Benjamin Short (19 April 1833 – 10 June 1912) was an English-born Australian insurance salesman and
congregationalist evangelist.
Early life
He was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to spice merchant William Short and Elizabeth Smith. He worked as a coachbuilder in England, and migrated to
Sydney in 1860 to work in insurance. He had married Elizabeth Thomas on 22 July 1856; they had nine children.
Working life
He was the first canvasser for the
Australian Mutual Provident Society
AMP is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand providing superannuation and investment products, financial advice, and banking products (through AMP Banking) including home loans and savings accounts. Its headquarters is in ...
(AMP), and by the 1870s was lecturing on life insurance around
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Victoria and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...
. In 1881 he returned to Sydney as chief metropolitan agent for AMP, and in 1886 he retired to
Bowral, New South Wales
Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands.
Bowral once served ...
.
In 1887 and 1891 Short unsuccessfully ran for the AMP Board, winning on a reform platform in 1892. He lowered interest rates and equalised insurance for men and women; he retired due to limited terms in 1895 and was re-elected in 1896, and with the abandonment of limited terms served until his death. He was also involved in politics, running unsuccessfully for the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...
as a
Free Trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold ...
r in 1894 and 1895.
[
]
Sydney City Mission
Short's involvement with religion had begun in London with the London City Mission
London City Mission was set up by David Nasmith on 16 May 1835 in the Hoxton area of east London. The first paid missionary was Lindsay Burfoot. Today it is part of the wider City Mission Movement
The City Mission movement started in Glasgo ...
. He co-founded the Sydney City Mission
Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane Town and Country Mission (1859) and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially establish ...
in 1862 and was its secretary from 1863 to 1868. He was also a member of YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
.
Later life
In his retirement became a travelling evangelist. His wife died in 1887 and he married Elizabeth Jane Cantilo on 20 January 1890. Short died of influenza at Petersham in 1912.
See also
* Mission Australia
* Nathaniel Pidgeon
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short, Benjamin
1833 births
1912 deaths
Insurance agents