George Mills (1843-1910)

George was born in Westbury, Wiltshire, England in 1843, the eldest son and child of David & Emma Mills (nee Hill). His siblings were Julia, Frederick, Walter, Anne, Howard, Roland and Rosa.

Wiltshire
George's father was a weaver and a labourer who was part of the Protestant Non-Conformist movement in Wiltshire. They were Bible Christians who did not always have established churches, so it is unclear where George may have been baptised. The Bible Christians faced some intolerance from the established religions of the day, so when the weaving industry began to decline, George's father decided to emigrate to South Australia, hoping for religious freedom and better agricultural opportunities.

Journey on the Sibella
The family boarded the barque Sibella at Plymouth and sailed on 6th April 1848. George was only 5 years old and an only child at this stage, as a younger brother had died a year before. He did have his uncle Ebeneezer, aunt Ann and 3 cousins on board to keep him company, as they were making the trip with the family. Ship steward, Fracis Trealor, noted in his diary that children would play games on deck when the weather was calm. George's cousin Ann, who was barely a year old when they began the journey, died on the crossing and was buried at sea.

South Australia
The colonists disembarked in South Australia on July 18th 1848. The family first settled in North Adelaide and by 1851 had moved to the Tea Tree Gully area which was known as Steventon. His father became a farmer on 80 acres at Section 5487. Most of George's siblings were born at this location. George would have spent his early years assiting his father on the farm.

Work and Marriage
It appears that George may have learnt blacksmithing from a young age and eventually moved into the city to obtain work. At some point, he had an accident in which a piece of hot iron or coal hit him in the side of the face. This left a rather nasty scar and, as a result, all known photographs of George show him standing side on so the scar can't be seen.

It is not known how he met future wife Caroline De Laine, but her father was a policeman and a butcher who lived in the Sturt Street area of the city. They were married on 26/10/1865 ad the marriage was reported in the Register newspaper with the following notice:-

"On the 26th October, by licence, by the Rev. A Pithouse, at the residence of the bride's father, Mr George Mills, eldest son of Mr David Mills of Tea Tree Gully, to Miss Caroline Berenice, eldest daughter of Mr Charles DeLaine of Sturt Street, Adelaide."



George and Caroline started and raised their family in Adelaide.

George moved into the field of coach building and was employed by the Cobb and Co coach company at some point. It is not proven at this stage exactly when this occured.

By 1881, the family had moved to Gilbert Street, Goodwood, where the last two children were born. It was around this time that George began working for another coach company, John Hill and Co. It is beleived he was employed as a foreman coach builder. He is listed in the South Australian directories as a coach smith for the years 1884 and 1885.

Patent 3470
George appears to have been an inventor while working as a coach smith. In 1896 he made specification for registration of a patent titled - 'An improved brake for vehicles', which was an improved braking system for stage coaches. It was registered as Patent 3470, and it is possible that the braking system was used by both Cobb & Co and Hill & Co coach companies. More information on this patent is currently in the process of being obtained from the Australian National Archives.

In 1903, George was still employed at Hill & Co and attended their annual social event. Details of his attendance are recorded in an article in The Advertiser newspaper on Thirsday 24th September, 1903. The article indicated that he had worked for the firm for over 20 years. By this time, he and Caroline were living at Clarke Street, Norwood.

George died in November 1910 at Clarke Street, Norwood of senile cardiac degeneration and cardiac failure. He is buried in the West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide. Caroline would survive him by another 15 years.



Children

 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of George and Caroline Mills
 * colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |Children of George and Caroline Mills