Beryce Nelson

Beryce Ann Nelson, née Noble (born 10 January 1947) was an Australian politician.

She was born in Brisbane to Arthur Lloyd Noble and Thelma Ann, née Kelso. She attended state schools at Toowoomba and Brisbane and studied radiography from 1965 to 1967, earning a diploma. On 24 August 1968 she married John Arthur Nelson, with whom she would have three children. From 1967 to 1971 she worked as a radiographer, and in 1979 she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in government and history from the University of Queensland, working as a public relations officer for the Down's Syndrome Association until 1980. In that year she was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the Liberal member for Aspley. She was the first woman appointed Government Deputy Whip in August 1983 but was defeated in October. She resigned from the Liberal Party in 1984 and joined the National Party in 1985, winning her seat back for that party in 1986. In September 1989 she was promoted to the front bench as Minister for Family Services, the third woman appointed a minister in Queensland, but she lost her seat a few months later at the election which saw the Nationals lose office.^[1]

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