Community Recognition Statement

Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) [5.07 p.m.]: It gives me great pleasure to talk about Dr Peter Benson, a retired 91-year-old dentist and former proud Hurlstonian from 1938 to 1942. Dr Benson still lives on the property where he was born and has seen our community change from farmland to being filled with families from all over the world calling Ingleburn home. He lived through the Great Depression and at a time when he did not have electricity at home and caught the steam train to school. He has camped on the Amazon River and explored Iran, yet his heart and home is always Ingleburn.

Despite his age, Dr Benson is still active in our community. His garden is both his passion and his retreat. After receiving his dentistry scholarship, for which he wrote his thesis on how hypnosis can help pain management, he opened practices in south-west Sydney. He counted former Prime Minister E. G. Whitlam, AC, QC, as both a valued patient and a dear friend. His philosophical views came from his father. He tells me, "It is better to be lucky in life than rich." Spoken like a true gentleman. As a proud Hurlstonian, he wants to make sure other kids in south-west Sydney obtain the same Hurlstone education experience at Glenfield. It is a privilege for me to represent people such as Dr Benson.