Benjamin (Ben) Harris Babbidge (2 October 1836 – 19 February 1905) was an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

and mayor of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

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 ...

, Australia.

Personal life

Benjamin Harris Babbidge was born on 2 October 1836 in

Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, located in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the n ...

, Hampshire, England, the son of John Babbidge (a tailor ) and his wife Elizabeth (née Harris). He married Elizabeth Ann Damp, the daughter of George and Jane Damp, on the Isle of Wight in 1856. Soon after their marriage they immigrated to Queensland on the "New Great Britain" arriving in

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

on 6 January 1857. The couple had the following children: *Benjamin Harris. (b. 1857, m. 1878 Alice Jane Langridge, d. 1936) *Elizabeth Ann (b. 1859, m. 1884 George Edward Ely, d. 1935) *John George (b. 1861, m. 1884 Jane Elizabeth Smith) *Arthur Harry (b. 1863, m. 1887 Harriet Jane Young, m. 1895 Catherine Maxwell, d. 1919) *Julia Ann (b. 1865, d. 1865) *Lilian (b. 1866, m. 1889 Paul Williams, d. 1949) *Albert Ernest (b. 1868, m. 1895 Jessie Margaret Davies, d. 1926) *Margaret Emily (b. 1871, d. 1873) *Florence (b. 1873, m. 1890 George Williams, d. 1912) *William Alfred (b. 1875, m. 1898 Annie Elizabeth Jane Maxwell, d. 1951) *Edwin Edgar (b. 1877, d. 1908) *Margaret (b. 1880, d. 1880) *Charles Oliver (b. 1881, d. 1881) They were residents of

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

for about three years from 1857 (their eldest two children, Benjamin and Elizabeth, were born there) after which they relocated to Moreton Bay. Benjamin Harris Babbidge died on 19 February 1905 at Victoria Private Hospital at South Brisbane, following six months of poor health. His funeral left from his residence in Dauphin Terrace, Highgate Hill and he was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...

Business life

Benjamin Harris Babbidge was a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, having completed an apprenticeship with the shipbuilders J. & W. White of

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...

. After three years in Newcastle, New South Wales, he relocated to Moreton Bay where he worked for

John Petrie John Petrie (15 January 1822 – 8 December 1892) was a Scottish-born Australian politician, architect, stonemason and building contractor in Brisbane who became the city's first Mayor. Private life John Petrie was born 15 January 1822Too ...

for a number of years. In 1865 he established his own business as a ship's smith. In 1881 he successfully tendered to construct 25 goods wagons for the railways. This was a new line of business for him and he established a railway rolling stock workshop at Hope Street,

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 14,292 people. Geography South Brisbane is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the nor ...

for this purpose. In 1885, his workshop assembled Brisbane's first tram cars (the cars themselves being imported from America).

Public life

Babbidge was an

of the

Brisbane Municipal Council The Town of Brisbane was a Local government in Australia, local government area of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia from 1859 to 1903. It was later elevated to city status and was the City of Brisbane from 1903 until it was amalagamated into ...

from 1879 to 1886. He was mayor in 1885. He served on the following council committees: *Improvement Committee 1880 *Legislative Committee 1880, 1884, 1885 *Finance Committee 1881, 1883, 1886 *Works Committee 1882, 1884, 1885 *Health Committee 1885, 1886 *Town Hall Committee 1885, 1886 He left the Brisbane Municipal Council when he was defeated by William Stephens in the 1887 election for the south ward. He was also an alderman of the South Brisbane Municipal Council from 1900 to 1902, where he served on the following council committees: *Works Committee 1900, 1902 *General Purpose Committee 1900, 1902 *Parks Committee 1900, 1902 *Finance Committee 1901 He retired from politics in 1903, following his defeat in the 1903 elections for the South Brisbane council. In addition to his council roles, he was also a member of: *the Provisional Committee of the Proposed Technical College (1882) *the Fire Brigade Board in Brisbane in 1884 *the Licensing Board in Brisbane in 1885 *the United Municipalities (president in 1886) *the Anti-Chinese Committee (member 1886) *the Brisbane Workman's Club (director 1886) *the Victoria Bridge Board in 1902 *the Brisbane and Suburban Shopkeepers' Association (president 1902–1904)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babbidge, Benjamin Harris Mayors and lord mayors of Brisbane 1836 births 1905 deaths Burials at Toowong Cemetery 19th-century Australian politicians Colony of Queensland people

Personal life

Business life

Public life

See also

Notes