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George Christian
George Pattison Christian was born on 9 November 1873 at 12 Mountpleasant Avenue, Rathmines, South Dublin, to David Clyne Christian and his wife Margaret Pattison.
George is the vertical one, ostensibly in his 70s, possibly supported by one of his sons. >
George was always very good at sport and involved in a wide range of different sporting activities. He was Physical Director to the Presbyterian Association and Church of Ireland YMCA in Dublin. He captained the Dawson St Gymnasts in their win of the 200 guinea challenge open to the United Kingdom. He won over forty gold and silver medals. He was instructor to several institutions in Dublin including Dawson St Gymnasium Club, Sackville Hall, Harold's Cross and King's Hospital. He was recognized as one of the best horizontal bar exponents in 1900 in Dublin.
George also represented Ireland in Cricket, and played locally for company teams as well. If he was needed to play during work hours, he used the pseudonym of Dobbin, although everyone knew who he was.
12 Mountpleasant Avenue
He appeared on the census of 31 March 1901 at 61 Mountpleasant Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland. His occupation was given as a Clerk to the Solicitor General.
He married Elizabeth Jane White, daughter of Joseph White and Jane Matilda Sheirson, on 2 Jun 1904 at St Matthias Church, Parish St Peter, Dublin, Ireland. His address at the time was 24 South Richmond St, Dublin.
In 1908, when his son Des was born, George and family lived at 23 Cambridge Rd, Rathmines, Dublin, Ireland.
He immigrated to WA on the Omrah in 26 Jul 1911. Lily and the boys came out in Oct 1911 on the Bremen, giving George time to organize accommodation for them.
He worked for the Police Department as a Clerk for about 5 months, before starting at Perth Modern School in August 1911.
In 1912, George Pattison Christian lived at Drayton, 125 ' Carr Street, West Perth, WA.
When he started at Perth Modern School as Physical Education Instructor, his pay was ₤210 p.a. At the beginning of 1913 he was Secretary and Gymnasium Instructor at the same pay. In 1914 his pay went to ₤220, in 1917 to ₤240, in 1919 a ₤5 bonus, in 1920 to ₤260. He resigned 25 June 1920. He received excellent reports on his work with the students and officework at the school on 29 January 1912.
In 1915, George Pattison Christian lived at 131A Carr St, West Perth. As of 1919, he lived at 504 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth.
He resigned 25 June 1920 from Perth Modern School over a pay dispute. He was not a trained teacher and was not entitled to their pay increases. He was offered better wages in NZ by the YMCA.
Julies Dyson:
George Christian went on to teach in NZ for a few years, and he and the family eventually came back to Perth, where worked in various public service departments until he was 76. He died in July 1954 aged 80.
George's son Ron was the father of Bret Christian and his four siblings.
References and Links
The text for this entry was written by descendant June Bagley, as sent to me by Julie Dyson née Christian. The photos of George by courtesy of Julie Dyson, his granddaughter.
Daily News article, 27 July 2011 (above).
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 17 March, 2022 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/christiangeorge.html (it was last updated on 25 January, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.