George McCredie (1 January 1859 – 4 February 1903) was an Australian politician. He was born at Pyrmont, New South Wales, Australia and attended Fort Street Public School before becoming an apprentice carpenter at the age of fourteen. He worked in northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

for the

Australasian Steam Navigation Company The Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN Co) was a shipping company of Australia which operated between 1839 and 1887. Company history The company was started as the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company in 1839. In March 1851, the compa ...

before returning to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to work as a consulting engineer. After a world tour in 1883, he lived at

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

by 1891, becoming an alderman on Prospect and Sherwood Municipal Council, and was the mayor from 4 February 1892 until 20 February 1895. During 1891 he designed and built Linnwood, his home at Guildford. He was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

as a

Free Trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...

member for Central Cumberland at the 1893 by-election. Central Cumberland, along with other multi-member districts, was abolished in 1894 and McCredie stood as the Free Trade candidate for Granville at the 1894 election but an independent free trade candidate,

John Nobbs John Nobbs (8 September 1845 – 11 November 1921) was an Australian politician. He was born at Surry Hills to John and Jane Nobbs; his father was a gardener. He attended Sydney Grammar School and then farmed at Colo, also founding the ''C ...

, split the Free Trade vote and both were defeated. McCredie was the foreman of the jury in the trial of

George Dean George Dean (14 November 1867 – 7 May 1933) was a ferry boat master in Sydney, Australia, who was charged with attempting to poison his wife. A large part of the Sydney public came to believe that Dean was innocent and that his wife and her moth ...

in which Dean was convicted of attempting to murder his wife. Dean was pardoned after a Royal Commission, but subsequently confessed and was convicted of perjury. When bubonic plague struck Sydney in 1900, George McCredie was appointed by the Government to take charge of all quarantine activities in the Sydney area, beginning work on 23 March 1900. At the time of his appointment, McCredie was an architect and consulting engineer with offices in the Mutual Life of New York Building in Martin Place. McCredie's appointment was much criticised in Parliament, though it was agreed later that his work was successful. In 1900 McCredie was presented with a 'Victor of the Plague' commemorative shield. McCredie died at Guildford on 4 February 1903 (aged 44), leaving a widow and eight children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCredie, George Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Free Trade Party politicians 1859 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Australian politicians Mayors of places in New South Wales