Sir Thomas Bent (1838 - 1909), by unknown photographer, courtesy of La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria. H23028. .Image Details

BENT, Sir THOMAS (1838-1909), politician and land speculator, was born on 7 December 1838 at Penrith, New South Wales, the eldest of four sons and two daughters of James Bent, hotel-keeper, and his wife Maria, née Tomey. His father went to Melbourne in 1849, seeking a new start after financial difficulties; for some years he lived at Fitzroy and took cartage contracts. Thomas finished his schooling there and worked as a grocer's boy. The family then moved to East Brighton, to a market garden on which all the boys worked. By 21 Tom Bent had his own successful market garden but in 1861 he gave it up to become the Brighton rate-collector, a post he filled with energy and efficiency. In 1863 he was elected to the Moorabbin ...

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Source:

Australian Dictionary of Biography