James Bennett (1874 – 23 November 1951) was an Australian farmer and politician. He was one of the founders of Victoria's People's Party and served a single term in 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 ...

from 1913 to 1914. He represented the Victorian seat of

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

and sat as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

in parliament.

Early life

Bennett was born in 1874 in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, either in

Rapid Bay Rapid Bay is a locality that includes a small seaside town and bay on the west coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It lies within the District Council of Yankalilla and its township is approximately 100 km south of the stat ...

or Glenelg. He grew up on the

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 Str ...

, leaving school at the age of 13. He and his parents moved to the Mallee region of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

two years later, settling on a property located outside of

Warracknabeal Warracknabeal ( ) is a wheatbelt town in the Australian state of Victoria. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km north-west of Melbourne, it is the business and services centre of the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee d ...

. Bennett bought his own farm in 1900, during the

Federation Drought In Australia, the Federation Drought is the name given to a prolonged period of drought that occurred around the time of Federation in 1901. Though often thought of as a long drought, until the record dry year of 1902 the period was actually one ...

. He grew experimental varieties of wheat and conducted scientific tests on the effectiveness of different varieties of fertiliser, in cooperation with the state agricultural department. He was involved with various farmers' advocacy groups.

Politics

Bennett was one of the co-founders of the People's Party in 1910, serving as the inaugural honorary secretary. He became a paid organiser for the party. In July 1912, he was selected as the endorsed candidate of the People's Party and the

Australian Women's National League The Australian Women's National League (AWNL) was an Australian political lobby group federation first established in 1904. It acted in many ways like a political party, with an extensive branch network and the capability to run its own candidates ...

(AWNL) for the

Division of Gippsland The Division of Gippsland is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Gippslan ...

. He defeated the incumbent independent member George Wise at the 1913 federal election on a swing of 12.7 points. However, Wise reversed the result at the 1914 election on a swing of 6 points, winning by 610 votes. He was a supporter of

preferential voting {{short description, Election systems Preferential voting or preference voting (PV) may refer to different election systems or groups of election systems: * Ranked voting methods, all election methods that involve ranking candidates in order of pr ...

, and was described by Melbourne's ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' as "sound and reliable - a farmers' representative for a farmers' seat".

Later life

Bennett later worked in Melbourne as a real estate agent and builder. He died on 21 November 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, James Commonwealth Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Gippsland Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1874 births 1951 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Australian farmers