George Leake (1786–1849) was a wealthy landholder in the early days of the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just ''Swan River'', was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, an ...

. Backed with considerable assets, Leake supported many of the early settlers of the colony who were struggling financially.

Biography

Early life

George Leake was born in 1786 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. His father was Luke Leake, and his mother, Ann (née Heading, 1758–1836). He arrived at

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

in the in August 1829 and quickly established himself as a merchant.

Career

He was instrumental in the establishment of the first Bank of Western Australia which was established in June 1837, becoming its first chairman of directors. In 1839, he was one of four unofficial nominees of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

, retaining his seat until his death. He was appointed magistrate in 1839 and was made chairman of the Perth Town Trust (later to become Perth City Council).

Personal life

He married Anne Growse, who died in 1815 leaving him with one daughter, Ann Elizabeth. His nephew,

George Walpole Leake George Walpole Leake (3 December 1825 – 3 October 1895) was a Western Australian barrister and magistrate and nephew of George Leake (1786–1849). For short periods of time he was also Attorney-General of Western Australia. Leake held the ...

, was a prominent Western Australian barrister and magistrate and father of

George Leake George Leake (3 December 1856 – 24 June 1902) was the third Premier of Western Australia, serving from May to November 1901 and then again from December 1901 to his death. Leake was born in Perth, into a prominent local family. Studying la ...

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

from 1901 to 1902.

Death

He died on 31 May 1849 in Perth, Western Australia.

Notes

References

* M. Medcalf,
Leake, George (1786 – 1849)
,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 2,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

, 1967, pp. 99–100.
Dictionary of Australian Biography entry of his grandson, George Leake (Premier)