George Leake (1786–1849) was a wealthy landholder in the early days of the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

. Backed with considerable assets, Leake supported many of the early settlers of the colony who were struggling financially.

Biography

Early life

George Leake was born in 1786 in London, England. His father was Luke Leake, and his mother, Ann (née Heading, 1758–1836). He arrived at Fremantle, Western Australia in the in August 1829 and quickly established himself as a merchant.

Career

He was instrumental in the establishment of the first

Bank of Western Australia Bankwest is an Australian full-service bank based in Perth, Western Australia. It was sold in October 2008 to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for 2.1 billion and operates as a division of its parent company. Bankwest previously had branch ...

which was established in June 1837, becoming its first chairman of directors. In 1839, he was one of four unofficial nominees of the Western Australian Legislative Council, retaining his seat until his death. He was appointed magistrate in 1839 and was made chairman of the Perth Town Trust (later to become

Perth City Council Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth ...

Personal life

He married Anne Growse, who died in 1815 leaving him with one daughter, Ann Elizabeth. His nephew, George Walpole Leake, was a prominent Western Australian barrister and magistrate and father of George Leake, Premier of Western Australia from 1901 to 1902.

Death

He died in 1849 in Perth, Western Australia.

Notes

References

*M. Medcalf,
Leake, George (1786 - 1849)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 2,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...

, 1967, pp 99–100.
Dictionary of Australian Biography entry of his grandson, George Leake (Premier)