General News
30 March, 2023
A leader of consequence Goff Letts left an indelible mark
Godfrey "Goff" Letts CBE AM was a veterinarian, a political leader, a politician, a newspaper editor, an author, an innovator and a man who left his mark on the history of Australia. Mr Letts, 95, died at Stawell where he had lived since moving from...
Godfrey "Goff" Letts CBE AM was a veterinarian, a political leader, a politician, a newspaper editor, an author, an innovator and a man who left his mark on the history of Australia.
Mr Letts, 95, died at Stawell where he had lived since moving from his property at Kanya near Marnoo, and where a private funeral was later held.
He was born at Donald and attended school there until winning a scholarship to Melbourne Grammar, later attending universities in Melbourne and Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science.
Mr Letts was working for the Victorian Department of Agriculture when he married Joyce Crosby in 1952, and they had three sons and three daughters.
They moved to the Northern Territory, initially to Alice Springs, before transferring to Darwin as the district veterinary officer for the north of the Northern Territory.
His work dealing with contagious disease in cattle earned him the first Charles Darwin Medal, awarded for "distinction in evolution, biological diversity and developmental, population and organismal biology".
Mr Letts filled many senior agricultural positions before being awarded a Churchill Fellowship for further study.
He was appointed to the NT's Legislative Council in 1967 as a non-elected member but growing disillusionment led to his decision to resign in order to enter private industry as a vet.
He was a founding member of the Northern Territory Country Party and his high political profile led him to successfully contest the Legislative Council seat of Victoria River in 1971. He was later party leader in the Council.
Mr Letts helped to merge the NT's Country and Liberal parties and was elected Majority Leader, helping to prepare the NT for self-government, granted in 1978. Although considered a capable leader, he lost his seat in 1977.
He also served as the chair of a Board of Inquiry into Feral Animals in the NT and was on a CSIRO advisory council and the Uranium Advisory Council.
He was pre-selected by the CLP to contest the 1980 election but withdrew to accept the position of CEO of the Northern Territory Conservation Commission.
He was made a World Wildlife Fund trustee in 1981 and two years later resigned from his position at the Conservation Commission to stand unsuccessfully for parliament as an independent.
Known as the "father of self-government", Mr Letts was appointed a CBE in 1978 for his services to the Territory and to public administration.
In his latter years he shared the task of editing newspapers run by the Letts family. His father had the distinction of being the longest-serving editor in the world.
His book, Where Brolgas Dance, tells the story of his years in the NT.