Bert Hendrickson

Albion "Bert" Hendrickson (18 December 1897 – 28 April 1977) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as a Senator for Victoria from 1947 to 1971. He was a backbencher for the duration of his Senate service. He was a World War I veteran and worked for the Postmaster-General's Department before entering parliament.

Early life Hendrickson was born on 18 December 1897 in Adelaide Lead, Victoria. He was the son of Mary (née Broad) and Peter Hendrickson; his father was a miner.

Hendrickson spent his early years in Maryborough and attended the local state school. After leaving school he worked for Victorian Railways as a porter. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915 and joined the 22nd Battalion. He transferred to the 2nd Pioneer Battalion in March 1916 and served in France, where he was wounded in action in May 1917. He was hospitalised for a period in England and returned to Australia in December 1917, receiving a medical discharge in March 1918. He served as president of the Bendigo Trades Hall Council for a period.

At the 1946 election, Hendrickson was elected to a six-year Senate term beginning on 1 July 1947. Although he had moved to Melbourne in the early 1940s, his campaign focused on country areas and emphasised his connections with Maryborough, including his "earlier associations with the town and his sympathies with its rural community". His ALP colleague Sam Cohen, the only Jewish senator at the time, had accused Hannan of initiating a debate on antisemitism in the Soviet Union in order to embarrass him. Cohen observed that "modern antisemitism started with Hitler", to which Hendrickson added "[...] which Senator Hannan supports". He was briefly hospitalised and the collapse was attributed to "emotional stress", attracting attention as Cohen's fatal heart attack had occurred in similar circumstances at a public event.

After the retirement of Walter Cooper in 1968, Hendrickson and two colleagues also elected in 1946 – Justin O'Byrne and Annabelle Rankin – became the senators with the longest continuous service, sometimes accorded the title "Father of the Senate".

Views and positions In his first term, Hendrickson strongly supported the Chifley government's attempts to nationalise the private banking industry. He spoke on a wide range of topics including "repatriation, land settlement for ex-servicemen, war service homes, social services, the cost of living, unemployment, and the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, as well as trade and international affairs". although he was regarded as "genuinely anti-communist". He was strongly opposed to the European Common Market, regarding it as a major barrier to Australian agricultural exports. In 1970, Hendrickson and three of his Labor colleagues – Jim Cairns, Moss Cass and Arthur Poyser – were threatened with prosecution over statements attributed to them supporting draft evasion. Hendrickson advised police that he had not authorised use of his name and no charges were laid.

Personal life In 1919, Hendrickson married Eunice Matthews, with whom he had four children. He died in Melbourne on 28 April 1977, having been predeceased by one of his children.