Benjamin Harris Babbidge


Benjamin Harris Babbidge was an alderman and mayor of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Personal life

Benjamin Harris Babbidge was born on 2 October 1836 in Newport, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England, the son of John Babbidge and his wife Elizabeth.
He married Elizabeth Ann Damp, the daughter of George and Jane Damp, on the Isle of Wight in 1856. Soon after their marriage they immigrated to Queensland on the "New Great Britain" arriving in Moreton Bay on 6 January 1857. The couple had the following children:
  • Benjamin Harris.
  • Elizabeth Ann
  • John George
  • Arthur Harry
  • Julia Ann
  • Lilian
  • Albert Ernest
  • Margaret Emily
  • Florence
  • William Alfred
  • Edwin Edgar
  • Margaret
  • Charles Oliver
They were residents of Newcastle, New South Wales for about three years from 1857 after which they relocated to Moreton Bay.
Benjamin Harris Babbidge died on 19 February 1905 at Victoria Private Hospital at South Brisbane, following six months of poor health. His funeral left from his residence in Dauphin Terrace, Highgate Hill and he was buried in Toowong Cemetery.

Business life

Benjamin Harris Babbidge was a blacksmith, having completed an apprenticeship with the shipbuilders J. & W. White of Cowes.
After three years in Newcastle, New South Wales, he relocated to Moreton Bay where he worked for John Petrie for a number of years. In 1865 he established his own business as a ship's smith.
In 1881 he successfully tendered to construct 25 goods wagons for the railways. This was a new line of business for him and he established a railway rolling stock workshop at Hope Street, South Brisbane for this purpose.
In 1885, his workshop assembled Brisbane's first tram cars.

Public life

Babbidge was an alderman of the Brisbane Municipal Council from 1879 to 1886. He was mayor in 1885. He served on the following council committees:
  • Improvement Committee 1880
  • Legislative Committee 1880, 1884, 1885
  • Finance Committee 1881, 1883, 1886
  • Works Committee 1882, 1884, 1885
  • Health Committee 1885, 1886
  • Town Hall Committee 1885, 1886
He left the Brisbane Municipal Council when he was defeated by William Stephens in the 1887 election for the south ward.
He was also an alderman of the South Brisbane Municipal Council from 1900 to 1902, where he served on the following council committees:
  • Works Committee 1900, 1902
  • General Purpose Committee 1900, 1902
  • Parks Committee 1900, 1902
  • Finance Committee 1901
He retired from politics in 1903, following his defeat in the 1903 elections for the South Brisbane council.
In addition to his council roles, he was also a member of:
  • the Provisional Committee of the Proposed Technical College
  • the Fire Brigade Board in Brisbane in 1884
  • the Licensing Board in Brisbane in 1885
  • the United Municipalities
  • the Anti-Chinese Committee
  • the Brisbane Workman's Club
  • the Victoria Bridge Board in 1902
  • the Brisbane and Suburban Shopkeepers' Association