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Benjamin Pelin (1852–1934)

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Benjamin Pelin (1852-1934) Irish patriot and boarding-house keeper 

Birth: 15 July 1852 at Edenberry, County Kildare, Ireland, of unknown parents. Never Married. Death: 25 July 1934 in a private hospital at Albury, New South Wales. Religion: Catholic. 

  • Came from a tenant farmer background. By early 1890s was active as a rural labourer's leader in Leinster region. A supporter of land nationalisation. Founded Knights of the Plough, which pursued a radical social program.
  • Emigrated to Australia in late 1894, briefly went to New Zealand then settled in Albury, NSW. In 1899 he started a “workers home” in Dean street, which he conducted for two years before moving to Smollett street where he continued to run the home which he called the ‘Wanderers’ Club’. In the following years he was a benefactor to hundreds of homeless men.
  • In 1907 he was general secretary of the Farmers and Bushworkers Union, based at Albury, and was engaged in organising in the southern Riverina area.
  • Militant during World War I. Prosecuted under War Precautions Act, 1917.
  • In 1925 stood for a seat on the Albury town council.
  • Visited the Soviet Union with a May Day delegation in 1932.
  • Cause of death broncho pneumonia and myocarditis.

Sources
Information from Fintan Lane, Cork, 2000; Labor Call, (Sydney), 26 December 1907, p 4; National Archives of Australia, series MP16/1, item 1917/694.

Additional Resources and Scholarship

Citation details

'Pelin, Benjamin (1852–1934)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/pelin-benjamin-34591/text43491, accessed 10 May 2025.

© Copyright People Australia, 2012

Life Summary [details]

Birth

15 July, 1852
Edenberry, Kildare, Ireland

Death

25 July, 1934 (aged 82)
Albury, New South Wales, Australia

Cause of Death

pneumonia

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Religious Influence

Includes the religion in which subjects were raised, have chosen themselves, attendance at religious schools and/or religious funeral rites; Atheism and Agnosticism have been included.

Occupation or Descriptor