James Bennett established a blacksmithing and wheelwrights shop in St Marys in the late 1860s.
Then in 1875 his sons James and George Bennett established a wagon and wheelwright business in Queen Street.
It took 25 men, bodybuilders, blacksmiths, wheelwrights and labourers to build a Bennett wagon, with painters and sign writers finishing the job. These wagons became famous across Australia.