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Morrison"},"datePublished":"1972-01-01","description":"George Edmondstone (1809-1883), butcher and politician, was born on 4 May 1809 in Edinburgh, son of William Edmondstone, naval commissary, and his wife Alexandrina, née Farquharson.","headline":"Edmondstone, George (1809–1883)","keywords":"George Edmondstone, biography","image":"https://adb.anu.edu.au/uploads/adb/3469/A040129.jpg","isPartOf":{"@type":"Book","bookEdition":4,"bookFormat":"https://schema.org/Hardcover","datePublished":1972,"description":"The Australian Dictionary of Biography contains concise, informative and fascinating descriptions of the lives of significant and representative persons in Australian history.","image":"https://adb.anu.edu.au/images/covers/volume4.png","isbn":522840345,"name":"Australian Dictionary of Biography","url":"https://adb.anu.edu.au","copyrightHolder":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Australian National University","url":"https://www.anu.edu.au"},"copyrightYear":1972,"editor":{"@type":"Person","givenName":"Douglas","familyName":"Pike","name":"Douglas Pike"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Melbourne University Press","url":"https://www.mup.com.au"}}} </script> <title>Biography - George Edmondstone - Australian Dictionary of Biography</title> <script async src="https://ssl.google-analytics.com/ga.js"></script> <script> var _gaq = _gaq || []; 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A. Morrison</a></p> <div class="publish-notice publish-notice--major-project" style="background-color:#dee9f2;color:#153449;"> <p>This article was published:</p> <ul> <li> in the <a href="https://adb.anu.edu.au/biographies/project/?name=australian-dictionary-biography-volume-4" style="color:#905d27;"> <span class="publish-notice__project-name">Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 4</span> </a> , 1972 </li> <li>online in 2006</li> </ul> </div> <div class="biographyContent textContent" id="5307">  <div class="print"> <div class="mainPic"><a href="http://elibcat.library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/uhtbin/cgisirsi/Bl/0/0/123?searchdata1=BCC-B54-A122" title="George Edmondstone (1809-1883), by unknown photographer, 1863"><img src="/uploads/adb/3469/thumbs/A040129_246x550.jpg" alt="George Edmondstone (1809-1883), by unknown photographer, 1863" width='246' height='338' /></a> </div> <p class="caption"><span class="captionName">George Edmondstone </span>(1809-1883), by unknown photographer, 1863</p><p class="credit"><a href="http://elibcat.library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/uhtbin/cgisirsi/Bl/0/0/123?searchdata1=BCC-B54-A122">Brisbane City Council Library, BCC-B54-A122</a></p></div> <p>George Edmondstone (1809-1883), butcher and politician, was born on 4 May 1809 in Edinburgh, son of William Edmondstone, naval commissary, and his wife Alexandrina, née Farquharson. At 12 his father died and in 1832 he migrated to Sydney. Later he went to Hobart Town and after some hard times began business in Sydney. He then moved to Maitland and about 1840 he took up Normanby Plains station, but sold out early in 1842 and set up as a butcher in Brisbane, hoping to profit from trade with the newly-settled Darling Downs. He soon achieved prosperity and prominence. Although not a great speaker he was elected to the first Brisbane Municipal Council in 1859 and remained a member until 1866. As mayor in 1863-64 he had much to do with the planning of the first Brisbane bridge and the town hall. He was also involved in the conflict between the council and the government on the new Brisbane waterworks.</p><p>In the Queensland Legislative Assembly he represented East Moreton in 1860-67, Brisbane in 1869-73 and Wickham in 1873-77. He seldom spoke in the assembly and made little impression, though in 1870 in company with <a title="Pugh, Theophilus Parsons (1831 - 1896)" href="pugh-theophilus-parsons-4417">Theophilus Pugh</a>, <a title="O'Doherty, Kevin Izod (1823 - 1905)" href="odoherty-kevin-izod-4319">Kevin O'Doherty</a> and <a title="Fraser, Simon (1824? - 1889)" href="fraser-simon-3571">Simon Fraser</a> he tried to organize a Liberal party based largely on Brisbane. In 1877 he was appointed to the Legislative Council in an effort to secure a majority for <a title="Douglas, John (1828 - 1904)" href="douglas-john-3430">John Douglas</a>'s Liberal government. His appointment was resisted by the administrator, <a title="O'Connell, Sir Maurice Charles (1812 - 1879)" href="oconnell-maurice-charles-4313">Sir Maurice O'Connell</a>, but approved by his successor, <a title="Kennedy, Sir Arthur Edward (1810 - 1883)" href="kennedy-arthur-edward-3943">Sir Arthur Kennedy</a>.</p><p>On 10 July 1837 in Sydney Edmondstone had married Alexis Watson Tilleray. He retired from business because of a heart complaint and died at his home in Breakfast Creek on 23 February 1883, survived by one of his two daughters.</p> </div> <div class="infoList"> <h3>Select Bibliography</h3> <ul> <li>G. Greenwood and J. Laverty, <i>Brisbane 1859-1959: A History of Local Government</i> (Brisb, 1959)</li><li><i>Queensland Express</i>, 17 Feb 1870</li><li><i>Brisbane Courier</i>, 24 Feb 1883.</li> </ul> </div> <div class="citation"> <h3>Citation details</h3> <p>A. A. Morrison, 'Edmondstone, George (1809–1883)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/edmondstone-george-3469/text5307, published first in hardcopy 1972, accessed online 25 November 2024.</p> <p id="origPubDetails"><strong>This article was published in hardcopy in <em><strong>Australian Dictionary of Biography</strong></em>, Volume 4, (Melbourne University Press), 1972</strong></p> <p style="margin-top: 20px;">View the <a href="/frontpages/fp4.pdf" target="_blank">front pages</a> for Volume 4</p> </div> <div id="printFooter"> <p class="floatLeft">© Copyright Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2024</p> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript"> $(function() { Shadowbox.init({ counterType: 'skip', continuous: true, overlayOpacity: 0.80 }); }); </script> <div id="pageSidebar"> <div class="mainPic"><a href="http://elibcat.library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/uhtbin/cgisirsi/Bl/0/0/123?searchdata1=BCC-B54-A122" title="George Edmondstone (1809-1883), by unknown photographer, 1863"><img src="/uploads/adb/3469/thumbs/A040129_246x550.jpg" alt="George Edmondstone (1809-1883), by unknown photographer, 1863" width='246' height='338' /></a> </div> <p class="caption"><span class="captionName">George Edmondstone </span>(1809-1883), by unknown photographer, 1863</p><p class="credit"><a href="http://elibcat.library.brisbane.qld.gov.au/uhtbin/cgisirsi/Bl/0/0/123?searchdata1=BCC-B54-A122">Brisbane City Council Library, BCC-B54-A122</a></p> <div class="lifeSummary"> <h3>Life Summary <span><a href ="/lifesummary/edmondstone-george-3469" target="_blank">[details]</a></span></h3> <h5>Birth</h5> <p> <a href="/biographies/birth/?bdate=04051809">4 May</a>, <a href="/biographies/birth/?bdate=1809">1809</a> <br /> <a href="/biographies/search/?query=birthLocation%3A%22Edinburgh%2C%20Mid-Lothian%2C%20Scotland%22">Edinburgh</a>, <a href="/biographies/search/?query=birthLocation%3A%22Mid-Lothian%2C%20Scotland%22">Mid-Lothian</a>, <a href="/biographies/search/?query=birthLocation%3A%22Scotland%22">Scotland</a> </p> <h5>Death</h5> <p> <a href="/biographies/death/?ddate=23021883">23 February</a>, <a href="/biographies/death/?ddate=1883">1883</a> (aged 73) <br /> <a href="/biographies/search/?query=deathLocation%3A%22Breakfast%20Creek%2C%20Brisbane%2C%20Queensland%2C%20Australia%22">Breakfast Creek, Brisbane</a>, <a href="/biographies/search/?query=deathLocation%3A%22Queensland%2C%20Australia%22">Queensland</a>, <a href="/biographies/search/?query=deathLocation%3A%22Australia%22">Australia</a> </p> <div class="life-summary__heading-container"> <h5 class="life-summary__heading--note">Cultural Heritage</h5> <button class="life-summary__note-button" title="View explanatory note" data-note-text-id="life-summary-cultural"> <img src="/images/down_arrow.png" class="life-summary__button-image"> </button> </div> <p class="life-summary__note-text" id="life-summary-cultural"> Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity. </p><ul> <li> <a href="/biographies/search/?query=ethnicity%3A%22Scottish%22">Scottish</a> </li> </ul> <h5> Occupation or Descriptor </h5> <ul> <li> <a href="/biographies/occupation/?occupation=butcher&rpp=200">butcher</a> </li> <li> <a href="/biographies/occupation/?occupation=grazier%20%28unspecified%29&rpp=200">grazier (unspecified)</a> </li> <li> <a href="/biographies/occupation/?occupation=local%20government%20councillor&rpp=200">local government councillor</a> </li> <li> <a href="/biographies/occupation/?occupation=local%20government%20head&rpp=200">local government head</a> </li> <li> <a href="/biographies/occupation/?occupation=Member%20of%20Lower%20House&rpp=200">Member of Lower House</a> </li> <li> <a href="/biographies/occupation/?occupation=Member%20of%20Upper%20House&rpp=200">Member of Upper House</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <footer> <div class="clearFix" id="footer"> <h3>Australian Dictionary of Biography</h3> <p>An initiative of the <a href="https://history.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/ncb">National Centre of Biography</a> at the <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/">Australian National University</a></p> <div class="clearFix"> <p class="floatLeft">© Copyright Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2024</p> <p class="floatLeft cdp"><a href="/copyright/">Copyright</a> · <a href="/disclaimer/">Disclaimer</a> · <a href="/privacy/">Privacy Policy</a> · <a href="/contact-us/">Contact Us</a></p> </div> </div> </footer> </body> </html>