George Mayo (8 January 1807 – 16 December 1894) was a medical practitioner in the colony of South Australia. Dr. Mayo was born in England the fourth son of Rev. Joseph Mayo, M.A., of

Ozleworth Ozleworth is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, approximately south of Gloucester. It lies in the Cotswolds, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. History Ozleworth was known as in 940, derived from the Old English words ...

Church,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. He studied medicine at

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

under Dr. Herbert Mayo (1796–1852), and became a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

in London in January 1829. For some years he practised at

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, then emigrated to South Australia, arriving in the ''Lady Emma'' in December 1837. Soon afterwards he returned to England, but came back to the colony on the ''Asia'' in July 1839. He returned again to England 1851–1852, when he was admitted as a Fellow of the R.C.S. He was appointed hon. medical officer at the Adelaide Hospital on 13 October 1853, and upon the death of Dr. R. W. Moore he became President of the Medical Board. He was appointed to the Central Vaccine Board in October 1857 and in January 1868 was appointed to the Adelaide Hospital board of management. On 24 November 1876, he was made Hon. Consulting Surgeon to the hospital. He was an enthusiastic member of the South Australia's Voluntary Defence Force: in 1859 he was captain of the West Adelaide Rifles, and by August 1863 was lieutenant-colonel. He was one of the original trustees of Trinity Church, and laid the foundation stone of the schoolroom on 7 May 1887. He was somewhat eccentric and extremely averse to publicity; his only photograph was as one in a group taken many years before his death. He was an enthusiast for physical exercise and a keen cyclist; in later life converting to a three-wheeler, in which he would regularly ride to Glenelg or North Adelaide. He was for some years a vice-president of several cycling clubs.

Family

Mayo was a nephew of George Smith Gibbes, M.D., of

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. He married Maria Gandy (23 November 1811 – 14 December 1847) on 7 July 1840. Maria had been

William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site o ...

's housekeeper and

common-law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

wife from the days of the brig ''

Rapid Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

'' or earlier, nursed him in his final days, and was the sole beneficiary of his will. The Mayos lived for a time at Light's "Thebarton Cottage". On the 200th anniversary of Maria Gandy's birth on 23 November 2011, a rectangular memorial was unveiled on the corner of Albert and Maria Streets in the inner western suburb of

Thebarton Thebarton ( ), formerly Theberton, on Kaurna land, is an inner-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of West Torrens. The suburb is bounded by the River Torrens to the north, Port Road, Adelaide, Port Road and Bonython Park to ...

near the site of their cottage, to honour Maria. On each of four sides is an inscription celebrating her roles as pioneer, settler, carer and mother. George and Maria's family included: *Mary Jane Mayo (17 April 1841 – 22 June 1934) married Rev. Richardson Reid (1834 – 30 December 1898) on 4 January 1871. He was incumbent of

Trinity Church, Adelaide Trinity Church Adelaide, formerly known as Holy Trinity Church and later Trinity City, is an Australian evangelical Anglican church located at 88 North Terrace in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1836, it is one of th ...

*Kate Mayo (1843 – 18 March 1834) married Dr. Alexander Stewart Paterson (c. 1835 – 6 January 1902) on 14 April 1868. Paterson was Colonial Surgeon, associated with W. L. Cleland. *George Gibbes Mayo (1845 – 12 August 1921) was a member of

John McKinlay John McKinlay (26 August 1819 – 31 December 1872)
, Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

in 1905 on condition that the State Government contribute £1,000 towards the replacement monument to the Colonel in

Light Square Light Square, also known as Wauwi (formerly Wauwe), is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre. Located in the centre of the north-western quarter of the Adelaide city centre, its southern boundary is Waymouth Street, Adelaide, Wa ...

. :He married Henrietta Mary Donaldson (1852–1930) in 1877. Among their children were: :*Dr. Helen Mary Mayo (1 October 1878 – 13 November 1967) women's health pioneer :* (George) Elton Mayo (26 December 1880 – 7 September 1949), noted psychologist :*Olive Mayo (1883–1896) :*Sir

Herbert Mayo Herbert Mayo, M.D. (3 April 1796 – 28 June 1852), was a British physiologist, anatomist and medical writer. Biography Mayo was born in Queen Anne Street, London, the third son of John Mayo. He entered Middlesex Hospital as a surgical pupil ...

(1885–1972), noted jurist :*Mary Penelope Mayo (1889–1969) :*John Christian Mayo (1891–1955) Their residence was on the north-eastern corner of Franklin and Morphett streets in the city. He married again in London, to Ellen Anne Russell (15 February 1817 – 21 July 1901) on 19 February 1852. *Ellen Stuart Mayo (c. 1853 – 3 January 1946) married Arthur George de la Poer Beresford (c. 1853 – 27 March 1924), lived 217 Jeffcott Street, North Adelaide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, George 19th-century Australian medical doctors 1807 births 1894 deaths Adelaide Club