Death of a North Borneo timber pioneer
Published on: Saturday, March 02, 1940
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Son and nephew of timber men who were well known in the Mahogany trade he started his own business in 1877 in Lombard Street, and stayed there for 56 years until in 1933 his firm’s address was changed to Shell-Mex House.
There, sitting at the same desk which he had used in 1877, he continued in his new surroundings to display a keen and helpful interest in every phase of his firm’s business.
As recently as the week before his death he attended Board Meetings of three of his Companies and thus, as he would have wished, died in harness.
Starting business as softwood agent, he early saw the potentialities of the boxboard business and in the 1880’s he began that specialised interest in that side of the timber trade which made his firm one of its pioneers,
The British Boxboard Agents Associations recognised his claim to the title of G.O.M of the boxboard trade by electing him its President for several years until he himself decided that he should make way for younger blood, yet the verve with which he presided at the Annual dinner belied his years.
Some fifty years ago he paid his first visit to British North Borneo, and was for many years Chairman and Managing Director of the North Borneo Rubber Estates, Ltd, relinquishing these offices in recent years to his eldest son, while he retained membership of the boards until the last.
He was also a pioneer in the marketing in the United Kingdom of Australian hardwoods and was a founder and Director of Millar’s Timber & Trading Co. Ltd.
His travels were extensive and he used to say that he did not himself know how many times he had crossed the ‘line’.
Australia and Borneo, China and Japan were visited on many occasions. During the last war he paid annual visits to Canada on a similar mission at the present time.
He was pleased, two years ago, to repair one of the deficiencies of his earlier travels by paying a visit to New Zealand, when he showed his perennially youthful spirit by flying over the glaciers which he was unable to visit on foot.
One of the earliest motorists, he was a founder of the Automobile Association, of whose Executive he had been a member for many years past.
His tastes were simple and included a love of Shakespeare which, in conjunction with his retentive memory, enabled him to declaim long passages from almost all the plays.
He was a raconteur whose stories ranged from City men both celebrated and infamous, to the drama and Gilbert and Sullivan opera.
He had especially intimate connection with Norway, his wife being amember of a well-known Trondheim family and both his sons followed his example by marrying Norwegian ladies.
Widespread sympathy will be felt with Mrs. Bennett and her two sons, Alfred Peto and Charles Peto in their bereavement.
The cremation at Golders Green on the 19th January was attended by members of the family besides representatives of the firm of C. Peto Bennett, Millars’ Timber & Trading Co. Ltd, the North Borneo Trading Co. Ltd, Tuaran Rubber Estates Ltd, Messrs. James Webster & Bro Ltd. and Duffell Waterman & Co, while floral tributes were received from a large number of firms in the timber trade, of which Mr Bennett had been a respected member for so many years.
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