed whether it was necessary or advisable to move to Canberra. Once the Association was affiliated with the Graziers' Federal Council of Australia in June 1926 negotiations took place with the Graziers' Association of New South Wales for their Secretary, Mr JW Allen, to also act as Secretary to the NTPLA. Mr Allen was appointed take up duties from 1 December 1928. The NTPLA headquarters were moved from Melbourne to the office of the Graziers' Association of New South Wales in Sydney and remained there for the period 1929-1982.

The Chairman's report to the annual general meeting in 1927 stated: "The Association's object in linking up with the [Graziers' Federal] Council is to have all graziers throughout Australia united, and enable the Association to receive the support of the Associations in the other states in its representations to the authorities from time to time regarding matters of concern to NT lessees."

In 1929 the objects of the NTPLA were stated as: to secure to the members all the advantages of unity of action, and for the protection of the interests of lessees; to afford proper assistance to members in relation to the objects aforesaid; and, to act in conjunction with other Associations of a similar nature in any part of Australia. By 1933 the NTPLA had expanded these purposes to include: to prevent strikes, to maintain freedom of contracts, to effect amicable settlement of disputes between members and their employees; to secure to members all the advantages of unity of action, to protect them in all matters affecting their interests, to act in conjunction with other unions or associations of a similar nature in any part of Australia; to unable the association to amalgamate or affiliate with and to appoint representatives to any employers' union or association in Australia; and, to afford proper assistance to members in relation to the objects aforesaid.

In 1946, Mr JW Allen resigned as General Secretary of the Graziers' Association of New South Wales and was appointed Secretary to the Graziers' Federal Council. Mr S Ick-Hewins replaced Mr JW Allen as the General Secretary of the Graziers' Association of New South Wales and as part-time Secretary of the Northern Territory Pastoral Lessees' Association. In 1947, Mr William Edward Leembruggen de Vos was appointed to these roles and was also Secretary to the Northern Territory Cattle Producers' Council from its establishment in 1963.

In 1947, the Executive Committee of the NTPLA agreed to appoint a liaison officer based in the Northern Territory. Mr Robert MacIntyre was appointed to the role in 1947 and then Mr FB Gregory was appointed in 1950 but their tenures were short-lived due to problems with acquiring reliable transport.

In the post-war period other organisations were formed to represent cattlemen in regional areas of the Northern Territory, such as the Central Australian Pastoral Lessees Association and the Cattlemen's Association of North Australia. Consequently the Northern Territory Cattle Producers' Council was formed in 1963 to coordinate these groups and provide representation to national organisations.

In May 1965 the Graziers' Association of New South Wales informed the NTPLA that it could no longer undertake its secretarial work and asked the Association to make other arrangements. The Executive Committee of the NTPLA reached the conclusion that the problems the cattle industry would face in the future relating to marketing, employment, land tenure, transport and taxation required the detailed and continuous attention of a full-time Secretary.

Mr de Vos accepted the appointments as Secretary of both the NTPLA and the Northern Territory Cattle Producers' Council on a full-time basis from 1 May 1966, and an office was secured in the premises of the Graziers' Association of NSW which entailed no change of address. The effect of this change was an increase of administrative costs which signalled a substantial increase in membership contributions of the three member organisations to the Northern Territory Cattle Producers' Council.

By 1967, the NTPLA was reporting a membership of 45 with many of the major members represented by head offices in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne.

In 1968 the NTPLA wrote to the Graziers Association of Victoria and asked if they still held any records of the Association for the period 1923-1927 but were advised there had been a clear out during the Second World War and the records were destroyed.

The late 1970s brought new challenges to the NTPLA with Aboriginal land rights legislation passed in 1976 affecting the Northern Territory, Northern Territory Self-Government granted in 1978, and the establishment of the Cattle Council of Australia and the National Farmers' Federation in 1979. In response the Association moved its headquarters from Sydney to Darwin in 1982. Mr de Vos chose not to move to Darwin and Mr Cliff Emerson was appointed Secretary in 1982 based in Darwin. In 1981 the Cattlemen's Association of North Australia, based in Katherine, became the Katherine Branch of the NTPLA.

Negotiations were then opened with the other member organisations of the Northern Territory Cattle Council (formerly the Northern Territory Cattle Producers' Council) and the Cattlemens' Union, NT Branch, to discuss the concept of a single body industry organisation representing the Northern Territory cattle industry.

In 1983 the Association along with the Centralian Cattlemen's Association and the Cattlemen's Union, NT Branch, formed the Industry Organisation Steering Committee (IOSC) to discuss the formation of a single body industry organisation. A report was presented to the organisations, including a draft constitution for the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association, for further discussion at the December 1983 meeting of the Northern Territory Cattle Council.

The draft constitution of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association was endorsed by the executive members of the NTPLA, Centralian Cattlemen's Association and the Cattlemen's Union, NT Branch, in Darwin during April 1984.

The Northern Territory Pastoral Lessees Association was formally dissolved in July 1984 with members then participating in the inaugural meeting of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association in Tennant Creek on 11 July 1984.

The Katherine Branch of the Association became the Katherine Branch of the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association, while the NTPLA secretariat in Darwin performed similar functions for the new Association.

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