George Bennet (1870 – 16 May 1928) was a pastoralist and racehorse owner in South Australia.

History

Bennet was born in Victor Harbor, the elder son of George Bennet and his wife Emily Bennet, née Dyke. At age 18 he and his younger brother Albert Francis Bennet (born 1874) accompanied their father to

Macumba Station Macumba Station, often just called Macumba, is a pastoral lease in South Australia currently operating as a cattle station. Description Macumba is located about north east of Oodnadatta and east of Marla in the state of South Australia, Th ...

, where he had taken a position of manager. The father and brother died of unexplained causes during hot weather at

on 8 December 1888. Bennet continued working with cattle, and around 1898 began breeding Hereford stud cattle, and he won numerous prizes with bulls exhibited in Victoria and South Australia. He also bred Shorthorn bulls. In 1900 was left the Cecilia Creek run by James Allen, a former employee. At one time he owned Allandale Station, of , whose homestead is approximately from

Oodnadatta Oodnadatta is a small, remote outback town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia, located north-north-west of the state capital of Adelaide by road or direct, at an altitude of . The unsealed Oodnadatta Track, an outback road ...

. Allandale was later linked with Crown Point and Bond Springs stations as the Crown Pastoral Company, which was subsequently taken over by Sir

Sidney Kidman Sir Sidney Kidman (9 May 18572 September 1935), known as Sid Kidman and popularly named "the Cattle King", was an Australian pastoral farming, pastoralist and entrepreneur who owned or co-owned large areas of land in Australia in his lifetime. ...

. Later the Crown Point and Bond Springs Stations were joined with Allandale under the name of the Crown Pastoral Company, which was subsequently taken over by Sir Sidney Kidman. Bennet purchased Tempe Downs about 1917, but lived at Allan Park, Edwardstown.

Racing

He not only bred horses for the turf, but imported several from Britain, including Lord Marco and Sir Marco. Noted horses include Homer, Scintillation, Radiant, Friar Perfect. Admirable Bob, Goodwood, Miss Neckersgat, Step Out, Lord Marco, and Sir Marco. Latterly he had raced Phaedo and Apollo. His extensive stables and training track at

Edwardstown Edwardstown is an inner southern-western suburb located 6 km southwest of Adelaide in the City of Marion. In 1989 the suburb of Edwardstown was split, with the portion east of South Road becoming Melrose Park. This occurred as the suburb ...

, which he named Allan Park, was previously owned by

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 ...

. Notable successes include: * Tattersalls Cup in 1910, with Goodwood * A.R.C. City Handicap in 1914, with Friar Perfect *Port Adelaide Cup on 26 December 1916, with Admirable Bob, trained by his brother-in-law Ike Reid *Birdwood Cup at Williamstown on 26 January 1920, with Colbert, trained by M. Carmody *Adelaide Cup on 9 May 1921, with Sir Marco, trained by R. S. Burgess

Death

He left his station

Tempe Downs Tempe may refer to: Places * Vale of Tempe, Greece * Tempe, Arizona, United States * Tempe, New South Wales, a suburb in Sydney, Australia * Lake Tempe, Indonesia * Tempe, Bloemfontein, South Africa, an area outside Bloemfontein, home to various mi ...

with other cattlemen, droving cattle destined for the Adelaide abattoirs, when he collapsed and died. He was buried at Horseshoe Bend, approximately north of Oodnadatta.

Family

George Bennet married Margaret Josephine Hennessy ( – ) in 1901. Their children included: *(Emily) Dorothy Bennet (1903–1985) *Allan George Bennet (1906–1983) *Albert Bennet (1909–1976) *Margaret Bennet (1907– ) He had sisters Emily Bennet (1868–1871), Eva Bennet (1877– ) and Gertie Bennet (1885– ) and brothers Albert Francis Bennet (1874–1888) and Arthur Bennet (1882– )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennet, George 1870 births 1928 deaths Australian pastoralists Australian racehorse owners and breeders