mordechai benshemesh was born on 16 january 1911, in tel aviv, which at the time was part of the ottoman empire. he studied polytechnical school in tel aviv between 1930-33 before travelling to london where he completed diplomas from institute of engineering technology and international correspondence school. it was in australia where he produced his most notable work. benshemesh arrived in australia on 13 june 1939. and spent the next ten years working with numerous melbourne architects; most notably arthur w plaisted (1940–41) and harry raymond 'ray' johnson (1946–49). benshemesh was naturalised as an australian citizen on 6 december 1946. when johnson retired from architecture benshemesh opened his own architectural firm in 1950, where he gained reputation for multi-storey apartment designs, primarily within the st. kilda area. benshemesh died on 22 december 1993.