Denham Henty

The Honourable Sir Denham Henty KBE
Leader of the Government in the Senate
In office 26 January 1966 – 16 October 1967
Leader	Harold Holt
Preceded by	Shane Paltridge
Succeeded by	John Gorton
Minister for Supply
In office 26 January 1966 – 28 February 1968
Prime Minister	Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton
Preceded by	Allen Fairhall
Succeeded by	Ken Anderson
Minister for Civil Aviation
In office 10 June 1964 – 26 January 1966
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Shane Paltridge
Succeeded by	Reg Swartz
Minister for Customs and Excise
In office 24 October 1956 – 10 June 1964
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Preceded by	Frederick Osborne
Succeeded by	Ken Anderson
Senator for Tasmania
In office 1 July 1950 – 30 June 1968
Personal details
Born	(1903-10-13)13 October 1903 Longford, Tasmania, Australia
Died	9 May 1978(1978-05-09) (aged 74)
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Faith Spotswood ​ (m. 1930)​
Relations	Jim Henty (brother)

Sir Norman Henry Denham Henty, KBE (13 October 1903 – 9 May 1978) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1950 to 1968. He held ministerial office as Minister for Customs and Excise (1956–1964), Civil Aviation (1964–1966), and Supply (1966–1968). He also served as mayor of Launceston from 1948 to 1949.

Early life

Henty was born in Longford, Tasmania, the second child of Thomas Norman Henty and Sarah Nina Lily Mary, née Wilson. His grandfather was Thomas Henty, part of the pioneering Henty family. He was educated at Launceston Church Grammar School. He left school at fourteen to work in his fathers wholesale business. In March 1930 he married Faith Gordon Spotswood and they subsequently had three sons and a daughter. He served as an alderman on Launceston City Council from 1943 to 1951 and was mayor from 1948 to 1949.[1]

Politics

Henty was elected to the Senate of Australia at the 1949 election, representing the Liberal Party and served until his retirement in June 1968.[2][3] He served as Minister for Customs and Excise from October 1956 to June 1964. In 1960 he prohibited the export of Australian native fauna for commercial purposes.[1] From June 1964 to January 1966, he was Minister for Civil Aviation and he was then Minister for Supply until February 1968.[2]

Honours

He was knighted in 1968 for parliamentary service.[4] The Denham Henty Waterscape in Launceston's Civic Square is named in his honour.

Notes

1. Chapman, R. J. K. (1996). "Henty, Sir Norman Henry Denham (1903 - 1978)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
2. Chapman, Ralph J. K. (2010). "HENTY, Sir Norman Henry Denham (1903–1978)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
3. "Members of the Senate since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
4. "Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) entry for Norman Henry". Australian Honours Database. Canberra, Australia: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 8 June 1968. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

Political offices
Preceded by Frederick Osborne	Minister for Customs and Excise 1956–1964	Succeeded by Ken Anderson
Preceded by Shane Paltridge	Minister for Civil Aviation 1964–1966	Succeeded by Reginald Swartz
Preceded by Allen Fairhall	Minister for Supply 1966–1968	Succeeded by Ken Anderson
Party political offices
Preceded by Shane Paltridge	Leader of the Liberal Party in the Senate 1966–1967	Succeeded by John Gorton