George Tinline (28 October 1815 – 4 February 1895) was a nineteenth-century

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 ...

n banker and politician. Tinline made his fortune when the Bank of South Australia created 25,000 guinea coins solving a currency crisis caused by a gold rush.

History

Tinline was born near

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...

, Scotland in 1815. His parents Esther (born Easton) and John were poor. On completing his education he worked for twelve years in the Jedburgh branch of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...

. In 1838 he emigrated to Sydney, Australia, where he was employed by the Bank of Australasia. He was transferred to the bank's

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 ...

branch but soon left to be the

Bank of South Australia BankSA, formerly known as the Bank of South Australia, the State Bank of South Australia and the Savings Bank of South Australia is the largest bank in South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Westpac. History Bank SA, formerly known as The B ...

's accountant at £400 a year. In January 1840 George's brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, arrived from Jedburgh. His brother was to live with the Maoris, to make his fortune sheep farming and to fund a park in Jedburgh. In 1860 the manager Stephens left for England, and George Tinline was appointed acting manager. This was the time of the gold rush, and the Colony was beset with, apart from the shortage of workers, a financial crisis due to the sudden increase in the availability of gold and the lack of sufficient currency to pay for it. He pushed for the establishment of an assay office and

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

, and the conversion of some of the diggers' gold to bullion which could be used as a form of currency. A Bullion Act was passed and some 25,000 £1 coins were minted, but were not recognized as legal currency by the Bank of England. In recognition of his work in staving off a crisis Tinline was awarded a purse of 2,000 guineas (£2,200; several millions of dollars in today's money), and an elaborate silver salver (now in the Art Gallery of South Australia), for his service to the business community. He was sacked by the bank in 1859 after severe losses caused by a customer defaulting, and joined his brother in law A. B. Murray in developing a pastoral lease at Wirrabara. He was one of the Lands Commissioners when he was elected in April 1860 to fill one of two vacancies in the Legislative Council, then created a vacancy when he abruptly retired to England in May 1863. The house which he had commissioned near the summit of

Mount Lofty Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. The mountain's s ...

was sold, half completed, later to become Stawell School for Girls. He paid a short visit to Adelaide in 1894 or 1895, and was in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

when he died.

Other interests

He had a financial interest in the Hindmarsh Brewery, whose management was for a few months known as "Crawford & Tinline" before becoming "Crawford & Sons".

Family

George Tinline married Helen Madder (also of Jedburgh) on 30 November 1843. They lived on Stanley Street,

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

and had six children. His widowed father John Tinline (1791–1861) and George's sister Margaret Tinline (c. 1823 – 17 August 1907) arrived in South Australia aboard the ''Symmetry'' in February 1844) Margaret would marry

Alexander Borthwick Murray Alexander Borthwick Murray (14 February 1816 – 17 March 1903) was an Australian sheep breeder and parliamentarian in the early days of South Australia. He married his business partner Margaret Tinline after they had established a successful s ...

on 23 June 1857 (his second wife).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinline, George Members of the South Australian Legislative Council Australian bankers Australian pastoralists 1816 births 1895 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople