George Tallis (1869 - 1948)

Born 28 Oct 1869 in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland

Husband of Amelia Hannah (Young) Tallis — married 1898 in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia)

Died 15 Aug 1948 at age 78 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

George Tallis is Notable.

Sir George Tallis was born on 28th October 1869 in Callan, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. He was the son of John Tallis, a shopkeeper, and his wife Sarah, née Nicholson. After completing his formal education in his early teens he obtained work with a local newspaper, the Kilkenny Moderator.

Armed with letters of introduction to James Cassius 'JC' Williamson and the chief of staff of the Argus newspaper, sixteen year-old George arrived in Melbourne, Victoria in 1886 and was employed as an office-boy by the theatre-managers, Williamson, Garner and Musgrove. When Williamson found that George could write shorthand, he made him his private secretary. Soon afterwards, he became treasurer at the Theatre Royal and the Princess Theatre.

George married Amelia Young on 8th September 1898 (d.1933), daughter of an hotelier, in St Peter's Church of England (now Anglican Church), Melbourne. ^[1] A sister of Florence Young, Amelia had sung in Williamson's comic opera productions.

George became a theatrical entrepreneur, arts patron and benefactor. He was closely associated with the [JC Williamson firm for over fifty years. In 1896 he bought a quarter share in the company and in 1904 Williamson accepted him as a partner. As JC Williamson gradually relinquished his active role, George took over 'the Firm' in Melbourne; becoming managing director upon JC's death in 1913.

George was created Knight Bachelor in 1922 for 'services to the theatre and for wartime fund-raising'.

In 1926 he gave £2,700 ($5,400) to the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music for an additional wing, which was subsequently named after him. His diverse interests during the 1920s included a directorship of Melbourne radio station 3LO and an association with the film-maker F W Thring.

Following his retirement in the early 1930's (and his wife's death in 1933), as well as travelling widely, Sir George bred Ayrshires on his property, Beleura, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. He returned to the JC Williamson's board of directors in 1935. In 1937, a controlling interest in JC Williamson's was sold to Sir John McKenzie, a New Zealand-based businessman who had little knowledge of the theatre.

Aged 78 years and having been widowed for fifteen years, Sir George passed away on 15th August 1948 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. ^[2] He was survived by his daughter and three sons.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #/1898
2. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #21946/1948

See also

• Colligan, Mimi. 'Tallis, Sir George (1869–1948)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1990; accessed online 26 May 2023.