| [Index] |
| George Gregory Townsend ELWORTHY (1837 - 1905) |
| Doctor, Chemist |
|
|
| b. 16 Aug 1837 at Exeter, Devon, England |
| m. 23 Mar 1868 Marion (Mary Ann) SUGDEN (1837 - 1907) at Gladstone, Queensland, Australia |
| d. 26 Dec 1905 at Mt Perry, Queensland, Australia aged 68 |
| Cause of Death: |
| pleurisy |
| Parents: |
| George ELWORTHY (1813 - 1878) |
| Emma BOWCHER (1810 - 1854) |
| Events in George Gregory Townsend ELWORTHY (1837 - 1905)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| 16 Aug 1837 | George Gregory Townsend ELWORTHY was born | Exeter, Devon, England | FreeBMD Sep 1837 Exeter 10 347 | ||
| 06 Sep 1837 | Baptism | St Sidwell, Exeter, Devon, England | |||
| 16 Aug 1853 | 16 | Immigration | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| 08 Jul 1854 | 16 | Death of mother Emma BOWCHER (aged 43) | St Thomas, Exeter, Devon, England | Note 1 | 2 |
| 23 Mar 1868 | 30 | Married Marion (Mary Ann) SUGDEN (aged 30) | Gladstone, Queensland, Australia | Note 2 | |
| 03 May 1868 | 30 | Birth of daughter Adelaide Elizabeth (Ada) ELWORTHY | Calliope, Queensland, Australia | 1868/C000987 | |
| abt Oct 1869 | 32 | Birth of daughter Ellen Augusta (Nellie) ELWORTHY | Calliope, Queensland, Australia | ||
| abt Oct 1869 | 32 | Birth of son George Gregory Townsend ELWORTHY | Calliope, Queensland, Australia | ||
| 23 Aug 1872 | 35 | Birth of daughter Alice May Mary Maud ELWORTHY | Gladstone, Queensland, Australia | 1872/C000481 | |
| 18 Nov 1874 | 37 | Birth of son Charles Henry (Charlie) ELWORTHY | Mt Perry, Queensland, Australia | 1875/C000510 | |
| 24 Feb 1878 | 40 | Death of father George ELWORTHY (aged 64) | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | Certificate | 2 |
| 16 Dec 1879 | 42 | Birth of daughter Olivia Marion ELWORTHY | Mt Perry, Queensland, Australia | 1880/C000365 | |
| 26 May 1882 | 44 | Birth of son Henry St.John (Harry) Boucher ELWORTHY | Mt Perry, Queensland, Australia | 1882/C000547 | |
| 26 Dec 1905 | 68 | George Gregory Townsend ELWORTHY died | Mt Perry, Queensland, Australia | Certificate 1906/344 | 2 |
| 27 Dec 1905 | 68 | Burial | Mt Perry, Queensland, Australia | 16 | |
| Personal Notes: |
|
By the time their third child George Townsend Elworthy was born in 1837, Emma and George were residing at 14 Verney Place, St Sidwell in Exeter and it was in this parish church the child was baptised on 06 Sep 1837. The young family had either moved into their own house or rented the premises.
Not much is known about George Junior's childhood or where he received his formal education. In later life he was a chemist and must have trained in Australia as he only turned 16 the day the Elworthys arrived 'down under'. The next reference I found to George was 15 years later. Like many young men of the times, George tried prospecting for gold and after the Gympie strike, went up to Queensland. In 1868 at Port Curtis (now Gladstone) George wed widow Mary Ann SIMMONDS, baptised at Christ Church, Southwark in London, daughter of a builder, William SUGDEN and his wife Ann MORTON. For some mysterious reason, on his marriage certificate George gave his place of birth as Inverness, Scotland and his father's occupation as a woollen manufacturer. Usual place of residence for him and for his bride was shown as the Calliope Diggings. Mary Ann was known to her family as Marion. From her previous marriage to Alfred Simmonds, Marion had a seven year old daughter Florence called Dolly who did not marry and stayed with the family until her death. 14 children Arrived in Australia aged 16 on his birthday. In 1868, he went to try his hand at gold mining at the Callipoe diggings in Queensland. One newspaper article mentions that he had been at the Croydon diggins in North Queensland in 1866 and had lost everything. Marriage and death certificate show birth place as Inverness Scotland - which is not the same as his birth certificate. George and his family had moved to Mt Perry before October 1874 when the four eldest children were enrolled at the school. At that time, their father's occupation was given as 'chemist'. But when little Harry started school on 4 Jul 1887, George was called 'Doctor' Elworthy. Doctor (or chemist) at Mt Perry hospital. 1851 living at 46 High Street Exeter. Migrated to Australia with father George, arriving in Sydney on his 16th birthday on 16 Aug 1853. He was still in New South Wales in 1855 for his brother James's wedding, but moved to Queensland sometime between then and 1868, when he married Marion Simmonds (nee Sugden). Living at Cania Diggings in 1872 when Alice was born. Listed in 1874-5 electoral rolls at Camboon, but also listed at Mt. Perry 1874-1879. George became the town's chemist and took over the role of Mt. Perry's medical officer, becoming known as Dr. Elworthy. In 1880 he also became Shire Clerk and Valuator. 1903 and 1905 Electoral Rolls, Heusman Street, Mt. Perry. Death certificate states he had lived 50 years in Queensland and that he had 3 more male children who were deceased and presumably died as babies. Born at No 14 Verney Place in Exeter, Devon on 16 August 1837, George Townsend Elworthy was the second son and third child of George and Emma. This was the year England introduced official birth registration, Isaac Pitman published his Stenographic Soundhand and James Murray was born (he edited the Oxford Dictionary, assisted in the task by Frederick Elworthy!). Although not much is known of George's childhood, his 16th birthday was quite memorable. On that day, after 100 days at sea, the Marchioness of Londonderry sailed into magnificent Sydney harbour, past the gun emplacements at Fort Macquarie and into Sydney Cove with the eager young George and other family members aboard. Much had happened in Sydney Town since the arrival of the First Fleet 65 years beforehand. It had become a thriving and bustling port with warehouses crowding along the waterfront and tall-masted merchant ships riding at anchor awaiting cargo. Some quite substantial buildings appeared on the ridges behind the semicircular quay, although the city streets were in a most shameful state. George's father began his first Australian tailoring and drapery business at 174 Pitt Street, Sydney on the eastern side about halfway between King and Market Streets. Presumably, in the custom of the time, the Elworthys lived above the shop. The quite narrow fronted premises at the entrance to the Imperial Arcade have come full circle and in the 1980s again housed a menswear shop. Maybe there was not much work offering for a 16-year-old, or maybe he was an adventurous lad, but in any case it appears George didn't stay long with the family. He was in Goulburn in 1855 when his older brother James Baker Elworthy wed Elizabeth Watson whose autograph album holds two lovely pencil sketches dated 1855 and signed by GTE. Nothing more was discovered about George until 1868 when he tried his hand at gold mining and turned up at the Calliope diggings in Queensland. One later newspaper article mentioned he had been at Croydon diggings in north Queensland in 1866 and lost everything in the gamble for gold. Over the next 14 years George and Marion had 11 children but sadly only seven survived. The first was Adelaide Elizabeth called Ada, born in 1868 at Calliope. Twins Ellen Augusta or 'Nellie' and George Gregory Townsend were born in 1869, Alice Maud Mary in 1872, Charles Henry in 1874, Olivia Marion in 1879 and Henry St John Boucher Elworthy in 1882. George had moved his family to Mt Perry prior to October 1874 when the four eldest children were enrolled at the school. At that time George's occupation was given as chemist but when little Harry began his education on 04 Jul 1887, their father was called Doctor Elworthy. In his book "Perry's Past" commemorating the anniversary of Perry Shire, Mervyn Royle says that the townspeople accepted George Elworthy as their doctor. He didn't appear to have any qualifications and gave his occupation as miner when the birth of his fourth child was registered. He was a dispenser who had gained 'some kind of professional recognition'. Public appreciation of his role was never doubted and he ministered to the district from 1877. (In 1988 I indexed this book as a Bicentennial thank-you. I will never undertake such a task again!) Mt Perry is a little over 300 km north-west of Brisbane, 96km inland from Bundaberg and 177km from Maryborough to which it was connected by weekly coach service, costing two pounds ten shillings for the trip. A report of last century describes the area - "of auriferous, pastoral and cupriferous character". In the 70s Mt Perry was a bustling town with gold, copper, silver and coal mines flourishing. It boasted a School of Arts with 450 volumes, a Wesleyan chapel, Catholic church, police station with lock-up and public school No 75. When the young Elworthys - Ada, Ellen, George and Alice enrolled there in October 1874 they were pupils 9, 10, 11 and 12 respectively. In the same year Benjamin Disraeli became Prime Minister of Britain and births of future notables included Churchill, Marconi, Herbert Hoover, Somerset Maugham, Ernest Shackleton. Thomas Hardy wrote Far From the Madding Crowd and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was founded in USA. Mt Perry's medical officer in 1872 was paid thirty pounds which was supplemented by his private practice. When the town finally gained a hospital in 1877, it appeared both doctors had left so it seems likely it was at this time Chemist George made the transformation to Dr George. The town's major problem was lack of a railway to provide an economical means of moving minerals to market. By the 1880s the world price of copper had fallen and the mining industry languished. Only 70-100 men were still employed by the Mt Perry Copper Mining Co, the largest in the district. George had a large family to care for and the diminishing population would have reduced his practice dramatically. After formation of the Perry Divisional Board in 1880, he tendered for the combined office of Shire Clerk and Valuator. A remuneration of sixty pounds per annum applied to each position - but George had to put up two bonds of fifty pounds each to fulfil the contract! He remained as Clerk of the Shire Council until 1885. Following his death, a newspaper article reported: "G T Elworthy became the first Board Clerk. As time went on he proved a very worthy and valuable member of the isolated community in what was, even for those days, a very difficult period and tough going. He was doctor, chemist, clerk, valuator, Inspector of Nuisances - and friend to all." Many and varied changes had occurred during the 53 years George lived in Australia. The Panama and Suez Canals were built, the typewriter and the safety razor invented, a 10-hour working day established, debtors' prisons abolished, Henry Ford founded a motor firm, railways had opened up the country, neon lights were in use - and women smoked! George died of pleurisy on Boxing Day 1905 aged 68 and was buried the next day at Mt Perry cemetery. He was much loved and respected in Mt Perry and districts. His obituary sums up the high esteem in which he was held: "Dr George Gregory Townsend Elworthy was, for over twenty years, the only medical practitioner in Mt Perry. He was one of the old school of pioneer doctors who would ride over 100 miles on horseback through wild bush to attend a serious case. With him, money was no object; he would willingly go just as far, give as freely of his time and skill to the very poorest of people, knowing before he started that he would never receive fees for his attendance. "His patients always needed nourishing food, warm clothing, blankets and bedding. If they were not in a position to buy them, food was supplied from his own table by Mrs Elworthy and a raid made on the wardrobes of himself and family for the necessary articles of clothing to give his patients comfort and a better chance of recovery. "Although Dr Elworthy was not covetous of this world's goods, he could not resist joining in a gold rush. In '66 he went to the Croydon goldfield in North Queensland where he was unsuccessful in his search for the 'yellow dust'. He lost everything in his possession except for his kindly nature, his devotion to duty and his high ideals which characterised him to the end of his life. "Dr Elworthy was one of the most beloved men who lived at Mt Perry, and his memory is revered by old residents. Of him one might truly say, in the words of Shakespeare: His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him that Nature might stand up and say to all the world ... There was a man!" |
| Source References: |
| 2. Type: Book, Abbr: Devon to Downunder, Title: Devon to Downunder, Auth: Bettie Elworthy, Publ: Bookbound, Date: 1997 |
| - Reference = 94, 117ff (Name, Notes) |
| - Reference = 119 (Death) |
| 16. Type: E-mail Message, Abbr: Barbara Lawrence - Elworthy doc, Title: Barbara Lawrence - Elworthy doc, Auth: Barbara Lawrence, Date: 23/2/2009 |
| - Reference = 6 (Burial) |