Alexander Vigors Benson (1869 – 23 December 1939) was a medical doctor and sports enthusiast, for 24 years chairman of the

Port Adelaide Racing Club The Port Adelaide Racing Club (PARC) was founded in 1890. The first meeting of the club was held in the same year on a course located on Grand Junction Road and in 1895 transferred to a leased site at Cheltenham Park. In 1921 the club had suffici ...

and president of the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

for 14.

History

Benson was born in

Kensington, South Australia Kensington is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters council area. Unlike the rest of the city, Kensington's streets are laid out diagonally. Second Creek runs through and under part of the suburb, wh ...

, a son of Dr. John Benson, who had a practice in Norwood, and educated at St Peter's College. He qualified in pharmacy at the University of Adelaide and from 1891 to 1896 served at the Mount Gambier Hospital as dispenser and assistant medical officer. He was active in the town's sporting and social scene — President of the Mount Gambier Football Association, and Captain of the Mount Gambier Football Club. He married a daughter of the National Bank manager, then left Australia to gain further qualifications in medicine and surgery in London and Brussels On returning to Adelaide he set up in practice in the

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

district and lived at Buller Terrace, Alberton, their home until around 1930, when they moved to

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

. He volunteered for service with the First AIF in the early stages of the Great War, and from August 1917 served in Egypt at the No. 14 General Hospital and No. 2 Stationary Hospital. He was, as Major Benson, "taken off strength" in October 1918, suffering from intermittent

albuminuria Albuminuria is a pathological condition wherein the protein albumin is abnormally present in the urine. It is a type of proteinuria. Albumin is a major plasma protein (normally circulating in the blood); in healthy people, only trace amounts of i ...

and invalided to Australia.

Sporting

He was a member of the Port Adelaide Rowing Club from 1907 and vice-president in 1909 He was a longtime member of the

, a vice-president in 1913 and chairman from 1915 to 1939. He owned, in partnership with a few friends, several racehorses of which Princess Aides was perhaps the best. He was president of the

1913–1927. He was elected to the committee of the

South Australian Jockey Club South Australian Jockey Club is the principal race club in South Australia. First racing events The first horse racing events in South Australia took place at a well-attended picnic meeting held over 1 and 2 January 1838. In August 1838, ridin ...

in 1924. He was largely responsible for the formation in 1934 of a school for

apprentices Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

, run by Syd Ferry (1877–1945), son of

Seth Ferry Seth "The Master" Ferry (25 May 1839 – 20 October 1932) was a prominent rider, dealer, owner and trainer of racehorses in South Australia. Biography Seth Ferry was born at "Providence House", Ponders End, Lower Edmonton, Middlesex, where his pa ...

. Though not a bowls player, he was president of the Alberton Bowling Club for two years.

Other interests

Benson was an active Freemason, Past Master of St. Peter's College Lodge, Past Principal of the Royal Arch Chapter, a Knight Templar, and a Mark Mason. Sponsored by the S.A.J.C., he was a prominent contender for presidency of the "Liars' Club", a one-off fundraising competition organised by '' The Advertiser'' and its sister radio station 5AD in 1937, in aid of crippled children.

Personal

Benson married Jane Flett "Jeanie" Loutit (1871–1955), daughter of Andrew Loutit, at Mount Gambier on 23 January 1906. It appears they had no children. He died at his home on Prospect Road,

after several years of failing health, and his cremated remains were interred at the

North Road Cemetery North Road Cemetery is located in the Adelaide suburb of Nailsworth, approximately 5 km north of the central business district. It is 7.3 hectares (18 acres) in size and there have been over 26,000 burials since its foundation in 1853. Th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Alexander 1869 births 1939 deaths Australian general practitioners Australian racehorse owners and breeders Australian rules football people Australian horse racing officials