James Bennett (Australian politician)

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 from 1913 to 1914. He represented the Victorian seat of Gippsland and sat as a Liberal in parliament.

James Bennett
Member of the Australian Parliament for Gippsland
In office 31 May 1913 – 5 September 1914
Preceded by	George Wise
Succeeded by	George Wise
Personal details
Born	1874 South Australia
Died	23 November 1951 (aged 76–77)
Political party	Liberal
Other political affiliations	People's]
Occupation	Farmer

Early life

Bennett was born in 1874 in South Australia, either in Rapid Bay or Glenelg.^[1][2] He grew up on the Yorke Peninsula, leaving school at the age of 13. He and his parents moved to the Mallee region of Victoria two years later, settling on a 2,000-acre (810 ha) property located 6 miles (9.7 km) outside of Warracknabeal. Bennett bought his own farm in 1900, during the Federation Drought.^[1] 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.^[3][4] He was involved with various farmers' advocacy groups.^[1]

Politics

Bennett was one of the co-founders of the People's Party in 1910, serving as the inaugural honorary secretary.^[5] He became a paid organiser for the party.^[1] In July 1912, he was selected as the endorsed candidate of the People's Party and the Australian Women's National League (AWNL) for the Division of Gippsland.^[6] He defeated the incumbent independent member George Wise at the 1913 federal election on a swing of 12.7 points.^[2] However, Wise reversed the result at the 1914 election on a swing of 6 points, winning by 610 votes.^[7] He was a supporter of preferential voting,^[8] and was described by Melbourne's Punch as "sound and reliable - a farmers' representative for a farmers' seat".^[1]

Later life

Bennett later worked in Melbourne as a real estate agent and builder. He died on 21 November 1951.^[7]