George Woolnough
17 August 1834 — 19 June 1929
Rev. George Woolnough (11‑16‑16)
George was born in Erriswell, Suffolk, England on 17 August 1834. He arrived in Tasmania in 1855. He took his BA and MA at Sydney University. In 1861 he married Maria, the eldest daughter of Thomas Cowlishaw and Maria Evans in Sydney. He became an ordained minister of the Methodist Church. In 1883 he retired from the ministry and joined with Henry Parkes (later Sir Henry), James Greenwood and others in advocating the establishment of free and secular education in State schools in New South Wales.
George joined the staff of the Sydney Morning Herald as leader writer, a few years later moving to Brisbane and joining the staff of the Brisbane Telegraph. In 1900 the Telegraph newspaper, under his editorship, opposed Federation and fought almost singlehandedly for the rights of the individual States. George remained as editor of the Telegraph newspaper for 32 years. By then he was 83 years of age. Although retired, he still wrote articles which appeared in Brisbane newspapers until his death on 19 June 1929 aged 94 following a short illness.
Reverend George Woolnough, 1875 - State Library of Queensland.