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Benjamin Benjamin

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Sir Benjamin Benjamin
Benjamin in c. 1888
42nd Mayor of Melbourne
In office
1887-1889
Preceded byWilliam Cain
Succeeded byMatthew Lang
Member of the Victorian Parliament
for Melbourne Province
In office
1889-1892
Preceded bySir James Lorimer
Succeeded byRobert Reid
Personal details
Born(1834-09-02)2 September 1834
London, Middlesex, England
Died7 March 1905(1905-03-07) (aged 70)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
SpouseFanny Cohen
Children16

Sir Benjamin Benjamin JP (2 September 1834 - 7 March 1905) was an Australian businessman and politician. He was mayor of Melbourne between 1887 and 1889, before serving as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1889 to 1892.[1]

Early life and education

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Benjamin was born in London, Middlesex, on 2 September 1834 to Moses Benjamin and Catherine Benjamin (nee Moses). His family left for the Colony of New South Wales in 1843 on a boat named London. He was educated in a school run by the Reverend William Jarrett, a Congregational Church minister.[2]

Working life

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After leaving school he joined M. Benjamin & Sons, his father's import and export business. In 1864 he and his brother-in-law Edward Cohen went into business together.[3] He retired from active involvement in business in 1878.[2]

Public life

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Benjamin was heavily involved in the Melbourne Jewish community acting in various committee positions for the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation.[2][4]

In 1870, he was elected to the Melbourne City Council[5] in the Albert ward, becoming an Alderman in 1881,[citation needed] and Mayor from 1887 to 1889.[6] He was the second Jewish Mayor of Melbourne, with his brother-in-law Edward Cohen preceding him by over twenty years. He became the first Melbourne mayor and first Jewish Australian to receive a knighthood when he was made a Knight Bachelor in 1889.[2][3][6]

In 1888, as mayor of Melbourne, Benjamin welcomed the Russian ship Rynda and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia who was visiting the Australian colonies in a goodwill mission in light of tensions between Britain and Russia.[7]

Benjamin was elected as a member for the Melbourne Province of the Victorian Legislative Council in 1889 and served until 1892.[1]

Imperial Banking Co.

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His tenure as a member of the Legislative Council was brought to a close after he was declared bankrupt when the Imperial Banking Co. collapsed. He had offered personal guarantees on the bank's finances.[8] A subsequent court investigation cleared him but his reputation was reduced and he left public life.[2][9]

Death and legacy

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Benjamin died at his home "Canally" at the corner of George and Powlett Streets in East Melbourne[10] on 7 March 1905. He was survived by his wife Fanny (nee Cohen; c. 1839 - 18 February 1912) and 13 of his 16 children.[2] Lady Benjamin was a sister of Justice Cohen of Sydney.[11]

In 2009 a masonic apron believed to have been originally owned by Robert Burns and subsequently purchased by Benjamin was auctioned by Michael Bennett-Levy, a descendant of Benjamin.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Benjamin, Sir Benjamin". re-member. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Solomon, Geulah. "Sir Benjamin Benjamin (1834-1905)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b Solomon, Geulah. "Cohen, Edward Aaron (1822-1877)". Cohen, Edward (1822-1877). Australian National University. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  4. ^ "A growing congregation". Melbourne Hebrew Congregation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  5. ^ Mennell, Philip (1892). "Benjamin, Hon. Sir Benjamin" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co - via Wikisource.
  6. ^ a b The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins (2001 Hardback ed.). Cambridge University Press. 2001. p. 530. ISBN 0521807891.
  7. ^ Govor, Elena; Massov, Alexander (1988). ""Rynda" v gostiakh u avstraliitsev (k 110-letiyu vizita v Avstraliyu)". Avstraliada. Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  8. ^ Cannon, Michael (1995). "Sir Benjamin Benjamin and the Imperial Bank". The Land Boomers: The Complete Illustrated History. Melbourne Univ. Publishing. pp. 203-210. ISBN 0-522-84663-7.
  9. ^ Nolan, Melanie (Autumn 2010). "Life sentences". ANU News. Australian National University. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Melbourne Walks: Elegant Enclave" (PDF). City of Melbourne What's On. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Obituary, Lady Benjamin". Jewish Herald. Victoria. 1 March 1912. p. 11. Retrieved 26 December 2015 - via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ McInnes, Yonnie (25 September 2009). "Robert Burns' Masonic apron for sale". Ayrshire Post. Retrieved 5 February 2010.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Joseph Jacobs and Goodman Lipkind (1901-1906). "Benjamin, Sir Benjamin". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.