George Cole (South Australian politician)

George William Cole (15 January 1823 – 4 December 1893) was a politician in the colony of South Australia.

History

Cole was born in Lindfield, Sussex, the eldest son of George Cole (2 May 1792 – 20 November 1853) and Sarah Cole, née Cooper (c. 1787–1837). George married a second time, to Mrs Jane Mitchell in 1838. George, Jane, and George's seven children arrived in South Australia on 9 July 1839 aboard Lysander

He was employed as City Valuator from around 1865.

He was, like his father, a confirmed teetotaler, active in the Bible Christian Missionary Society and the Total Abstinence Society and important in the founding of Rechabites in South Australia. He was a lay preacher for the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Adelaide.

He was a member of Parliament for the seats of Burra and Clare 1860–1862, with fellow teetotaler William Dale as his associate, and The Burra 1862–1866, when he resigned. He fought for abolition of liquor and closing of railways on Sundays. In the 1850s he lived next door to the Temperance Hall in Tynte Street, North Adelaide; later at Lymington Cottage, Melbourne Street, North Adelaide.

Family

Cole arrived in South Australia with his father, stepmother and six siblings:

He married Ann Elizabeth Mitchell (14 January 1824 – 9 October 1915) on 1 December 1845.

References

  1. ↑ "Sudden death". Adelaide Observer. 26 November 1853. p. 2. Retrieved 3 April 2015 – via Trove.
  2. ↑ Leadbeater, B., http://www.familyhistorysa.org/colonists.html Archived 24 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Advertising". Adelaide Observer. 12 March 1853. p. 4. Retrieved 3 April 2015 – via Trove.
  4. ↑ "The Late Mr. G. W. Cole". South Australian Register. 5 December 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2015 – via Trove.
  5. ↑ "George William Cole". Former members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Architect for the Temperance Hall was James William Cole, who was member for West Torrens 1857–1860, but it is not known whether there is a family connection.
  7. ↑ Tasmania BDM Registration 1644