Mary Montgomerie Bennett
Mary Montgomerie Bennett (1881-1961) was a notable Australian activist and advocate for Aboriginal rights, deeply influenced by her upbringing and her father's experiences with Aboriginal communities. Born to British immigrants in London, Bennett spent her childhood traveling between England and Australia, which informed her perspective on Indigenous issues. After studying at the Royal Academy of Arts, she published a biography of her father, which highlighted his respect for Aboriginal peoples, a belief she carried into her own work.
Following her husband's death, Bennett returned to Australia, where she dedicated herself to educating Aboriginal children and advocating for their rights, seeking to challenge colonial policies that sought to assimilate Indigenous peoples. Her activism drew attention both locally and internationally, leading to investigations into the treatment of Aboriginal communities. Despite facing criticism and government pushback, Bennett was a vocal opponent of policies that separated Indigenous children from their families and fought for their rights to land, citizenship, and equal pay.
Bennett's legacy as a civil rights activist endures, influencing later generations of advocates and organizations dedicated to Indigenous rights in Australia. Her writings and efforts remain significant in the historical narrative surrounding Aboriginal welfare and the impact of colonialism, highlighting the ongoing struggle for justice and recognition in Indigenous communities.
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Mary Montgomerie Bennett
Activist
- Born: July 8, 1881
- Birthplace: Pimlico, London, England
- Died: October 6, 1961
- Place of death: Kalgoorlie, Australia
Also Known As: Mary Christison
Significance: Mary Montgomerie Bennett was one of the most prominent Aboriginal rights activists of her time. She documented the mistreatment of Aboriginal peoples by the Australian government. Bennett raised awareness of the plight of Indigenous peoples with English activist groups, leading to an investigation by the British government. She was known for vocally opposing the separation of Aboriginal children from their families and for advocating for opportunities for citizenship for Aboriginal peoples.
Background
Mary Montgomerie Bennett was born on July 8, 1881, in Pimlico, London, to father Robert Christison and mother Mary Godsall. Christison was an entrepreneur known for meat exports. Both Christison and Godsall were immigrants to Australia from the United Kingdom. Though Christison preferred life in Australia, Godsall struggled when away from England. She returned to the United Kingdom, bringing Christison’s children with her. For this reason, Bennett spent much of her childhood travelling between England and Australia. During her time with her father, Bennett developed and interest in the Aboriginal peoples of the nation.
Bennett and her siblings were privately educated in both Australia and England. Bennett was artistically gifted and studied at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1903 to 1908. After her studies, Bennett returned to Australia, settling with her parents in Lincolnshire. She married Charles Douglas Bennett on August 18, 1914, and the couple moved to London, England, in 1921.
Bennett published Christison of Lammermoor, a biography of her father, in 1927. The biography detailed both Christison’s exploits and beliefs as a wealthy entrepreneur with a high regards for the Aboriginal peoples. Bennett recorded that her father spent a significant portion of his life working with Aboriginal tribes, developing a deep respect and sympathy for the difficulties they faced at the hands of White colonization.
Life’s Work
Following her husband’s death in 1927, Bennett returned to Australia, arriving in Perth in October 1930. Bennett shared her father’s respect for the Aboriginal people and intended to work for their welfare. She spent time at various missions known for housing Aboriginal people. At the same time, these missions encouraged them to abandon their cultures and assimilate into Australian society. Bennett visited both the Forrest River Mission and the United Aborigines Mission at Gnowangerup before settling at the Mount Margaret Mission in 1932.
While living at the Mount Margaret Mission, Bennett devoted her time to educating Aboriginal children. She also spent much of her time and resources advocating for the rights of Aboriginal peoples. She used her social stature and connections to England to spread pro-Aboriginal views throughout the United Kingdom, drawing additional criticism for the cruel treatment many Aboriginal people faced by the Australian government. Her persistence drew the attention of British newspapers, leading to direct investigation by the British government. Though the investigative report denied many of Bennett’s claims, it agreed that substantial reform was a necessity.
Following the conclusion of the British investigation, Bennett continued advocating for the rights of Aboriginal peoples. She attended the Aboriginal Day of Mourning at the Sydney sesquicentennial celebrations in 1938, and vocally opposed all instances of separating indigenous children from their families. Bennett demanded that Aboriginal peoples be granted the rights to their ancestral homelands, opportunities for Australian citizenship, pay equal to White Australians, and access to government benefit programs.
Bennett returned to England in 1941 and studied at the University of London. During her time at the university, Bennett continued to develop a wide social network of activists and worked to secure international aid for the Indigenous peoples of Australia. Bennett returned to Australia in 1947 where she continued her work as an activist. After publishing her 1957 work Human Rights For Australian Aborigines, Bennett retired to her home in Kalgoorlie. She passed away in 1961.
Impact
Towards the end of her life, Bennett had gathered a significant following among young Australian activists. For this reason, the government of Australia confiscated her personal belongings and writings, hoping that denying Bennett the chance for posthumous publications might cause her legacy to fade. Despite this, Bennett remains regarded as one of the most prominent civil rights activists of her time.
Bennett worked to protect and defend Aboriginal peoples from colonial violence, ensuring that the crimes they suffered would be condemned by activists and historians. Indigenous rights organizations, including the Federal Council For Aboriginal Advancement, utilized Bennet’s success as a template for their own awareness-raising campaigns. Though her work was largely dismissed by the governments of her time, Bennett’s writings on the negative impact of colonialism on Aboriginal peoples are now regarded as truthful.
Bibliography
“A White Hot Flame: Mary Montgomerie Bennett – Author, Educator, Activist for Indigenous Justice / Sue Taffe.” National Library of Australia, 2023, catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/7544645. Accessed 28 July, 2023.
Bishop, Catherine. “A White Hot Flame: May Montgomerie Bennett: Author, Educator, Activist for Indigenous Justice by Sue Taffe (Review),” Labour History: A Journal of Labour and Social History, Nov. 2019, muse.jhu.edu/article/777249/summary. Accessed 28 July. 2023.
E.M. Allingham. “Christison, Robert.” Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006, adb.anu.edu.au/biography/christison-robert-222. Accessed 28 July, 2023.
Holland, Alison. “Bennett, Mary Montgomerie.” The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia, www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0187b.htm. Accessed 28 July, 2023.
“Mary Montgomerie Bennett.” The British Museum, 2023, www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG121176. Accessed 28 July, 2023.
Taffe, Sue. “Her Childhood Friends.” Inside Story, 28 Mar. 2018, insidestory.org.au/her-childhood-friends/. Accessed 28 July, 2023.
Taffe, Sue. “Mary Montgomerie Bennett: Forgotten Activist for Indigenous Justice.” Victorian Women’s Trust, 5 Apr. 2018, www.vwt.org.au/mary-montgomerie-bennett-forgotten-activist-indigenous-justice. Accessed 28 July, 2023.
“White Hot Flame, A: Mary Montgomery Bennett, Author, Educator, Activist for Indigenous Justice.” Royal Historical Society of Victoria, 2018, www.historyvictoria.org.au/product/white-hot-flame-a-mary-montgomery-bennett-author-educator-activist-for-indigenous-justice-by-sue-taffe/. Accessed 28 July, 2023.