Jens Jensen

Landscape architect, born in Dybbol, Denmark. Arriving in the USA at age 24, he became a gardener in the Chicago West Parks (1886) and rapidly rose to become superintendent of Humboldt Park - a position he held until 1900, when he was dismissed because he exposed graft in the Chicago parks system. Creating the ‘prairie style of landscape design’, he distributed local plants along broad lawns for Midwestern parks (1900–35), retiring to run Clearing, a rustic school of landscape design in Wisconsin.

He was first elected as a member of the Australian Labor Party, and served as an Assistant Minister and then Minister for the Navy in the Fisher and Hughes governments.

When a group of more conservative ALP members under Billy Hughes broke away in 1917 over conscription issues to form the Nationalist Party of Australia, Jensen joined them. Hughes retained government after the split, and Jensen was appointed to the new ministry as Minister for the Navy and then later Minister for Trade and Customs.

Jensen subsequently shifted to state politics, elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Bass in 1922.

Preceded by: William Archibald

Minister for Trade and Customs 1917–1919

Succeeded by: William Watt