George Alphonse Collingridge de Tourcey (he rarely used 'de Tourcey') (29 October 1847 – 1 June 1931) was an Australian writer and illustrator best known today for his early assertions of Portuguese discovery of Australia in the 16th century.

Early life

He was born in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, educated in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(in the

15th arrondissement The 15th arrondissement of Paris () is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ('the fifteenth'). The 15th arrondissement, called , is situated on the left bank of the River Seine. ...

), served in the

Papal Zouaves The Papal Zouaves () were an infantry battalion (later regiment) dedicated to defending the Papal States. Named after the French zouave regiments, the ' were mainly young men, unmarried and Catholic, who volunteered to assist Pope Pius IX in his ...

(alongside his brother Alfred, who died in the

Battle of Mentana The Battle of Mentana was fought on November 3, 1867, near the village of Mentana, located north-east of Rome (then in the Papal States, now modern Lazio), between French-Papal troops and the Italian volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi. Gariba ...

), and migrated to Australia in 1879 aboard the ''Lusitania'' (not the ship of the same name that sank in 1915). He settled in the then isolated area of Berowra, before moving to nearby

Hornsby, New South Wales Hornsby is a suburb on the North Shore (Sydney), Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, approximately north-west of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the Local government ...

Career

Since his French academic qualifications as a "Professeur" were not recognised by Australian universities, he worked as an artist and art teacher, and contributed drawings and articles to local newspapers. He founded the first Australian art magazine, Australian Art: a Monthly Magazine & Journal, and with his brother, Arthur Collingridge (1853 – 1907), was one of the founders of the

Royal Art Society of New South Wales The Royal Art Society of New South Wales, or Royal Art Society of NSW, was established in 1880 as the Art Society of New South Wales by a group of artists including Arthur and George Collingridge, with the aim of creating an Australian school of ...

. His publication of ''The Discovery of Australia'' in 1895 earned him accolade as a "genius" and as "an authority on geographical matters" from members of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

as well as foreign honours: in 1908 he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of Santiago by the King of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. In 1917 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Isabella la Catolica by the King of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. However, not everyone was as complimentary; his official biographer, O.H.K. Spate, described him as of "undisciplined intellect" and lacking a "rigorously judicial habit of mind"; the book was a financial failure; and a proposed scheme to use a simplified version of the book, ''The First Discovery of Australia and New Guinea'' (1906), in schools was withdrawn. Collingridge published "Alice in One Dear Land" in 1922. It is a handmade book with numerous small tipped in plates. Alice is depicted in the Australian bush with a koala, this is the first depiction of "

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

" in an Australian setting. Collingridge's distant relative, Vanessa Collingridge, published a book on

Captain Cook Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 1768 and 1779. He complet ...

, entitled ''Captain Cook'' (2002), and the publication of this book has caused a certain resurgence of interest in George Collingridge in recent years. He died at Berowra on 1 June 1931 and was buried at Field of Mars Cemetery.

Works

* * * * *

References

External links

George Alphonse Collingridge papers, ca. 1890-ca. 1920 at the State Library of New South Wales

George Collingridge Society

Papers of George Collingridge at the National Library of Australia
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collingridge, George 1847 births 1931 deaths Colony of New South Wales people Writers from Sydney English emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian writers Australian historians Australian maritime historians