George Pearce (1 August 1826 – 9 June 1908) was a sheep farmer and politician in the British colony of

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 ...

. George Pearce was aged 21 when he emigrated in 1848 from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

to South Australia on the ''Samuel Boddington'', with several other members of his family. He was 23 when he married Mary Ann Pearce at Blakiston in 1850. He first lived in Burra but in 1852 he joined the rush to the Victorian gold diggings. After a year or two he returned to Adelaide, and in 1855 started sheep farming at

Point Sturt Point Sturt is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Sturt Peninsula on the west side of Lake Alexandrina about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about east of the municipal seat of Goolwa. It is ...

. He also ran farms at Crystal Brook and Calca. He lived at

Port Elliot Port Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay. Pullen Island lies outside the mouth of t ...

for his last 14 or 15 years, where he was an active member of the Church of Christ. He was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

seat of

East Torrens East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and served from May 1868 to March 1870.

Family

Henry Pearce (1800–1889) and his two sons George and William (1837–1909) of

Altarnun Altarnun ( ; kw, Alternonn) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located west of Launceston on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at . The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the ha ...

, Cornwall, emigrated from England on the ''Samuel Boddington'' to South Australia. They arrived in 1849, and settled at The Burra. James Pearce, another brother, arrived in 1848 with his wife and large family. William Pearce arrived in South Australia with his brother George and their father Henry, lived at Burra until the Victorian gold rush, when they tried their luck for a year or so. William returned to Adelaide and began working as a blacksmith, then settled at

, where he founded Poldea Station. He was an active member of the

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * When used in the plural, a New Testament designation for local groups of people following the teachings of Jesus Christ: "...all the churches of Christ greet you", Romans 16:16. * The entire body of Ch ...

, and for many years the Sunday school superintendent. He was also Chairman of the District Council, and he took a deep interest in mechanical inventions and scientific discoveries. He bought up adjacent properties, and built a butter factory, worked first by steam and later by an oil engine. Around 1904 he purchased Kindaruar Estate for his two sons. A third brother, James Pearce (1832–1919), arrived in the ''Ascendant'' in 1851, and worked as a blacksmith at Mount Barker, Red Hill and

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

. He died at his residence, Portrush Road,

Glen Osmond Glen Osmond is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Burnside which is in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills. It is well known for the road intersection on the western side of the suburb, where the South Eastern Freeway (National ...

. James Pearce was father of Western Australian Senator

George Pearce Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO (14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1901 to 1938. He began his career in the Labor Party but later joined the National Labor Party, t ...

, Minister of Defence in three cabinets between 1908 and 1921.

Family

Henry Pearce (c. 1800 – 20 August 1889) had three sons in South Australia. They were closely associated with the Shipway family, also from Cornwall: John Shipway, his wife Catherine, née Innes (c. 1814 – 14 December 1900), and their children Thomas, Edward Innes, Esther, and Mary Ann (1849– ), who arrived on the ''Cheapside'' in October 1849. Children of Henry Pearce included: *George Pearce (1 August 1826 – 9 June 1908) married Mary Ann (c. 1820 – 10 February 1908); they lived at

. :*William James Pearce ( – 27 May 1932) married Caroline :*George Pearce :*Henry Pearce *James Pearce (22 November 1832 – 17 April 1919) married Jane Foster (20 January 1836 – 14 September 1880). :*Henry Pearce (c. September 1864 – 26 January 1948) of

Milang Milang ( ) is a town and locality located in the Australian state of South Australia on the west coast of Lake Alexandrina (South Australia), Lake Alexandrina about south-east of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about nor ...

:*Charles J. Pearce (c. 1868 – February 1940) of

Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 Census, Horsham had a population of 2 ...

was married to Alice E. Pearce ( – 20 July 1946). :*William Tillidge Pearce (c. 1869 – 1 August 1939) married Clara Gertrude Williams (c. 1869 – 23 March 1935) on 20 July 1893, lived at Alberton. :*Sir

George Foster Pearce Sir George Foster Pearce KCVO (14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1901 to 1938. He began his career in the Labor Party but later joined the National Labor Party, t ...

KCVO (14 January 1870 – 24 June 1952) member of

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

and Minister for Defence. :*Edward Benjamin Pearce (1878–1962) :*Alfred Pearce ( – ) of Western Australia :*Frederick Gibbs Pearce (26 July 1879 – 1967) of Western Australia :*Emmeline Jane Pearce ( – ) married Herbert James "Bert" Jelly (c. 1870 – 22 November 1947) on 1 September 1894, lived at Sandwell (now

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

) :*another daughter married Charles Norman "Charlie" Hatwell (17 October 1867 – 5 July 1947) of Mount Gambier then Wagga, brother of racehorse owner/trainers Ernest J. Hatwell and Percy J. Hatwell. *William Pearce (1837 – 4 July 1909) owner of "Poldea" Estate, Point Sturt married Esther Shipway (c. 1846 – 11 February 1927) of Currency Creek on 29 November 1866 (newspaper notices have her as eldest daughter of Henry Pearce). :*Arthur William Pearce (24 July 1869 – 8 February 1934) married Jane Elizabeth "Jean" Verco (25 February 1872 – 30 April 1910) on 31 March 1909; home "Nura Nukie" ("Nura Mukie"?), Point Sturt. She died in childbirth. ::*Jean Verco Pearce (30 April 1910 – ) married Terence Edward Griffin on 1 February 1941. :*Emily Catharine "Em" "Emmie" Pearce (c. 1871 – 15 December 1910) :*Bessie Elizabeth Pearce (17 September 1873 – 15 May 1896) :*John Edward "Jack" Pearce (1875 – 1957) married Linda Mary Vickery (1875 – 4 December 1945), lived at "Kindaruar". ::*Elder daughter Doris Pearce (1900-1977) married Lionel Bowden (1901-1993) on 29 December 1928 ::*Reginald J. Pearce married Nancy N. Borrett on 10 June 1936 :*Mary Edith Pearce (c. 1878 – 12 June 1953) :*(Sarah) Innes Pearce (1880–1978) married William Sinclair Yelland (1880–1960) on 15 March 1911, lived at "Thamburtwa", Point Sturt. :*Elsie Adeline Pearce (c. 1882 – ) married Donald James Turvey (c. 1882 – ) on 12 August 1914, lived at Milang. *Eliza Pearce married Sidney Cook on 21 September 1865, lived at Finniss Point.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, George Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian pastoralists 1826 births 1908 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople