James George Beaney (15 January 1828 in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

– 30 June 1891 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 ...

) was an English-born surgeon, politician and philanthropist in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

from March 1883 until his death. James George Beaney 001

Early life

Beaney was born in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

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, where he was educated, and studied surgery with Mr. W. J. Cooper. He was afterwards a student at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, at Paris, and at Guy's Hospital. He qualified as surgeon in Edinburgh and travelled to Australia before being gazetted assistant surgeon to the 3rd Regiment (the Scots Guards). He served at

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and later as staff surgeon to the Turkish contingent in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. After the campaign he made several trips to America.

Medical career in Australia

Beaney travelled to

, where in 1858 he became assistant to Dr. John Maund, at whose death he succeeded to his practice. In 1860 he was appointed surgeon to the Melbourne Hospital, surgeon to the Royal Victorian Artillery (holding the post for most of his life), and was elected a member of the

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in the state of Victoria in Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being ''The Philosophical Society of Victoria'' (fou ...

. He was again elected surgeon to the hospital and banqueted at the town hall in 1875, and was subsequently re-elected despite the strenuous opposition of a large section of the medical profession. In 1878 Dr. Beaney visited England with a semi-official commission from the Berry Government to report on medical matters. He was a member of the Medical Society of Victoria, publishing numerous papers on medical subjects, and served as a member of the

for the North Yarra Province in 1883–91.

Political career in Australia

In 1883, after a severe contest, he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for the North Yarra Province, and was re-elected for a period of six years, in 1885, when he defeated the James Munro, the late Premier of Victoria. Dr. Beaney was the author of several medical works, including "Contributions to Conservative Surgery". He was munificent in his donations to public institutions in his native place, and offered various medical prizes.

Legacy

He died in Melbourne on 30 June 1891, in his will Beaney left £10,000 for the creation of "The Beaney Institute for the Education of the Working Man" in Canterbury, England. Other parts of his estate went to the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, Melbourne hospitals and charities.

Notes

References

Death of Dr. Beaney, ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 4 July 1891), p.36.

The Will of Dr. Beaney, ''The Leader'', (Saturday, 11 July 1891), p.42.

The University of Melbourne: The Beaney Scholarships, ''The Age'', (Thursday, 6 October 1892), p.7.

External links

History of James Bearney at the Melbourne Hospital
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaney, James George 1828 births 1891 deaths Members of the Victorian Legislative Council English philanthropists English surgeons People from Canterbury Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Australian politicians English emigrants to colonial Australia 19th-century British philanthropists