George William Bashford 1840 -

George William Bashford was born in Sompting, Sussex in 1840, where he was christened on 13 December 1840. He was the eighth child and fourth son of Josias Bashford and Frances Greenyer.

Josias was a market gardener, and all of George's early life was spent in the small farming community of Sompting, at the time of both the 1841 and 1851 census, the family was living on Sompting Street in Sompting.

It has not been possible to confirm George's location at the time of the1861 census. There is a George Bashford was an able seaman second class on the "HMS Britannica" - the royal naval training ship - in Hampshire. It is uncertain whether he was a trainee cadet, or simply a crewman. It this is infact our George, then it may explain how he got to Australia.

Again, there is no emigration record for George, but it is known that he arrived in Australia some time around 1864/65, and made his way to Brisbane. A newspaper article on Sarah Ann in the Ipswich Time in ??? notes that he arrived after the Fulleloves (but does not indicate the ship or immigration status).

It is not known what George did upon his arrival in the colony although during a worker address whilst constructing the Sandgate Railway he noted that "he landed in Brisbane 14, or was it 15, years earlier, 'without a fraction', and had his first job with a butcher to groom a horse and clean the stable, and he said, 'I wasn't going to be chamber-maid to a horse, and cleared out on the tramp to Ipswich'".

By 1866 he is noted as a gardener on his marriage certificate, and by 1868 he is noted in the Post Office Directory as a Green Grocer. 

In February 1868 there is a George Bashford who applied applies for a Publicans license for a hotel at Oakey Creek at his house (see advertisement right). It was granted in ???

In 1870 and 1871 he won a number of prizes for vegetables at the agriculatural show in Ipswich. The family is noted as living in Newtown at the time.

In 1871 he started in works construction, building a culvert at Redbank Plains. In June 1872 and again in February 1873 he is mentioned as the contractor on bridge constructions at ? and Walshes Bridge, Bundamba respectively

It is around this time that George started to gain a public profile

In November 1873 he ran as Alderman in Ipswich

In 1874 he took up a small contract on the Brisbane Ipswich Railway construction, he was highly successful

In 1876 he submitted a tender for part of the No1 and 2 sections of the Southern and Western Dalby to Roma line, but was unsuccessful, because he was only able to tender for one section due to cashflow issues. He submitted a tender for Section 3 and 4 of the Roma extension and was successful with Section 3. the tenderer for Section 4 was subsequently disqualified. He was later the successfull tender for the No. 5 and 6 sections of the Roma line, but was unsuccessful on No. 7 section - which was awarded to Frazer, Macdonald, and Co.

The railway market was highly competitive at this time, with significant undercutting and where consistently awarded on price, leaving very little margin for the contractors, many became insolvent.

In ??? he tendered for and was awarded the Sandgate Railway.

In ??? he tendered for and was awarded the Cooktown Railyway

Throughout the 187

Despite the life of railway men being difficult, the family purchased Clarendon House in Ipswich in . The house was built by ??? in ??? and was painted by renowned artist Charles Gordon Sebastian Hirst in April 1881.

In February 1888 George filed insolvency papers with the Supreme Court, Southern District Brisbane, and again in April 1894. The papers were noted as relating to a business in Ipswich Queensland and in Zeehan, Tasmania.

His will was lodged in the Brisbane Court on 1 June 1895 and again on 24 October 1896.

George's exact date of death is unknown, but Funeral parlor records indicate that his burial service conducted by W. Shenton a methodist minister and a Mr James P Read with witnesses Mr L McCoombes and Mr S.H. Ploetz.

Sarah Ann lived to the ripe old age of 91, finally passing away on 16 August 1935. At the time of her death she was living at Blackall St Basin Pocket, Ipswich. Her burial service was provided by Methodist Minister, Rev A.H. Stoke and witnessed by Mr W. Smith and Mr James Edward Burren.