Phyllis Benjamin

The Honourable
Phyllis Benjamin
AO MBE
Member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council for Hobart
In office
10 May 1952 – 22 May 1976
Preceded byJohn Soundy
Succeeded byKath Venn
Personal details
Born
Phyllis Jean Allsopp

(1907-08-30)30 August 1907
Mosman, New South Wales
Died6 April 1996(1996-04-06) (aged 88)
Political partyLabor Party
Spouse
Albert Benjamin
​
(m. 1926)​
RelationsBill Neilson (son-in-law)

Phyllis Jean Benjamin AO MBE (30 August 1907 – 9 April 1996), Labor Party politician, was a member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council in the electorate of Hobart from 10 May 1952 until her retirement on 22 May 1976.[1]

Born Phyllis Allsopp, she married Albert Benjamin in Sydney on 10 March 1926.[2]

In 1948, their daughter, Jill Benjamin, married Bill Neilson who went on to become Premier of Tasmania.[3]

She stood for the division of Hobart as a Labor candidate when sitting member John Soundy retired on 10 May 1952. She won the division easily with 1,433 votes; the next highest candidate received only 563 votes. From 1951 to 1953 she was President of the Federated Association of Australian Housewives.[4]

Despite her sex, Benjamin was reported as one of the "36 faceless men" reported to be in control of the Australian Labor Party in the lead up to the 1963 Australian federal election.[5]

From 1968 to 1969, Benjamin was Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, as one of only four representatives of her party in that chamber. She was the first woman to hold the position in any Australian legislative council.

  1. ^ "Benjamin, Phyllis". Members of the Parliament of Tasmania. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Personal". Cootamundra Herald (NSW : 1877 - 1954). NSW: National Library of Australia. 19 March 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  3. ^ Peter Boyce, 'Neilson, William Arthur (Bill) (1925–1989)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2012, accessed online 19 November 2015.
  4. ^ Melbourne, National Foundation for Australian Women and The University of. "Federated Association of Australian Housewives - Organisation - The Australian Women's Register". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ^ "The woman beside the men". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney Morning Herald. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2010.