Benjamin Courtice (14 February 1881 – 7 January 1972) was an Australian politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

from 1937 to 1962. He served as Minister for Trade and Customs under

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...

from 1946 to 1949.

Early life

Courtice was born in

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

and was educated at Bundaberg South State School. He left school at twelve to work in the laboratory of the Millaquin sugar refinery at Bundaberg. In 1905 he was involved in the formation of the Bundaberg and District Workers' Union, which later became part of the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

. He married Bertha Demaine in 1910 and they had a son and three daughters before her death in 1925. Courtice won £90 for winning a foot-race at about the time of his marriage and used it to buy a sugar farm and he subsequently became a member of various sugar growers organisations. In 1936, he married Elsie Dora Maud Joyner.

Political career

Courtice's older brother

Frederick Courtice Frederick Courtice (2 April 1883 – 18 February 1956) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early life Courtice was born at Mount Perry, Queensland, to parents Francis Courtice, labourer, and Elizabeth (née Hamilton) and educa ...

was a member of the

Queensland Legislative Council The Queensland Legislative Council was the upper house of the parliament in the Australian state of Queensland. It was a fully nominated body which first took office on 1 May 1860. It was abolished by the Constitution Amendment Act 1921, which to ...

for the Labor Party, participating in the vote to abolish the council in 1922. Ben Courtice was appointed to a casual vacancy in the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

in 1937. He served as Chairman of Committees from 1943 to 1946, resigning to become Minister for Trade and Customs in the second Chifley Ministry. He served in cabinet from November 1946 until Labor's defeat at the 1949 election. Courtice retired from the Senate at the end of his term in June 1962. He died in Bundaberg, survived by the children of his first marriage. His nephew,

Brian Courtice Brian William Courtice (born 17 April 1950) is a former Australian politician and trade unionist. He represented the Division of Hinkler in federal parliament from 1987 to 1993 as a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He was expelled fro ...

, was later elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courtice, Ben Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Members of the Australian Senate 1880s births 1972 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians People from Bundaberg