Joshua Bannister was a general and wholesale produce merchant and commission agent, trading as Joshua Bannister & Co. He took over the premises of John Warren in Gheringhap Street Geelong in 1882. By 1884 he was advertising that he could sell chaff cheaper than others in Geelong could sell hay. 

He was a South Barwon councillor, serving from 1886 until 1888. He lived at "Holmwood" Highton. In a meeting to address ratepayers before the election he pointed out the necessity for street lighting, especially in the vicinity of Belmont. He was in favour of making the streets and asphalting the footpaths in order to induce the residents of Geelong to live in the district. He said he was also in favour of tree planting. In 1886 after resigning from his council position at South Barwon Shire he nominated to stand as a candidate for the Villamanta ward of the Geelong council. He served from 9 November 1893 until his death.

He was  well known breeder of high class trotters. He was a vice president and captain of Corio Bay Rowing Club, vice president of the Geelong and District Coursing Club, president of the Geelong Recreation Club (previously the Yorick Club) and a member of the Mopokes (became part of the Yorick Club).

In March, 1891 his produce store on the south east corner of Gheringhap and Little Malop Streets was extensively damaged by fire. Although the value of the stock and buildings was estimated at £5,400, the insurance cover was only £2,600. 

A clearing sale of trotting sires, brood mares and young stock took place at Kirk's Bazaar on 12 July 1907. 

He died on 25 September 1907 at a Sydney Sanatorium. He was buried in the lawn section of the Geelong Western Cemetery. The funeral was attended by a large number, including the mayor and councillors of the town. He left an estate of £11,945 to his widow, Jessie Page, relatives and friends. Jessie died on 4 December 1938.
​
A sale of city properties was held in 1917. The produce business was taken over by Robert Lyall & Son.

John Edward, eldest son of Johann (John)
​Christian and Dorothea Elizabeth (née Buttner) Andressen was born in 1863 at Grovedale.

He was a Shire of South Barwon councillor, serving for 22 years from 1896 until 1918. He served three terms as president of the shire  — 1901-02, 1907-08 and 1916-17. On 23 August 1904 when the last sale of Crown land in Grovedale was held, he purchased  allotments 3 – £230, 4 – £150 and 5 – £145. In 1911 he was appointed a justice of the peace. He was elected a trustee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Germantown in September 1913.When he retired he lived at 82 Swanston Street, Geelong.

​John died on 12 December 1961 at the age of 86 at a private hospital in Geelong. He was privately interred the next day in the Presbyterian section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery with his wife Dorothea Catherine who died on 20 Jul 1961.

John Black became a Barrabool Shire councillor in 1903, a position he held for 10½ years. In 1915 after he sold his property he was forced to resign. A luncheon was held at the Moriac Hotel where councillors expressed their regret at losing such a splendid worker whose position would be very hard to fill. It was not long before he joined the Winchelsea council. 

In 1920 he was selected as the Farmers' Union candidate for Polwarth at the next State election. The same year he was welcomed as a new member of the Geelong Agricultural Society. 

On 30 August the same year his wife, Jane, died after a lingering illness. There was a large attendance, including many representative citizens, at the funeral which took place two days later at Winchelsea.

In 1922 he attended a conference of public bodies opposed to the elimination of the Federal electorate of Corangamite which was held at Mortlake. by now he was shire president.

In 1923 he was elected as a South Barwon councillor  for the Kardinia riding, serving until 1927.

He was a committee member for the Belmont Recreation Reserve.  In 1928 he was appointed electoral registrar for the Barrabool division of the South Western Province.

​He died on 29 November 1934 aged 69 years and was buried at the Winchelsea Cemetery.

​He subsequently married Cath, née Rutledge, the widow on Alex Johnston.

​Florence Henrietta Johnston, step-daughter of Cr John Black of Roslyn Road Belmont who won the queen competition held on 20 July 1926 in aid of St Stephen's Parish Hall, Church of England Belmont
Train bearers: Joan Clemenger, Joan Smith and Jackie Clemenger — from Geelong Advertiser 22 September 1926
​
Children of John and Jane:
William John — born in 1890 at Bellarine East
Francis James — born in 1893 at Bellarine East
Edward Ernest — born in 1895 at Portarlington, died in 1954 aged 54 at Brighton Beach
Sydney Gilmore — born in 1897 at Modewarre, died in 1944 aged 46 at Winchelsea

John, son of Joseph and Ann (née Gibson) Pattison, was born about 1852. He married Emily Charlotte Parker in 1889. They had three children — Eric, Leslie and Gladys. 

​The family lived at their farm "Oaklands" at Bannockburn until 1910. It had a frontage to the Moorabool River. John was a councillor in the Bannockburn Shire for 17 years and resigned when he went to live at "​Sunnyside" in Marshall. John successfully contested the Barwon riding vacancy in the South Barwon Shire in 1910 using his experience at Bannockburn to appeal to ratepayers. He served one term from 1910 until 1913.

The farms were leased after an unsuccessful auction 1910.
​
John died on 26 March 1926 at "Sunnyside" aged 73 years. Emily died on 23 October 1931. They were buried together at Bannockburn Cemetery.

​Alfred settled in the Barrabool Hills in 1852. During this time he pursued farming and lime burning.

He was the licensee of the Kardinia Hotel in Highton from 1862 to 1871. The hotel was on the south west corner of Barrabool Hills and Valley Roads. 

He was a South Barwon Shire councillor for the Kardinia riding from 1864 to 1871 and again from 1874 to 1876 and was president for one term. On his retirement from the council he was presented with an illuminated address acknowledging his able services and wishing him a happy future in the "old land". The address was signed by the president, Cr William Higgins. He returned to England in 1876.

His wife, Elizabeth, died on 2 September 1882 aged 68 at her residence, 24 Antill Road, London. Alfred died on 13 August 1913 aged 86 at the same address. His remains were interred in the City of London Cemetery.

​

George Alexander, son of John and Elizabeth Munro (née Gunn) Cameron, was born on 23 July 1884 at Mount Duneed. He married Violet Maude Golightly on 27 May 1917. They had two children:
Joan — born on 29 May 1919, married Charles Olley, died on 8 May 2002, buried in the lawn section of the Highton Cemetery
Lorna — born on 5 March 1922, married Joe Eaton, died on 25 March 200l, buried in the rose garden of the Highton Cemetery 

He was the longest serving South Barwon councillor from 1913 when he was elected unopposed until 1968. During this 55 years he served seven terms as president — 1918-19, 1927-29, 1938-39, 1944-45, 1950-51, 1953-54, and 1962-63. He was elected as a member of the Connewarre Hall Committee in 1921 when a fund was set up for a memorial hall. When the first tram to Belmont ran in December 1927 he declared the route open. He drove the last tram from Belmont in 1956. He was elected chairman of the Breamlea Foreshore and Reserve Committee when it began on 25 September 1959 and served until 6 November  1968.

Violet died on 2 May 1932 and was buried at the Queenscliff Cemetery. George died on 23 September 1970 and was buried with her.

Robert Scott's house, Barwonside, was once owned by George Gardiner and later Charles Palmer 

Robert Albert (Nip), son of William and Elizabeth (née Tait) Scott, was born in 1901 at Connewarre. He married Ethel May, daughter of Charles and Mary Ann Johanna (née Tonacia) Dunn. Robert and Elizabeth had the following children:
​Robert Tait — born on 27 June 1927, married Margaret Mary, died on 17 May 2001 aged 73 years, buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery
Norma — born on 7 November 1928, married Oswald (Ossie) Middleton, died on 3 December 2007
Brian Albert — died in a car accident aged 13 years on 15 March 1946

Robert ran a dairy farm at the end of Kings Lane, Marshall with a small herd of guernsey and fresian cattle. He successfully showed the cattle he bred at Melbourne, Geelong and Colac shows. He was a committee member of the Geelong Agricultural Society.
​
He was a South Barwon councillor for 19 years, serving from 1949 until 1967. He was president in  1954-55 and 1963-64. He was a life governor of Glastonbury Children's Home in Belmont, a foundation member and president of Marshall Progress Association, president of the Marshall Grovedale Rural Fire Brigade for ten years, president of Southern District Cricket for ten years and president and life member of Marshall Grovedale Football Club.

Robert died on 16 May 1974 at Geelong and was buried in the Roman Catholic section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery with Ethel who died on 7 January 1971 aged 70 years at Geelong and son, Brian.

Alfred John, son of James Beard and Sarah (née Luke) Talbot, was born in 1827 at Walthamstow, Essex, England. His father, a congregational minister of Brunswick Chapel, Mile End, London,  had written a book in 1844 named "The Miseries of Prostitution".

Alfred arrived in the colony on the Moselle in December 1952 with his brother George and his wife Louisa Harriet née Burrell, whom he had married on 31 July 1852 at Walthamstow. After arriving in Geelong he advertised in various newspapers in an attempt to find his elder brother, James, whom he thought was in Bendigo, Victoria. He advertised his services as an accountant, land, house and estate agent  mentioning that he was from London. He was working from his home in Chilwell. 

By 1861 he was advertising an extensive range of services, delivered from his office on the Corner of Moorabool and Ryrie Streets, Geelong. He was now living at Belmont.

He was an auditor of the Geelong Gas Company in 1859, secretary of the Geelong Land and Building Society and an auditor for the Shire of South Barwon. He became a South Barwon councillor in January 1861. On Saturday 15 June 1861 at 8 am a meeting of ratepayers of the South Barwon Municipality was held to elect a councillor to replace Councillor Talbot who was disqualified from his position because of non-attendance. The only candidate was TW Antill, who became Talbot's replacement. The annual elections were scheduled to take place two weeks later. Councillor Antill would retire and stand for re-election.

In March 1961 Alfred disposed of his business to Henry Simmonds, who had for some years been his clerk. He was examined at the Geelong Insolvent Court on Wednesday 3 July 1861. He stated that he was a commission agent, charging commission for money received. The money received was spent running his business. He did not believe he had spent the money wrongfully. In September 1861 he was charged with forgery and embezzlement​. 

​Alfred and Louisa had the following children:
Rosina Sarah Augusta — born 1853 in Geelong
Louisa Selina — born 4 February 1855 in Chilwell
Caroline Maude —born 1857 in Geelong, died 14 April 1860, buried at Highton Cemetery
Alfred James Charles —born 1859 in Geelong
Percy George — born 1861 in Ashby

After 1861 he and his family seem to have disappeared from Geelong. I cannot find a will, burial or death record.

William was born in 1853. He came to Geelong as a small boy and grew up in Connewarre. He married Elizabeth, daughter of James and Helen (née Easton) Tait. They had the following children:
William John — born in 1894 at Mount Duneed, died on 9 August 1918 in France
Esther Helen — born in 1885 at Mount Duneed
Esther — born in 1886
George Tait — born on 10 March 1896, married Elsie Florence Lange, died in 1952 aged 56 at Geelong 
Alexander James — born in 1887 at Mount Duneed, married Queenie Irene Carson
Margaret Janet — born in 1889 at Mount Duneed, married James Couzens
Elsie Gordon — born in 1892 at Connewarre, married Lewis John (Jack) Challis in 1914, died in 1968 at Highton
Elizabeth Ann — born in 1898 at Mount Duneed, married Lawrence MacDonald in 1926, died in 1987 at West Wyalong
Celia Agnes Scott — born in 1905 at Mount Duneed, married Hector Lawrence Drew in 1940, died on 4 January 1983, buried at Highton Cemetery.

William had a farm and also shot ducks on Lake Connewarre for sale in the Geelong market. He was  a South Barwon Councillor for 18 years, serving from 1887 until 1890 and from 1898 until 1913. He passed away on 5 October 1915 aged 63 years and was buried in the Church of England section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery. Elizabeth died on 8 July 1926 aged 66 years and was buried with him.


​

article contributed by John Stewart
​
James Stewart was born in Parramatta in 1845, the youngest son of John and Lillie Stewart. He came to Geelong with his family in 1852; thence to Mt Duneed in 1856, where his father farmed and later owned the Connewarre flour mill. James assisted his father and one brother on the farm and with the flour mill.

James became a member of the Connewarre Road Board. The earliest reference confirming this was found in the Geelong Advertiser of 10 September, 1868. Since, from other information, member elections seem to have taken place each August, it is likely that he was elected in August, 1868. He would have been aged 23, rather young to be on the Board.

The earliest reference to James being Chairman of the Board is in the Geelong Advertiser of 31st July, 1874. In July 1873, Andrew White was known to be chairman. As the Chairman was elected at the AGM and the 1873 AGM was on 19th November, it is assumed that this was when he became chairman. He was then 28.

In 1874 the government legislated to amalgamate the Borough of South Barwon with the Connewarre Road Board. The first meeting of the newly constituted Shire of South Barwon took place on Wednesday, 20th January, 1875, and James was recorded as Chairman of the Connewarre Road Board. Thus, he must have been re-elected as Chairman at the Road Board AGM in November, 1874. So that is how he became to be an inaugural councillor of the Shire of South Barwon. He would not have been eligible for re-election in 1875 as, by that time, he was resident at Hillside which is in the Parish of Duneed and thus outside the South Barwon boundary.​

John, son of William and Elizabeth (née Simpson) Herd was born on 1 November 1798 in Belfast, Ireland. He married Janet née Park about 1820. They had the following children all born at Belfast, Northern Ireland:
William — born about 1820, died on 31 March 1908
Mary — born about 1821, married Francis Bennett, died 24 May 1885 at Kewell aged 63
Eliza — born about 1823, died 12 April 1901 at Geelong West
Jane — born about 1826, died 4 February 1895 at Ararat
John — born about 1827, died before the family emigrated
Agnes — born about 1828, died 8 April 1899 at Stawell
Sarah — born about 1830, married John McGill on 9 January 1849 at Christ Church Geelong, died February 1877 at Belmont Victoria

​John and Janet came to Australia with their family as assisted immigrants on the Manderin​ in 1838 arriving in Sydney. They travelled to Port Phillip on the Hope soon after.

John was a pioneer of the district in 1848 when he took up a pastoral run of 21,000 acres at Airey's Inlet and established the Loutitt Bay Cattle Station. 

​Early in 1850 he established a market garden in Thornhill Road, Highton.

​He became a councillor of the South Barwon Shire, serving from 1859 until 1863. He was appointed as a magistrate ex officio. He was one of the first trustees for the 10½ acre Barrabool Hills (Highton) Cemetery when it was established in 1855. He was also a trustee for Queens Park. In 1864 he became a member of the Anglican School Committee. His son-in-law Francis Bennett was also on the committee. 

​John died on 1 February 1885 at Kewell North and was buried in un unmarked grave at Warracknabeal Cemetery. Janet died on 4 September 1876 at Highton.

​Thomas Vaughan was born about 1829. He married Catherine (also known as Kate) Perdue in 1855. She was born about 1834. They had the following children:
Thomas Henry — born 1856 at Ballarat
​Lucy Ann ​— born 1858 at Ballarat, married James Williamson Nicol on 23 August 1883, died in 1935 at Malvern East aged 76 years
Alfred Perdue — born 1860 at Ballarat, married Rebecca Alison (Alice) Shierlaw on 9 May 1889, died 1923 at Box Hill aged 62
Edith Alberta — born 1862, died 1932 at Armadale Victoria
Diana Gertrude — born 1864, died 1907 at St Kilda
Ida May — born 1865, died 1953 at Elwood aged 88 years
Joseph Charles — born 1866 at Geelong, died 1939 at Cheltenham

When Thomas agreed to seek election as a South Barwon councillor to fill the vacancy caused by the recent retirement of Sharp Brearley, he was described in the Geelong Advertiser as "a man of wealth and standing in the borough, has plenty of leisure, and is in every respect competent to fill the office of councillor in a manner calculated to advance the interests of the borough". He served from 1869 until 1875.

Thomas died on 14 May 1897 at his residence, Sunnyside at Marshalltown, at the age of 68. He had been a resident of Marshalltown for 30 years and a colonist of 47 years. He was buried in the Church of England section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery with Catherine who died on 27 February 1877 at the age of 43. Their daughter, Diana Gertrude, who died at St Kilda in December 1907 at the age of 44 was interred with them.


​

​​William Higgins arrived on the Larpent on 28 June 1849 with his parents and brothers and sisters, at the age of 15.

​His father the Rev William Higgins was a Congregational Minister. Rev Higgins, formerly of Trinity Chapel in London was the chaplain on the Larpent. He participated at 3 christenings and 1 marriage during the trip. There were 5 births and 10 deaths, mainly children, during the trip. 200 of the passengers had been selected by Rev John Dunmore Lang and consigned to Dr Alexander Thompson, who was a supporter of the Sydney Presbyterian minister John Dunmore Lang, whose wish was to encourage the migration of hard-working, God-fearing Protestants to the colony. He sponsored two ships, the Travancore and the Larpent, to bring the settlers to Australia in 1849 with Thomson ready to receive and settle them. Thomson owned section 10 of the parish of Barrabool known as the Kardinia section — a square mile of undulating land.
​
William jnr was a solicitor whose company was eventually known as W & W Higgins. He brought up his family of eleven children at Shoubra in Highton which at that time was surrounded by 38 acres opposite the Church of England in South Valley Road.  He became superintendent of the little Congregational Sunday School on the east side of Valley Road.

He was a South Barwon Shire councillor from 1871 until 1892. He was mayor of the Borough from 1871 until 1874. He was president of the Shire of South Barwon 1874-76, 1880-81, ​1883-85 and 1888-1889. As Mayor he laid the foundation stone at the Wesleyan church on 2 October 1873. A bottle was placed under the stone containing copies of the Geelong Advertiser, Wesleyan Chronicle and documents connected with church affairs.

​He was a director of the Kardinia Estate Co in the 1890s. It was not successful because of the depression. He was a member of the gentlemen's committee of the refuge for women at Kildare.

He died on 3 May 1892 at the age of 58 years from apoplexy and was buried in the Independent section of the Geelong Western Cemetery. He had recently returned from a tour to Europe. His wife, Sarah Ann (née Davey), died on 6 Oct 1911 at the age of 76 years and was buried with him.

Robert Ewing Blyth was the sixth child of Ewing and Agnes Blyth, born on 8 September 1872. In 1896 he married Elizabeth Ann Martin Cameron, daughter of John and Elizabeth Munro (née Gunn) Cameron. ​Their children were:
Elsie Ann Martin — born 1899 at Mount Duneed, married James Edward Clery in 1921, died 4 June 1987 aged 87, buried in the Presbyterian section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery
Elizabeth Victoria — born 1901 at Connewarre, married Henry George McErvale on 16 March 1932 at Geelong, died 1975 aged 73 at Camperdown
Daisy — born 1904 at Geelong, married Allan Thomas Lawrence in 1936, died 1985 aged 80
Charlotte Amelia — born 3 July 1907 at Connewarre, died 3 December 1973 aged 66, buried in the Presbyterian section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery
​Isobel May — born 23 May 1910 at Mount Duneed
Robert John — born 23 November 1912 at Connewarre, married ​Hilda May Harrison in 1938, died 21 February 1992, buried in the Presbyterian section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery 
​Raymond Douglas Haig — born 1919, died 21 February 1922 aged 2 years, buried in the Presbyterian section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery
​
​The children attended the bluestone school three miles away, travelling across paddocks with high grass in summer and mud in winter, the girls in starched white aprons and collars and black stockings.

In 1909 he purchased 126 acres, previously owned by William Underwood, on the south east corner of Barwon Heads and Black Rock Roads, Connewarre. He called the property Elsinore. He cleared the farm of sheoaks and planted fruit trees. He built dams and bought dairy cows and pigs.

He took an active interest in community life. For about 50 years he was secretary of the Connewarre Presbyterian Church and was on the hall and school committees. He became a South Barwon Shire councillor, serving for 25 years and served three terms as president — 1915-16, 1924-25 and 1935-36. He was appointed a justice of the peace for the Southern Bailiwick by the State Executive on 11 June 1918. He was a director of the Geelong and Cressy Trading Company for 32 years.

Robert died on 12 April 1949, aged 77 years, and is buried in the Presbyterian section of the Mount Duneed Cemetery. He is buried with Elizabeth who died in 1931 aged 55 years. ​

Horace Frank, son of John and Annie Sarah (née Matthews) Richardson, was born on 8 November 1854 at Geelong. He went to Geelong College from 1866 to about 1870. He took an interest in sport, playing cricket with the Mercantile Club, Rowing with the Barwon Rowing Club and in later life playing bowls and croquet.

On ​16 February 1881 he married Edith Harriett Sommers (1860-1937) daughter of William and Annie Sommers. Their children were:
Stanley John  — born 1882, died 1961 at Camberwell aged 78
Elsie Dora — born 1884, died 1891 in Geelong aged 7 years
Alan William — born 1886, died 1970 at Preston aged 84 years
Francis Dudley — born 1889, died 1891 at Hawthorn
Norman Willis — born 1892, died 1893 at Geelong aged 1 year
Edith Annie Lynette — born 1893, married Gerald Rankin Lemon, died 1983
Frank Evan — born 1895, died 1963 at Anglesea

​After leaving school he worked for his father until 1873 when he commenced working for the Liverpool London and Globe Insurance Co in the Geelong branch. In 1876 he became secretary and treasurer of the Shire of South Barwon. He was a City of Geelong councillor for thirteen years, serving from 1884 until 1897 and from 1908 to 1912. He was mayor from 1894 to 1896. In 1897 he became a South Barwon shire councillor, serving until 1930. He was a president of the shire three times — 1900-01, 1908-09 and 1914-15. He won a seat on the Legislative Council in 1912 and became Minister of Forests from 1924 to 1927.

​On March 31 1828 when he addressed the crowd at the Mount Duneed School Jubilee celebrations, he mentioned that he had once been a resident of Mount Duneed.

​He died on 28 October 1935 aged 80 years at his home "Kardinia" in Belmont and was buried in the Baptist section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery. Edith died on 21 June 1937 aged 76 and was buried with him.





​

Thomas Wills, fourth son of Major Henry Colden and Elizabeth (née Wills) Antill was born on 24 November 1829 at "Jarvisfield" near Picton in New South Wales. 

He played cricket for Victoria in the Tasmania v Victoria match  at Launceston on 11-12 February in 1851. His cousin Thomas Wills was an outstanding cricketer.

He was manager of the Union Bank of Australia Ltd. He became a South Barwon councillor serving from 1861 until 1862. The family moved to New Zealand early in 1862 where he continued his work for the Union Bank. A bank was built at Nelson and branches were opened at Havelock and Picton in 1864. He became a trustee of the Nelson Savings Bank in New Zealand in 1863. During his time in New Zealand he was active in church affairs. He was a churchwarden at Christ Church in Nelson. He was a director of the Permanent Building Society at Nelson. He was the chairman of the committee which organised a full day of celebrations followed by a ball to commemorate the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Princess Alexandra of Denmark on Tuesday 16 June 1863. 

He married Sarah Maria, daughter of Samuel  McKee on 7 May 1852 at St James' Church in Sydney. On 20 February 1853 they had a daughter, Maria Elizabeth, who married Murray Bennett McPherson in 1876. She died in Geelong in 1937.

Sarah died on 3 March in 1853 at Geelong and was buried the following day in the Church of England section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery. 

The following year Thomas married Isabella Fisher on 15 June. They had the following children:
Henry Wills — born on 23 May 1855 at Willoughby in NSW, married Jane Gertrude McRae on 2 May 1885 , died on 4 January 1914 in New Zealand
Fanny Jessie — born ​in 1857 in New South Wales, died in 1910
Charlotte Maud — born in 1860 at Barrabool, died in May 1865 in Nelson in New Zealand
Mary Emily — born on 10 June 1863 in New Zealand, married Herbert Arthur Melhuish in 1891 in Queensland, died in 1947 aged 83 at St Kilda in Victoria

Thomas died on 11 May in 1865 aged 34 of scarlet fever at Nelson in New Zealand and was buried in the Church of England section of the Wakapuaka Cemetery. Isabella died on 28 October in 1875 aged 39.

Edward Wilks Gibson was a wool classer and honorary secretary of the Geelong and Western District Woolclassers' Association. He was a South Barwon councillor, serving from 1894 until 1899. He was president in 1896-97. He carried on a business at Marshalltown for 30 years.

He married Mary Ann Cameron in 1888. They had the following children:
​Wilberthe — born 1890
​Edward John — born 1893 Geelong, died 1981 at Elsternwick​ aged 89
​Lilly 
​​
​Edward died on 22 November 1953.

George Gardiner, a well-known oil and glue manufacturer, was born on 1 March 1845 at Bathurst. He married Mary Patton, a native of Glasgow. They had the following children:
George Arthur — born 1867 in Melbourne, married Mary Emily Searle in 1890, died in Prahran in 1935 aged 67
​John Wesley — born 1869 in Melbourne, died on 7 February 1906 as a result of suicide
Sophia Jane (Tottie) — born 1871 in Melbourne, married Henry Thomas Pride on 6 April 1898, died 6 August 1928 aged 56, buried in the Church of England section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery
Thomas — born 1873, married Mary Ollie in 1891, married Ivy Jane Hill, died 21 January 1946 in Geelong
Robert — born 1875, married Lillie Riley in 1911, died on 21 May 1954
Victoria — born 1878, married Ralph Martin, died in Fitzroy in 1894
Louisa — born 1879, married George Hillcant in 1911, died in Shepparton in 1949
Edith — born 1881, married Stephen Reynolds in 1903, died in Shepparton in 1950
Mary died at the age of 37 at her residence in Marshalltown on 18 January 1882 and was buried in the Church of England section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery in a single grave​.

On 21 Jun 1882 George married Mary Ann, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (née Hoyler) Jeffery of The Fernery, Newtown, at the High Church Manse. They had two children:
Elizabeth (Lily) — born 9 May 1883
Ethel Maud — born 19 September 1884, married George Cecil Pitcher​ in 1955, died in 1971 aged 86
Mary Ann died on 16 May 1887 from exhaustion caused by shock from accidental burning. She was buried with George's first wife, Mary, at the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.

​By 1898 George was living at Sunnyside, on the corner of Brearleys Lane and Tannery Road, Marshalltown. In 1899 George married Emma Elizabeth Moran. It was obviously a short marriage as Emma was suing his for maintenance by 1910. On ​26 April 1907 a sale was held to dispose of household furniture and effects, live stock and farm implements as George had disposed of the property.

​He was a South Barwon Shire councillor, serving from 1874 until 91, 1889 until 1892 and 1895 until 1910. In 1898 he failed to lodge his nomination paper before the date necessary for lodgement, however an election was held to fill the extraordinary vacancy and he was the only person nominated and was duly elected a councillor. He was president of the shire twice — 1897-1898 and 1905-1906. He served on the council a total of 24 years. He was on the committee of the Torquay Improvement Association. He was a vice president of the Torquay Racing Club. The racecourse was on the property of Andrew White.

In 1884 George made arrangements to set up a tannery beside the Barwon River next to his glue factory. He later added the manufacture of fertilisers under the brand of "Magic". In 1894 George's glue factory was almost burnt to the ground. The efforts of the neighbours saved part of the buildings, and most of the equipment in the complex. Replacement buildings were erected and manufacturing of oil and glue resumed. He added extra buildings, fitted with the latest machinery for the manufacture of bone dust on a large scale. When the new plant was up and running George entertained the councillors, council officers and visitors and in the evening a banquet and social was held for about 150 of the neighbouring residents. In the new factory every safeguard was taken to ensure the strictest cleanliness and prevent the slightest objectionable odour which would be a source of nuisance to the residents in the vicinity. The "gaseous emanations" were passed at a high pressure through water, which is itself either again utilised or thoroughly disinfected before being discharged into the Barwon. After the tables were cleared dancing followed into the early hours. By 1910 business was slowing because of the scarcity of hides.

​On 7 February 1906 George's unmarried son, John Wesley, aged 36 years and 10 months committed suicide by shooting himself with a breech loading shotgun. He was buried with his mother and step mother, Mary Ann.

George died on 26 April 1911 at the age of 65 years and was buried in the Church of England section of the Geelong Eastern Cemetery. A large crowd attended the burial which was conducted by Rev D W Weir. The coffin was carried by F Baench, G Klemke, W Lockwood, L Jarvis, H Holmes and J Allen, all employees of the firm. The pall bearers were E Sparrow, W Munday, E Watson, F Tozer, C Palmer, H Storrer and G Dixon. Emma died on 23 December 1935 aged 87 years and was buried in a separate grave at the Geelong Eastern Cemetery.

​On 15 December 1911 the tannery together with 22 acres of land was sold at auction to John Heslop for £3000.​​​ It was managed by Charles Frederick Palmer. He purchased the tannery in 1912.

At the time of his death in 1911, George Gardiner lived in a brick cottage erected on allotment 15 in Tannery Road, Marshall. The block also contained a weatherboard cottage which was leased. Across the road on allotment 4 was a tannery, bone mill, oil works, stables outbuildings and a small cottage. Two cottages were erected on allotment 4. Two more cottages were erected on allotment 5 which George also owned. He also owned a block in Breakwater, and a small acreage on or near the corner of The Esplanade and Beach Road in Torquay. He also owned farmland in the Parish of Puebla which backed onto Thompsons Creek.

In 1892 when the inspector, Sergeant Dawson,
visited Christopher John Tadgell's slaughter yard at Marshalltown he found it in a foul state. He recommended that Tadgell's license be cancelled, or the he be prosecuted for having the premises in an offensive state. Tadgell wanted a transfer of his license to a more suitable premises as the land was low-lying and impossible to drain. He had obtained land in Germantown (Torquay) Road where he carried on his trade. By the following year he was running a shop in Colac Road, Belmont and periodically renewed his slaughtering license. By 1900 he had his butchering business for sale. The following year he had re-commenced his business. 

In 1899 he was elected as a South Barwon councillor where he served until August 1902 when he was defeated by H R Winter. He then wished to be relieved of his position on the committee of management of the Belmont Recreation Reserve and was replaced by Councillor Andressen. A clearance sale was held at Ryrie Street on 17 July 1906. A mortgagee sale was held to sell the butcher's shop and residence at Belmont. By November he was selling meat in Little Malop Street, Geelong. In 1908 he was elected president of the Geelong Master Butcher's Association.
​
​He married Emily Williams in 1891. They had the following children while living in Geelong:
Edith — born 1892, died 1910
Alfred Ernest — born 1893
​Percy Sidney  — born 1894, died 1959
Emily Eliza — born 1896
Florence — born 1898
​Christopher John — born 1899
Gerte May — born 1902
​Gladys Tihan — born 1907
Daisy Vic — born 1905
Arthur Keith born 1910, died 1974
Walter Leonard — born 1912

Christopher  moved to Gippsland in 1910, selling his 396 acre farm, one mile from Officer Railway Station, in 1912. In 1913 his shop in Belmont, occupied by his son, had been destroyed by fire. He died in 1938 aged 68 years at Sunbury and was buried at Fawkner Cemetery. Emily died at Camberwell on 23 January 1844 aged 73 and was buried at with him.