Vignette 23: Benham empowers future botanists

Dr Frederick Lucas Benham’s bequest of £51,000 in 1939 laid the foundation for the Benham Laboratories at the University. Initially designed for Botany and Zoology, this two storey red-brick building, symbolising Dr Benham’s pragmatic pledge, was expanded with a plant house in 1941. 

Benham was born in London in 1855. In 1938, he died in Semaphore. An active person who swam daily in summer and walked long distances, he was South Australia’s oldest legally qualified medical practitioner. Benham became well known in his later years for his successful fight to keep his driver’s licence so that he could drive around Port Adelaide and to the Adelaide Zoo on sunny mornings.

The Benham Laboratories in Adelaide were built on the former Jubilee Oval site and were intended for botany and zoology. Today, they focus solely on botany and continue to foster scientific exploration.

The University of Adelaide: 150 Years of Making History.  Giving with impact.  p.37