Sir George Hodges Knox, (17 December 1885 – 11 July 1960) was an Australian politician,

orchardist An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of l ...

and military officer. The

City of Knox The City of Knox is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in 2020, Knox had a population of 165,147. This municipality is one of only a handful that survived the widespread mu ...

is named after him. Knox was born in the

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 ...

suburb of

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...

on 17 December 1885 and educated at

Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...

. He was the son of William Knox, who had been a member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

between 1897 and 1901, and the member for Kooyong in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Knox began his working life as an electrical engineer. He married Kathleen Purves MacPherson in 1909. Soon after, he moved to

Beaconsfield, Victoria Beaconsfield (Boonwurrung: ''Kemgrim'') is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Casey and the Shire of Cardinia local government areas. Beaconsfield recor ...

, to establish an orchard. He joined the

Citizen Military Forces The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

in 1909 and served during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, commanding the 23rd Battalion. He divorced in 1919. In 1920 he moved to

Ferntree Gully, Victoria Ferntree Gully is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, at the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges, 30 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Knox local government area. Ferntree Gully ...

. He married Ada Victoria Harris in 1921. He was elected to the Fern Tree Gully Shire Council in 1923. Knox won the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

seat for Upper Yarra in 1927 for the Nationalist Party. He became

Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria. The presiding officer of the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria, the Victorian ...

in 1942 and remained there until 1947. Between 1945 and 1960 he held the seat of Scoresby.

Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, George 1885 births 1960 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (Australia) 20th-century Australian politicians Australian brigadiers Australian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Australian electrical engineers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian orchardists Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne Nationalist Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne Speakers of the Victorian Legislative Assembly United Australia Party members of the Parliament of Victoria People from Prahran, Victoria