George Farquhar Leslie

George Farquhar Leslie (19 August 1820 – 23 June 1860) was a Scottish-born pastoralist and politician in the colony of New South Wales, Australia.[1]

Border of Queensland and New South Wales

George Leslie, aged 18
Madam Emmeline de Falbe (widow of George Leslie, née MacArthur), circa 1880

Early life

George Farquhar Leslie was born on 19 August 1820 at Rayne in Aberdeenshire, the son of William Leslie, the local laird, and Jane Davidson.[2]

New South Wales pastoralist

In 1838 he migrated to New South Wales, where he helped finance his brother Patrick's Darling Downs expedition. He managed sheep for Phillip Parker King, and then farmed land at the Darling Downs.

In 1840 his brother Patrick,[3] married Catherine (Kate) Macarthur, daughter of Hannibal Macarthur (a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council) and granddaughter of Philip Gidley King (former Governor of New South Wales). On 2 December 1847, George Leslie married Catherine's sister Emmeline Maria Macarthur at All Saints Church, Parramatta, New South Wales.[4] The wedding of George and Emmeline was the first to be held in the church (which is now heritage-listed).[5][6] George and Emmeline had no children.

Legislative Council

From 1851 to 1855 George Leslie was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council for the Pastoral Districts of Clarence and Darling Downs,[7][8] In 1854 he was a member of a commission for the colony's participation in the Paris Exhibition of 1855.[9] He retired from the Legislative Council in February 1855.[1]

He was an active advocate for the separation of Queensland as a separate colony, and he was a strong supporter that the boundary of the new colony should be at latitude 30°S which would include both the Clarence and Darling Downs districts in the new colony.[10] However, the border between Queensland and New South wales was established between 28-29°S and the Clarence district remained part of New South Wales. His brother Patrick was briefly a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1857.[3]

Later life

Leslie retired to England due to ill health in 1855. He died from an attack of haemorrhage of the lungs on 22 June 1860 at Farnborough House in Hampshire, England.[1][11][12][1]

On 12 September 1865, his widow Emmeline married Vigant Falbe, a commander in the Royal Danish Navy, at the Priory Church, Great Malvern, England.[13][14] They had two sons: Christian (1866–1914) and Vigant William (1868–1940). Commander Falbe died on 19 June 1871 in Hastings, England from the rigours of his earlier Polar expeditions.[15][16] Emmeline died on 23 December 1891 in Cheltenham, England.[17]

References
  1. "Mr George Farquhar Leslie (1820-1860)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  2. Scotland, Select Births and Baptisms, 1564–1950
  3. Waller, K G T. "Leslie, Patrick (1815–1881)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 18 April 2019 – via National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
    "Mr Patrick Leslie (1815-1881)". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  4. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 December 1847. p. 4. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "All Saints', Parramatta". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 October 1934. p. 9. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "All Saints Anglican Church | NSW Environment & Heritage". www.environment.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. "New members". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 November 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Writ of election". The Empire. Sydney. 10 February 1855. p. 4. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Paris exhibition". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 January 1854. p. 8. Retrieved 20 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Weekly epitome". The Moreton Bay Courier. Brisbane. 25 August 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 August 1860. p. 1. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Local Intelligence". The Moreton Bay Courier. Brisbane. 21 August 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "Supreme Court". The Brisbane Courier. 24 July 1869. p. 4. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 November 1865. p. 1. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 September 1871. p. 1. Retrieved 7 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. Zhou, Yong (22 October 2013). The Histories of the International Polar Years and the Inception and Development of the International Geophysical Year: Annals of The International Geophysical Year. Elsevier. ISBN 9781483226286.
  17. Gill, J. C. H. (James Connal Howard) (1 January 1990), Book Review: My Dear Miss Macarthur, Royal Historical Society of Queensland, retrieved 7 November 2015

Further reading
  • Falbe, Jane de (1988), My dear Miss Macarthur : the recollections of Emmeline Maria Macarthur (1828-1911), Kangaroo Press, ISBN 978-0-86417-203-7

 

New South Wales Legislative Council
New district Member for Pastoral Districts
of Clarence & Darling Downs
Sep 1851 – Feb 1855		 Succeeded by
Thomas Hood
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