Benjamin Benny (21 October 1869 – 10 February 1935) was an Australian lawyer and politician. He 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

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

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.

Early life

Benny was born on 21 October 1869 in

Aldinga, South Australia Aldinga is a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia located about south of the Adelaide city centre in the City of Onkaparinga. It is a small suburb (population around 573 in 2016), about a kilometre east of the edge of the larger suburb of ...

. He was one of seven children born to Susanna (née Anderson) and George Benny; his father was a Free Presbysterian minister and schoolteacher. Benny began his education at the public school in

Morphett Vale Morphett Vale is a southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Onkaparinga. It is the largest suburb in the state, with a population of more than 23,000 and an area of 12.76 km2, followed by Paralowie with nearly 10,000 fewe ...

. Following his father's death in 1879, his uncle William Benny paid for his education at

Thomas Caterer Thomas Caterer (31 July 1825 – c. 4 January 1917) was a pioneer schoolteacher of Adelaide, South Australia who founded in 1862 a private school for boys which in 1866 became Norwood Grammar School. His brother, Frederick Isaac Caterer (c. 1840 ...

's Commercial College in Norwood. He began studying law in 1887, serving his

articles of clerkship Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two ye ...

at his uncle's law firm and obtaining a certificate in law from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

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.

Politics

In 1919, he was elected to 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 ...

as a

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

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 and sentenced to three years' gaol, and declared insolvent.

Later life

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. 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. Benny died in 1935.

References

1869 births 1935 deaths Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia Mayors of places in South Australia Australian politicians convicted of fraud Australian white-collar criminals {{Australia-mayor-stub