Robert Benson (c.1800 – 11 June 1860)
was a miner and politician in colonial
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, a 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 ...
.
[
Benson arrived 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 ...
in 1852 and soon went to Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
, then known as Sandhurst, where he became a member of the first local court in 1855.[
On 15 November 1855, Benson was elected to the unicameral Victorian Legislative Council for Sandhurst,][
Benson unsuccessfully contested the Assembly seats of Loddon in 1856 and Sandhurst and Creswick in 1859. He sold his property to pay for his electioneering expenses and died in poverty in ]Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2022, ...
on 11 June 1860.[ He was married to Anne.][
]
External links
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Robert
1800s births
1860 deaths
Members of the Victorian Legislative Council
19th-century Australian politicians