In September 2026 a number of plaques were stolen from the two memorials to Sir Thomas Bent and his wife, Elizabeth, which are on the Nepean Highway at Brighton. The statue of Sir Thomas was created by Margaret Baskerville (1861-1930) and unveiled on October 27, 1913. Sir Thomas (1838-1909) was an astute and controversial politician whose iniquity brought down two governments. He was nine times Mayor of Brighton; Councillor and President of the Moorabbin Shire Council, and headed various ministries. He was the Premier of Victoria from February 1904 until January 1909.
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The plaques stolen from the statue were the two small plaques; the one on the front had been installed by the Bayside Council to recognise Margaret Baskerville.
Of more significance is the theft of the two brass plaques - a portrait of Mrs Bent, flanked by two cherubs and the convex plaque - which were stolen from the memorial to Mrs Elizabeth Bent. Her memorial, also created by Margaret Baskerville, is the drinking fountain to the right of the statue, as seen in the photograph above.
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The drinking fountain plaque reads -
The memorial to Mrs Bent was unveiled on the same day as the statue. Elizabeth Bent (nee Huntly) was born in 1843 and married Thomas in 1864; they had the one daughter, Elizabeth. She died on January 8, 1903.
This is another example of the senseless vandalism of public memorials, no doubt for their metal value. The plaque from the statue can be easily replaced but the theft from the Mrs Bent memorial is the destruction of the work of a significant and trail blazing woman sculptor, Margaret Baskerville and destroys a tribute from a loving daughter to her mother.
for bringing this recent theft to our attention.
Margaret Francis Ellen Baskerville (1861–1930) by Ken Scarlett in the Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/baskerville-margaret-francis-ellen-5153
Her Own Path: Margaret Baskerville
Death of Mrs Bent - Brighton Southern Cross January 10, 1903 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article165454131
Mrs T. Bent Memorial The Herald, July 6, 1912 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241631034
The Bent Memorial: Unveiling Ceremony at Brighton The Leader, November 1, 1913
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