She grew up on the family's sheep station "Springfield", located near
Stansbury,
Yorke Peninsula
The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Strai ...
. She married her cousin, solicitor
Benjamin Benny
Benjamin Benny (21 October 1869 – 10 February 1935) 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 ...
(21 October 1869 – 10 February 1935), eldest son of the Reverend George Benny, on 16 July 1896, and moved to Adelaide where he worked.
The couple moved to Seacliff in Adelaide's south and raised three daughters and two sons.
Benny was active in a range of community and political organisations, and during the First World War was the Honorary Secretary of the Seacliff
Cheer-Up Society
The Cheer-Up Society was a South Australian patriotic organisation founded during The Great War, whose aims were provision of creature comforts for soldiers in South Australia. Much of their activity was centred on the Cheer-up Hut, which they buil ...
. She was also a member of the local Progress Association, and spinning and
croquet
Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court.
Its international governing body is the Wor ...
clubs.
Political career
Following World War I, Benny was a member of the
Liberal Union Sturt District committee and president of the Brighton Women's Branch of the Liberal Union, and was elected president of the Women's Branch of the South Australian Liberal Union in 1918. During this time she argued strongly for equality of divorce for women, which became law in South Australia in 1918.
Following the lead of her husband, who was mayor of
Brighton City Council 1903–1905, Benny became the first female local government councillor in Australia. In November 1919, on petition of ratepayers, she was appointed to represent the newly created South ward (later called Seacliff) of Brighton Council. She stood for election the following month, believing that there was work to be done in the area that only a woman could do. She was duly elected on 22 December 1919, and held this seat at the following election. In 1922 she stood unsuccessfully for mayor,
a defeat welcomed by at least one (Catholic) commentator.
As a council member Benny successfully argued for public access to the beach, the installation of electric lights and the allocation of reserves for a children's playground and public garden. She also actively supported the abolition of segregated sea-bathing so that families could swim together.
In 1921 Grace Benny was made a
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
, hearing cases relating to state children, police matters and women.
Controversy
Her husband Benjamin Benny was elected to 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 1919, resigning in January 1926 after suffering a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
. He was immediately sued for misappropriating various trust funds, and in June 1926 was convicted of the fraudulent conversion of Treasury bonds to the value of £1,200, as well as various other trust funds. He was sentenced to three years' gaol, struck off the roll of the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, of which he was a practitioner, and declared insolvent. The Benny home "Stoneywood", a property overlooking the Seacliff foreshore reserve, was put up for sale in 1925.
Later life
Following her husband's imprisonment, Benny was forced to rely on money she had inherited to support her children. Although she had never worked for a living, she moved into her husband's law offices in
King William Street, Adelaide
King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the central business district, CBD and Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace, Adelaide, North Terrace and ...
and opened the "Elite Employment Agency", which enabled her to support her family through the
Depression.
Benjamin Benny died in 1935. On 23 February 1940 in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Grace married Cecil Ralph Bannister. 20 years her junior, Bannister was a tramway worker and clerk before moving to Adelaide to live with Grace.
Grace Benny died in North Adelaide on 5 November 1944 and was buried in the Scotch cemetery at
Morphett Vale
Morphett Vale is a southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Onkaparinga. It is the largest suburb in the state, with a population of more than 23,000 and an area of 12.76 km2, followed by Paralowie with nearly 10,000 few ...
.
Recognition
* Benny Crescent, South Brighton
* Susan Grace Benny Park, Seacliff Park
*
Adelaide City Council
The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...
plaque on North Terrace near the corner of King William Street, Adelaide
* Grace Benny Scholarship, awarded annually by the Australian Local Government Women's Association (South Australian Branch)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benny, Susan Grace
1872 births
1944 deaths
South Australian local councillors
Women local councillors in Australia
Politicians from Adelaide
20th-century Australian politicians
20th-century Australian women politicians