| George Edmondstone | |
| Constituency Am1: | East Moreton |
| Assembly1: | Queensland Legislative |
| Term Start1: | 7 May 1860 |
| Term End1: | 1 July 1867 |
| Predecessor1: | New seat |
| Successor1: | Arthur Francis |
| Alongside1: | Henry Buckley, Thomas Warry, William Brookes, Robert Cribb |
| Constituency Am2: | Town of Brisbane |
| Assembly2: | Queensland Legislative |
| Term Start2: | 11 February 1869 |
| Term End2: | 14 November 1873 |
| Predecessor2: | Theophilus Pugh |
| Successor2: | Abolished |
| Alongside2: | Alexander Pritchard, Simon Fraser, Ratcliffe Pring, John Handy, Kevin O'Doherty |
| Constituency Am3: | Wickham |
| Assembly3: | Queensland Legislative |
| Term Start3: | 18 November 1873 |
| Term End3: | 28 April 1877 |
| Predecessor3: | New seat |
| Successor3: | Albert John Hockings |
| Office4: | Member of the Queensland Legislative Council |
| Term Start4: | 12 May 1877 |
| Term End4: | 23 February 1883 |
| Birth Date: | 4 May 1809 |
| Birth Place: | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Death Place: | Brisbane, Queensland |
| Restingplace: | Toowong Cemetery |
| Nationality: | Scottish |
| Spouse: | Alexis Telleray |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
George Edmondstone (1809–1883) was politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and an alderman and mayor in the Brisbane Municipal Council.[1] [2] [3]
The surname is spelled 'Edmonstone' in the Brisbane City Council Archives, spelled 'Edmundston' on his father's marriage banns, spelled 'Edmondston' on his baptismal certificate and Edmondstone on his father's Testament.
George Edmondstone was born on 4 May 1809 in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of William Edmondstone, a naval commissary, and Alexandrina (Alixa) Farquharson daughter of a watchmaker.[4] George's father died when he was 12 and he migrated to New South Wales in 1832. 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 (near Warrill View on the Cunningham Highway). He 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 had married Alexis Telleray in 1837 in New South Wales[5] (her name appears in the Queensland records as Alexandrina Tillery, the confusion most likely stems from transcriptions of original handwritten records).[6]
George was in the first group of free settlers to arrive in Brisbane in 1840.[7]
He built a house called "Pahroombin".[8]
In his later years, George was described by his peers as a genial, amiable, old gentleman.[9] He died in Brisbane on Friday 23 Feb 1883.[4] His funeral notice appeared in the Brisbane Courier and said:[10]
At that time, the "General Cemetery" of Brisbane was Toowong Cemetery.[11]
George Edmondstone had a butchery in Queen Street, the main street of Brisbane.
George was a founding alderman (1859–1866) of the Brisbane Municipal Council and its mayor in 1863.He served on a number of committees including:[1]
George was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (lower house) of Queensland representing the electorate of East Moreton from 7 May 1860 to 1 July 1867. He also represented the electorate of Town of Brisbane from 10 Feb 1869 to 14 Nov 1873 and then the electorate of Wickham from 18 Nov 1873 to 28 April 1877.[12]
On 12 May 1877, George was made a life Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland until his death on 23 Feb 1883.[12]
He made a substantial contribution to the early development of Brisbane. Amongst the initiatives that he championed were: