James George Beaney (15 January 1828 in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

– 30 June 1891 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

) was an English-born Australian surgeon, politician and philanthropist in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

from March 1883 until his death. James George Beaney 001

Early life

James Beaney was born in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where he was educated, and studied surgery with W. J. Cooper. He was afterwards a student at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, at Paris, and at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

, London. He qualified as a surgeon in Edinburgh and travelled to Australia before being gazetted assistant surgeon to the 3rd Regiment (the Scots Guards). He served at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

and later as staff surgeon to the Turkish contingent in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. After the campaign he made several trips to America.

Medical career in Australia

Beaney travelled to

, where in 1858 he became assistant to John Maund, at whose death he succeeded to his practice. In 1860 he was appointed surgeon to the Melbourne Hospital, surgeon to the Royal Victorian Artillery (holding the post for most of his life), and was elected a member of the

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in Victoria, Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being the Victorian Institute for the Advancement of Science (found ...

. He was again elected surgeon to the hospital and banqueted at the town hall in 1875, and was subsequently re-elected despite the strenuous opposition of a large section of the medical profession. In 1878 Beaney visited England with a semi-official commission from the Berry Government to report on medical matters. He was a member of the Medical Society of Victoria, publishing numerous papers on medical subjects, and served as a member of the

for the North Yarra Province in 1883–91.

Political career in Australia

In 1883, after a severe contest, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for the North Yarra Province, and was re-elected for a period of six years, in 1885, when he defeated the James Munro, the late Premier of Victoria. Beaney was the author of several medical works, including "Contributions to Conservative Surgery". He was munificent in his donations to public institutions in his native place, and offered various medical prizes.

Legacy

He died in Melbourne on 30 June 1891, in his will Beaney left £10,000 for the creation of "The Beaney Institute for the Education of the Working Man", now the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, in Canterbury, England. Other parts of his estate went to the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, Melbourne hospitals and charities.

Notes

References

Death of Dr. Beaney, ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 4 July 1891), p.36.

The Will of Dr. Beaney, ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 11 July 1891), p.42.

The University of Melbourne: The Beaney Scholarships, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 6 October 1892), p.7.

External links

History of James Bearney at the Melbourne Hospital
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaney, James George 1828 births 1891 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council English philanthropists English surgeons Politicians from Canterbury Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Australian politicians British emigrants to the Colony of Victoria 19th-century British philanthropists Australian surgeons