George Edmondstone

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.

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.

Personal life 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. 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 (her name appears in the Queensland records as Alexandrina Tillery, the confusion most likely stems from transcriptions of original handwritten records).

George was in the first group of free settlers to arrive in Brisbane in 1840.

He built a house called "Pahroombin".

In his later years, George was described by his peers as a genial, amiable, old gentleman. He died in Brisbane on Friday 23 Feb 1883.

At that time, the "General Cemetery" of Brisbane was Toowong Cemetery.

Business life George Edmondstone had a butchery in Queen Street, the main street of Brisbane.

Public life 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:

On 12 May 1877, George was made a life Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland until his death on 23 Feb 1883. Brisbane General Cemetery Trust, now known as the Toowong Cemetery (where he is buried near the front gates) A primary school in Spring Hill (today the Brisbane Central State School) Ann Street Presbyterian Church As mayor in 1863–64 he had much to do with the planning of the first Brisbane bridge (Victoria Bridge), the First Brisbane Town Hall and Brisbane Waterworks.