George William Cole

Not to be confused with his (probably unrelated) contemporary James William Cole

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

History

He was born in Lindfield, Sussex the son of George Cole (2 May 1792 – 20 November 1853)[1] and Jane Cole (c. 1787 – 3 April 1861); they arrived in South Australia on 9 July 1839 on the 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[2] and important in the founding of Rechabites in South Australia. He was a lay preacher for the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Adelaide.[3]

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[4] in Tynte Street, North Adelaide; later at Lymington Cottage, Melbourne Street, North Adelaide.

Family

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

References

  1. "Sudden Death". Adelaide Observer (SA: National Library of Australia). 26 November 1853. p. 2 Supplement: Supplement to The Adelaide Observer. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. "Advertising.". Adelaide Observer (SA: National Library of Australia). 12 March 1853. p. 4. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  3. "The Late Mr. G. W. Cole". South Australian Register (Adelaide: National Library of Australia). 5 December 1893. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. 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.
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