Thomas Bent

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KCMG
22nd Premier of Victoria
In office
16 February 1904 – 8 January 1909
Preceded byWilliam Irvine
Succeeded byJohn Murray
6th Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
In office
11 May 1892 – September 1894
Preceded byMatthew Davies
Succeeded byGraham Berry
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Brighton
In office
1 November 1900 – 17 September 1909
Preceded byWilliam Moule
Succeeded byOswald Snowball
In office
16 March 1871 – 4 September 1894
Preceded byGeorge Higinbotham
Succeeded byWilliam Moule
Personal details
Born(1838-12-07)7 December 1838
Penrith, New South Wales
Died17 September 1909(1909-09-17) (aged 70)
Brighton, Victoria
Resting placeBrighton General Cemetery
NationalityBritish subject
SpouseHannah Hall & Elizabeth Huntly
OccupationLand speculator and developer

Sir Thomas Bent

KCMG (7 December 1838 – 17 September 1909) was an Australian politician and the 22nd premier of Victoria
.

Early life

Bent was born in

Moorabbin
.

He developed a major new subdivision of Bentleigh, later named after himself, on the other side of Nepean Highway opposite Brighton. He was a member of both Brighton and Moorabbin town councils and was Mayor of Brighton nine times.

State politics

In 1871 Bent was elected to the

Railways in Sir Bryan O'Loghlen's government in 1881–1883, and used this position to extend the railway line from Caulfield to Cheltenham, thus enormously increasing the value of his own property developments. His lifelong reputation for corruption dates from this period.[3]
The exposure of Bent's dealings led to the defeat of O'Loghlen's government at the 1883 elections.

After this debacle Bent spent 18 years on the backbench, concentrating on his property dealings. His fortunes suffered a reversal in 1888 when a bad investment in Ringwood caused the collapse of the Thomas Bent Land Co., but he soon recovered and became a leading player in the great Land Boom that reached its climax in 1890. For instance, in 1884 Bent purchased property in Exhibition Street for £1,488 and on the same day resold it for £2,000. In 1892 he surprised his critics by being elected Speaker as part of a complex political deal. A newspaper asked: "Why is Speaker Bent the first commoner in the land? Because no-one commoner than Bent can be found." There was an element of snobbery in this. Bent was the first Victorian premier with a strong Australian accent, and was held in contempt by the Anglo-Scottish Melbourne establishment.[citation needed]

In the severe crash that followed the boom Bent was almost bankrupted, with debts of £80,000. He had transferred many of his assets to his wife's name and this saved him from bankruptcy. At the election which followed the fall of

Railways Minister in 1881, offering MPs railways lines in their electorates in exchange for their votes.[4]

Bent moved with his wife Elizabeth and their two daughters to

Railways in William Irvine's conservative government. He was soon up to his old tricks, buying land in Brighton and then approving a tramline from St Kilda to Brighton that led right past his properties.[citation needed
]

"Tommy Bent's Statue" in Brighton

Despite his reputation, Bent was chosen as the new

1890s depression, gained him renewed popularity.[citation needed] In addition to being premier, Bent had the portfolios of public works and railways. Much legislation was passed relating to improvements in public health, education, old age pensions, and water conservation. At the June 1904 elections he won a comfortable majority, and did so again in 1907. His government favoured more state intervention in the economy than had 19th-century liberal governments, and there was now agreement on the need for high tariffs to protect Victorian industry. His greatest boast was that he restored stability and prosperity to Victoria.[citation needed
]

During 1908, however, Bent's government began to disintegrate as a result of conflict between country and city interests—a perennial problem for non-Labor governments in Victoria.[citation needed] A bloc of country members led by John Murray opposed Bent's Land Valuation Bill, and to appease them Bent withdrew the bill and appointed several of Murray's supporters to the ministry. But this antagonised Melbourne Liberals led by William Watt, and in January 1909 the various dissidents united to defeat Bent in the Assembly. Bent resigned and Murray became premier.

Legacy

Bent's grave at Brighton General Cemetery

Bent died on 17 September 1909 at his home in Bay Street, Brighton.

Brighton Cemetery. He was married twice, to Hannah Hall and to Elizabeth Huntley. His estate was valued at £35,000 (equivalent to $2,800,000 in 2022), most of it going to his daughter from his second marriage. The by-election for his seat was held less than a month later on 8 October
.

A statue of Bent, created by

Victorian Football League
grand final, would be decorated with a cap and scarf in the colours of the team that won the premiership. In the late 1960s, the statue was regularly defaced by a bucket of usually white paint—perhaps as a New Year's Eve prank. The widening of the highway in the 1970s led to the statue being moved to a less prominent location near Bay Street and its landmark status has been lost.

References

  1. ^ Weston Bate (1969). "Bent, Sir Thomas (1838–1909)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 3. Melbourne University Press. pp. 44–46. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c Mennell, Philip (1892). "Bent, Hon. Thomas" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ Allegations of corruption - "The Kensington Hill Job". The Age. Trove, National Library of Australia. 24 March 1888. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  4. ^ 'Facsimile of Mr. T. Bent's Contract with Mr. Mason for the Purchase of His Vote,' with annotations, The Age, 17 September 1894, p. 5. Retrieved on 22 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Death of Sir Thomas Bent". The Argus. Trove, National Library of Australia. 18 September 1909. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  • Serle, Percival (1949). "Bent, Thomas". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
  • Geoff Browne, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1900–84, Government Printer, Melbourne, 1985
  • Don Garden, Victoria: A History, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, 1984
  • Kathleen Thompson and Geoffrey Serle, A Biographical Register of the Victorian Parliament, 1856–1900, Australian National University Press, Canberra, 1972
  • Raymond Wright, A People's Counsel. A History of the Parliament of Victoria, 1856–1990, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992
  • Margaret Glass, Thomas Bent- Land Booming Politician. Vict. Hist. Jour. Vol 64 p143-157. (1993)

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Premier of Victoria

1904–1909 		Succeeded by
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
1892–1894 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for Brighton
1871–1894 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member for Brighton
1900–1909 		Succeeded by
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