Mary Montgomerie Bennett

Mary Montgomerie Bennett
Born (1881-07-08)8 July 1881
London, United Kingdom
Died 1961 (aged 79–80)
Nationality Australian
Occupation Activist, Educator
Spouse(s) Charles Douglas Bennett

Mary Montgomerie Bennett (1881–1961) was Australian activist for Indigenous justice, a teacher and advocate for Australian Aboriginal rights at a time when this was not usual amongst settler Australians.[1]

In 1927 she published Christison of Lammermoor, a biography of her father. Whilst in London she also published The Australian Aboriginal as a Human Being (1930).[2]

In 1930, after her husband had died, Mary relocated to Perth, Western Australia to devote the rest of her life to Aboriginal welfare. Her work led to the formation of the Moseley Royal Commission in 1934.[3]

In 1960, the year before her death, Mary wrote to the Kalgoorlie Miner and asked its readers:

Who made the Eastern Goldfields natives beggars? Surely it must have been we whites who robbed them of their land without giving them compensation, who robbed them of their children without giving them training for earning a living, and who have frustrated their every incentive to live.[4]

Works

  • Bennett, M. M. (Mary Montgomerie) (1927), Christison of Lammermoor, Alston Rivers, retrieved 8 August 2018
  • Bennett, M. M. (Mary Montgomerie) (1930), The Australian Aboriginal as a human being, Alston Rivers, retrieved 8 August 2018
  • Bennett, M. M. (Mary Montgomerie) (1935), Teaching the Aborigines : data from Mount Margaret Mission, W.A, s.n, retrieved 8 August 2018
  • Bennett, M. M. (Mary Montgomerie) (1950), Human rights for Australian Aborigines : how can they learn without a teacher, [s.n.], retrieved 8 August 2018

References

  1. ↑ Taffe, Sue. A White Hot Flame Mary Montgomerie Bennett – Author, Educator, Activist for Indigenous Justice. Monash Publishing.
  2. ↑ Paisley, Fiona (2000). Loving Protection?. Melbourne Australia: Melbourne University Press. pp. 11, 12. ISBN 0 522 84919 9.
  3. ↑ Bolton, G. C.; Gibbney, H. J. "Bennett, Mary Montgomerie (1881–1961)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Taffe, Sue (5 April 2018). "Mary Montgomerie Bennett: Forgotten activist for Indigenous justice - Victorian Women's Trust". Victorian Women's Trust.
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