Col Bennett
| Col Bennett | |
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Col Bennett, 1949
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| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for South Brisbane |
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In office 28 May 1960 – 27 May 1972 |
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| Preceded by | Vince Gair |
| Succeeded by | Fred Bromley |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Colin James Bennett 10 May 1919 Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 12 June 2002 (aged 83) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Resting place | South Brisbane Cemetery |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Eileen Jocumsen (m.1942 d.2013) |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland |
| Occupation | Barrister |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Colin James "Col" Bennett (10 May 1919 – 12 June 2002) was a barrister and a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.
Bennett was born in Townsville, Queensland, to parents Walter Henry Bennett and his wife Olive Gertrude Jessica (née Gordon). Educated at catholic and state primary schools, he then attended St Joseph's College, Nudgee in Brisbane and University of Queensland where he studied law and became chairman of the University of Queensland Students Council.
In 1941, he began his legal career as a Law Clerk before spending a year as Maths Master at Brisbane Grammar School in 1942. Bennett joined the RAAF in 1943, holding the rank of leading aircraftman when he was discharged in July, 1945. After the war, Bennett joined the Commonwealth Crown Law Office, serving there for three years until he commenced his private practice as a barrister in 1948.
Bennett first entered politics in 1949 when he won the Brisbane City Council ward of Kurilpa for the Australian Labor Party in a by-election to replace Thomas Moores, who had moved to state politics. He led the Municipal Labor Party for ten years and from 1952 until 1955 he was Vice-Mayor to Frank Roberts. Hethen retired as an alderman in 1961.
At the 1960 Queensland election, Bennett was a candidate for South Brisbane where his opponent was former ALP premier Vince Gair, who since 1957 had been leader of the Queensland Labor Party. Bennett defeated Gair, and went on to hold the seat until, along with Ed Casey and Merv Thackeray, he was disendorsed before the 1972 state election. Bennett stood as an independent and gained 19.6 percent of the vote but was defeated by the official Labor candidate, Fred Bromley.
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