George Byng Scott (1824 – 17 February 1886) was an English-born Australian public servant, who served as

Government Resident of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a Governors ...

between 1873 and 1876.

Career

Born in

Gillingham, Kent Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the ...

, England in 1824, Scott moved to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1846, initially working as a farmer near

Morgan Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer), ...

. After a further four years as a

gold mine Gold Mine may refer to: *Gold Mine (board game) *Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena *"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album '' ADHD'' See also * ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith *Gold mining ...

r, first in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States and then in

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Scott became the

Inspector of Police Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

for the South-Eastern District of South Australia. At the same time, he served as a

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

iary

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. In 1859, he moved to be a magistrate in Naracoorte. From 6 October 1873 until 30 June 1876, Scott served as

. After his period in office, he returned to working as a stipendiary magistrate, first in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and then

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

. He continued in this latter role until his death on 17 February 1886.

Personal life

Scott married twice and had 9 children. His first marriage was to Elizabeth née Taylor on 7 October 1843, with whom he had 2 children. Elizabeth died in November 1849. Scott remarried in July 1865, to Caroline née Ritchie. They had 7 children.

Memorial

Scott Street in the Darwin suburb of

Fannie Bay Fannie Bay is a middle/inner suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Situated in the suburb is the Fannie Bay Gaol museum, Fannie Bay Race Track, Fannie Bay Oval the home of the Port Darwin FC and a monument to Ross Smith ...

is named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, George Byng 1824 births 1886 deaths Government Resident of the Northern Territory People of the California Gold Rush People from Gillingham, Kent English emigrants to colonial Australia