Benjamin Courtice (14 February 1881 – 7 January 1972) was an Australian politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

from 1937 to 1962. He served as Minister for Trade and Customs under

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician and train driver who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), and was n ...

from 1946 to 1949.

Early life

Courtice was born in

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

and was educated at Bundaberg South State School. He left school at twelve to work in the laboratory of the Millaquin sugar refinery at Bundaberg. In 1905 he was involved in the formation of the Bundaberg and District Workers' Union, which later became part of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoralism, pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 ...

. He married Bertha Demaine in 1910 and they had a son and three daughters before her death in 1925. Courtice won £90 for winning a foot-race at about the time of his marriage and used it to buy a sugar farm and he subsequently became a member of various sugar growers organisations. In 1936, he married Elsie Dora Maud Joyner.

Political career

Courtice's older brother Frederick Courtice was a member of the

Queensland Legislative Council Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

for the Labor Party, participating in the vote to abolish the council in 1922. Ben Courtice was appointed to a casual vacancy in the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

in 1937. He served as Chairman of Committees from 1943 to 1946, resigning to become Minister for Trade and Customs in the second Chifley Ministry. He served in cabinet from November 1946 until Labor's defeat at the 1949 election. Courtice retired from the Senate at the end of his term in June 1962. He died in Bundaberg, survived by the children of his first marriage. His nephew, Brian Courtice, was later elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtice, Ben Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate 1881 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians People from Bundaberg