Benjamin Harris Babbidge was born on 2 October 1836 in Newport, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England, the son of John Babbidge (a tailor ) and his wife Elizabeth (née Harris). He married Elizabeth Ann Damp, the daughter of George and Jane Damp, on the Isle of Wight in 1856.
Benjamin Harris Babbidge was a blacksmith, having completed an apprenticeship with the shipbuilders J. & West. White of Cowes. After three years in Newcastle, New South Wales, he relocated to Moreton Bay where he worked for John Petrie for a number of years. In 1865 he established his own business as a ship"s smith.
In 1881 he successfully tendered to construct 25 goods wagons for the railways.
This was a new line of business for him and he established a railway rolling stock workshop at Hope Street, South Brisbane for this purpose. In 1885, his workshop assembled Brisbane"s first tram cars (the cars themselves being imported from America).
Babbidge was an alderman of the Brisbane Municipal Council from 1879 to 1886. He was mayor in 1885.
He served on the following council committees:
Improvement Committee 1880
Legislative Committee 1880, 1884, 1885
Finance Committee 1881, 1883, 1886
Works Committee 1882, 1884, 1885
Health Committee 1885, 1886
Town Hall Committee 1885, 1886
He left the Brisbane Municipal Council when he was defeated by William Stephens in the 1887 election for the south ward.
He was also an alderman of the South Brisbane Municipal Council from 1900 to 1902, where he served on the following council committees:
Works Committee 1900, 1902
General Purpose Committee 1900, 1902
Parks Committee 1900, 1902
Finance Committee 1901
He retired from politics in 1903, following his defeat in the 1903 elections for the South Brisbane council. the Provisional Committee of the Proposed Technical College (1882)
the Fire Brigade Board in Brisbane in 1884
the Licensing Board in Brisbane in 1885
the United Municipalities (president in 1886)
the Anti-Chinese Committee (member 1886)
the Brisbane Workman"s Club (director 1886)
the Victoria Bridge Board in 1902
the Brisbane and Suburban Shopkeepers" Association (president 1902–1904).
In addition to his council roles, he was also a member of:.
