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James Bennett (Australian politician)

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Australian politician

James Bennett
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Gippsland
In office
31 May 1913 – 5 September 1914
Preceded byGeorge Wise
Succeeded byGeorge Wise
Personal details
Born1874
South Australia
Died23 November 1951 (aged 76–77)
Political partyLiberal
Other political
affiliations		People's]
OccupationFarmer

James Bennett (1874 – 23 November 1951) was an Australian farmer and politician. He was one of the founders of Victoria's People's Party and served a single term in the House of Representatives from 1913 to 1914. He represented the Victorian seat of Gippsland and sat as a Liberal in parliament.

Early life

Bennett was born in 1874 in South Australia, either in Rapid Bay or Glenelg. He grew up on the Yorke Peninsula, leaving school at the age of 13. He and his parents moved to the Mallee region of Victoria two years later, settling on a 2,000-acre (810 ha) property located 6 miles (9.7 km) outside of Warracknabeal. Bennett bought his own farm in 1900, during the Federation Drought. He grew experimental varieties of wheat and conducted scientific tests on the effectiveness of different varieties of fertiliser, in cooperation with the state agricultural department. He was involved with various farmers' advocacy groups.

Politics

Bennett was one of the co-founders of the People's Party in 1910, serving as the inaugural honorary secretary. He became a paid organiser for the party. In July 1912, he was selected as the endorsed candidate of the People's Party and the Australian Women's National League (AWNL) for the Division of Gippsland. He defeated the incumbent independent member George Wise at the 1913 federal election on a swing of 12.7 points. However, Wise reversed the result at the 1914 election on a swing of 6 points, winning by 610 votes. He was a supporter of preferential voting, and was described by Melbourne's Punch as "sound and reliable - a farmers' representative for a farmers' seat".

Later life

Bennett later worked in Melbourne as a real estate agent and builder. He died on 21 November 1951.

References

  1. ^ "People We Know". Punch. Melbourne. 13 November 1913.
  2. ^ "Commonwealth of Australia Legislative Election of 31 May 1913 / House of Representatives / Voting By Constituency / Victoria". Australian Election Archive. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  3. "Federation wheat". The Bendigo Independent. 23 January 1909.
  4. "Tailings as Manure". Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette. 4 January 1910.
  5. "An Australian party". Yea Chronicle. 25 August 1910.
  6. "Gippsland". The Age. 2 July 1912.
  7. ^ "Commonwealth of Australia Legislative Election of 5 September 1914 / House of Representatives / Voting By Constituency / Victoria". Australian Election Archive. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  8. "Mr. James Bennett at Stratford". Stratford Sentinel and Briagolong Express. 16 August 1912.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded byGeorge Wise Member for Gippsland
1913–1914 		Succeeded byGeorge Wise
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