Benjamin Benny (21 October 1869 – 10 February 1935) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He served as a Senator for South Australia from 1920 to 1926, representing the Nationalist Party. A few months after his resignation from the Senate, he was convicted of fraudulent conversion and gaoled for three years with hard labour.
Benny was born on 21 October 1869 in Aldinga, South Australia. He was one of seven children born to Susanna (née Anderson) and George Benny; his father was a Free Presbysterian minister and schoolteacher.[1]
Benny began his education at the public school in Morphett Vale. Following his father's death in 1879, his uncle William Benny paid for his education at Thomas Caterer's Commercial College in Norwood. He began studying law in 1887, serving his articles of clerkship at his uncle's law firm and obtaining a certificate in law from the University of Adelaide in 1891. Following the death of his uncle in 1898, Benny took over the practice. He was a justice of the peace and served on the Brighton Town Council, including as mayor from 1902 to 1905.[1]
Politicsedit
In 1919, he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Nationalist Senator for South Australia. He did not recontest in 1925 and although his term was due to finish on 30 June 1926 he resigned from parliament on 26 January 1926 due to ill health, and was replaced by Alexander McLachlan. In June 1926 Benny was convicted of fraudulent conversion of trust funds[2] and sentenced to three years' gaol, and declared insolvent.[3]
Later lifeedit
He married his cousin Susan Grace Anderson, known as Grace Benny. After his imprisonment, she opened an employment agency to support her family, prior to this she had never worked for a living.[4] She had in 1919 made history as the first woman to be elected to local government (the Seacliff ward of the Brighton Council) in Australia.[5]
^ abEdgar, Suzanne; Pilger, Alison (2000). "Benny, Benjamin (1869–1935)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian. Vol. 1. Melbourne University Press.
^"Ex-Senator Benny Guilty". The Register. Adelaide. 11 June 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 30 May 2014 – via Trove.
^Edgar, Suzanne; Pilger, Alison. "BENNY, Benjamin (1869–1935)". The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
benjamin, benny, october, 1869, february, 1935, australian, lawyer, politician, served, senator, south, australia, from, 1920, 1926, representing, nationalist, party, months, after, resignation, from, senate, convicted, fraudulent, conversion, gaoled, three, y. Benjamin Benny 21 October 1869 10 February 1935 was an Australian lawyer and politician He served as a Senator for South Australia from 1920 to 1926 representing the Nationalist Party A few months after his resignation from the Senate he was convicted of fraudulent conversion and gaoled for three years with hard labour Benjamin BennySenator for South AustraliaIn office 1 July 1920 26 January 1926Succeeded byAlexander McLachlanPersonal detailsBorn 1869 10 21 21 October 1869Aldinga South AustraliaDied10 February 1935 1935 02 10 aged 65 Adelaide South AustraliaPolitical partyNationalistSpouseSusan Grace Anderson m 1896 wbr Alma materUniversity of AdelaideProfessionSolicitor Contents 1 Early life 2 Politics 3 Later life 4 ReferencesEarly life editBenny was born on 21 October 1869 in Aldinga South Australia He was one of seven children born to Susanna nee Anderson and George Benny his father was a Free Presbysterian minister and schoolteacher 1 Benny began his education at the public school in Morphett Vale Following his father s death in 1879 his uncle William Benny paid for his education at Thomas Caterer s Commercial College in Norwood He began studying law in 1887 serving his articles of clerkship at his uncle s law firm and obtaining a certificate in law from the University of Adelaide in 1891 Following the death of his uncle in 1898 Benny took over the practice He was a justice of the peace and served on the Brighton Town Council including as mayor from 1902 to 1905 1 Politics editIn 1919 he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Nationalist Senator for South Australia He did not recontest in 1925 and although his term was due to finish on 30 June 1926 he resigned from parliament on 26 January 1926 due to ill health and was replaced by Alexander McLachlan In June 1926 Benny was convicted of fraudulent conversion of trust funds 2 and sentenced to three years gaol and declared insolvent 3 Later life editHe married his cousin Susan Grace Anderson known as Grace Benny After his imprisonment she opened an employment agency to support her family prior to this she had never worked for a living 4 She had in 1919 made history as the first woman to be elected to local government the Seacliff ward of the Brighton Council in Australia 5 Benny died in 1935 6 References edit a b Edgar Suzanne Pilger Alison 2000 Benny Benjamin 1869 1935 The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Vol 1 Melbourne University Press Ex Senator Benny Guilty The Register Adelaide 11 June 1926 p 11 Retrieved 30 May 2014 via Trove Edgar Suzanne Pilger Alison BENNY Benjamin 1869 1935 The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate Retrieved 29 November 2022 Edgar Suzanne 1979 Susan Grace 1872 1944 Australian Dictionary of Biography National Centre of Biography Australian National University ISSN 1833 7538 Retrieved 30 May 2014 Every Woman The Journal 13 December 1919 p 16 Retrieved 25 August 2016 via Trove Carr Adam 2008 Australian Election Archive Psephos Adam Carr s Election Archive Retrieved 23 November 2008 nbsp This article about a National Party of Australia politician is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about a mayor in Australia is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Benjamin Benny amp oldid 1178240131, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
