Ben Haneman was active in Australia's Hispanic community, promoting Spanish culture and language through his involvement with 'Sociedad Hispánica' and his participation in conferences and cultural events related to Spain and Latin America. In Some Historical Ties between Australia and the Spanish World (1988), Haneman is described as 'an unrepentant hispanophile [who] believes that Australia would be an even better country for a good dose of hispanic culture and philosophy' (85).
Haneman was a consultant physician with St. George Hospital in Sydney and Warden of Clinical Studies responsible for the care of undergraduate medical students. As well, he was an honorary professor in the School of Medicine of the University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain.
In 1984 he was awarded the 'Medalla del Merito Civil' from the government of Spain for his commitment to Hispanic culture. Haneman was a book critic, contributing reviews to Australian Spanish-language periodicals such as Versión and Hontanar as well as English language publications including Australian Book Review.
Haneman was also an avid book collector and in 1995 he donated his collection of Cervantes material, including 1100 editions of Don Quixote in more than 50 languages, to the New South Wales State Library. Among this collection is a volume of the earliest translation of Don Quixote into English, published in London in 1621, only five years after the original Spanish edition. Also in the collection are some 400 volumes of criticism relating to Cervantes work. All together, this Cervantes Collection is estimated to be the largest and most significant in the southern hemisphere.
