Harry Hood Bentley 1881-1934
AFIA, FAIS, Notary Public
(written by his son, Thomas Hall Bentley)

My father was a man of strong self-discipline and attention to healthy living. He exercised daily, insisted on our having two pieces of fruit each day, and a glass of water first thing each morning. Meals were nourishing - steak and eggs for breakfast plus cereals or porridge - and a variety of meals for dinner - steak and kidney pie, tripe, lamb’s fry, fish pie (each Thursday), three vegetables, etc. He had an irrigated orchard at our Corinda home (about 24 perches, I think). This contained persimmon, custard apple, mango, citrus and papaw trees. All domestic water was utilised for irrigation and could be directed as necessary. He had a Tantalus containing dry and sweet sherry (for bridge parties), but otherwise liquor was not consumed in our home. Of course he had a few beers in the Brisbane Golf Club.

He had a varied life. He was born in Hong Kong, where he lived for several years. The family had Chinese servants, including an amah to whom the young Harry was very attached. As a result he spoke Chinese very fluently as a small child. Apparently his parents didn’t master the language, so he had to be their interpreter. After several years the family moved to Taiwan (Taipei) where once again my father’s Chinese was invaluable. His father owned or leased an island in Taipeh harbour, and had a uniformed crew of Chinese to row them back and forth to the mainland. (They owned coal mines.)

After Taipei the family moved to the UK where Dad attended Lewisham High School in Weston-Super-Mare.

His father, Thomas Hood Bentley, built a large three masted square rigged barque in which his parents, his sister and young Harry sailed the world for a few years. Imagine the experiences when calling at foreign ports in the 1890’s, the association with rough sailors and people of all races, not to mention “rounding the Horn” under sail and encountering a revolution in Brazil!

Dad migrated to Australia at about 16 years of age, and got a position with CSR (Colonial Sugar Refining) Company. At 19 he was sent to Fiji as a field supervisor of a sugar plantation. Following his marriage he purchased a cane farm at Ayr, which failed in a severe drought. Whilst there he gained his Accountancy and Secretarial letters through night study. He was disappointed in not serving in World War I. A wife’s written consent was needed in those days, and as there were a couple of children to support my mother withheld her agreement.

The family returned to Brisbane where he had a variety of positions: Queensland Producers Association, manager of Dayboro butter factory and store, secretary at CCM (a large motor vehicle retailer), assistant manager of EG Eager and Sons (motor vehicle retailers, the first assembly line in Australia, and the largest retailer of Willys and Overland vehicles in the world). Then unemployment, and a striing of short term managerial positions including Lennon’s Hotel, followed eventually by setting up his own Accountancy Practice. Stress of the Great Depression, combined with heavy smoking, caused a blood clot which terminated his life at 53 years of age. The down side of smoking was unknown at that time - in fact, we were encouraged to smoke during the war years.

What an amazing number of experiences he crammed into his life! He was a well dressed businessman, suits tailor made, shirts and shoes made to order. He invariably wore a waistcoat, but when it came to the final shortlist of two for the position of Trade Commissioner in London he attended the final interview sans waistcoat. It was during a terrible heatwave. He missed selection on the basis of incorrect dress! I think this was a particularly disappointing factor in his life.

Prior to the Depression he was always moving up to better jobs. He was probably too ambitious and in too much of a hurry to achieve.