Benjamin Benny
Benjamin Benny was an Australian politician.History
Born in Aldinga, South Australia, he was educated at state schools and then the University of Adelaide, becoming a solicitor. He was Vice-President of the South Australian Law Society, and served as mayor of Brighton Council. In 1919, he was elected to the Australian Senate as a Nationalist Senator for South Australia. He did not recontest in 1925 and although his term was due to finish on 30 June 1926 he resigned from parliament on 26 January 1926 due to ill health, and was replaced by Alexander McLachlan. In June 1926 Benny was convicted of fraudulent conversion of trust funds and sentenced to three years' jail, and declared insolvent.
He married his cousin Susan Grace Anderson, known as Grace Benny. After his imprisonment, she opened an employment agency to supported her family, prior to this she had never worked for a living. She had in 1919 made history as the first woman to be elected to local government in Australia.
Benny died in 1935.
