Robert Bennett, stonemason, Melbourne Mayor, and member of Victorian Parliament, was born at Tandragee, Armagh, Northern Ireland in ca. 1822. He lived at Tandragee, 17-27 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda from 1853 until 1864.
Robert Bennett was born at Tandragee, Armagh, Northern Ireland in ca. 1822. He arrived in Port Phillip January 1842. Bennett was a stonemason by trade later becoming a builder. He acquired property in the city and built the Globe Hotel, Melbourne from stone he quarried at Merri Creek. The hotel opened it 1848.
He was elected a Melbourne city councillor from November 1853 to 1856 in Gipps Ward and from 1856 to 1863 in Smith Ward. He was mayor 1861-1862. He was twice elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly, in November 1856 to June 1857 and in October 1859 to August 1864.
Bennett married Margaret Holland and they had 3 sons and two daughters. They lived at Tandragee, 17 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda from 1853 until 1864.
He selected runs Swan Hill district 1860-1861 but was forced to abandon them c1868 after boundary dispute with G. Urquhart and others.
Bennett died in Northcote on 18 January 1891 aged 69 years.
| No. | Reference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Re-member, Parliament of Victoria, http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au, retrieved 14.7.2014 | [Sets out a short biography] |
| 2. | David Dunstan, Governing the Metropolis: Melbourne 1850-1891, p.314 | [Short outline of Bennett's Melbourne City Council career] |
| 3. | Election Notice, Argus 1856.08.25 p.9 | Notice of intention to stand for Parliament and issues of interest, signed by Robert Bennett at Tandragee House, St Kilda, 18th August 1856. |
| 4. | Sale by Auction, Argus 1864.07.30 p.2 | Thursday 18 August. Most important sale of very valuable freehold City and suburban properties [9 lots, including Tandragee and the Globe Hotel]. |
| 5. | Deaths, Argus 1891.01.20 p.1 | On the 18th, at High Street Northcote, Robert Bennett, ex-mayor of Melbourne, aged 69 years. |