Sir Benjamin Wesley Greenacre (24 December 1833 – 22 April 1911) was an English-born South African politician and businessman who was member of the
Legislative Assembly of the
Colony of Natal. He was a three-time
Mayor of Durban.
He was knighted in 1901.
Greenacre was born into "humble circumstances" in
Caistor,
Norfolk, the son of Benjamin Greenacre, a shoemaker,
[''1841 England Census''] and Jemima Mallet. In the 1850s, he moved to Durbana and opened a hardware store. He ran a successful trading business with his department store Harvey, Greenacre, & Co.
In 1905, he cofounded another business that would become
Defy Appliances, South Africa's largest appliance company.
In 1863, he married Mary Stott, with whom he had two sons, Walter and Edwin. Walter Greenacre also served as Mayor of Durban, in 1909–10.
Sir Benjamin died in
Durban.
References
External links
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1832 births
1911 deaths
Colony of Natal people
South African knights
South African politicians
People from Caistor
Politicians from Norfolk
English emigrants to South Africa
Mayors of Durban
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