Born:

Captain George Dimmock was born in Maitland NSW in 1852. There he learned the trade of a saddler. He came to Queensland in 1875. He worked in Toowoomba, and Maryborough for some time. In the year 1878 he settled in Mackay and established the business of saddle and harness maker. He subsequently opened the Australian Hotel which he conducted for two years, and from which he retired in 1885. He then took on mail contracting. He put the first vehicle on the Eton-Nebo mail line, (a buck-board). The mail was previously carried by pack horse. Mr Dimmock always took an active part in local matters. He was an alderman for several years and a Mayor for one. He was a captain in the Queensland defence force, F Company, vice-president and chairman of the School of Arts, and a member of the licensing branch.

Source:  

James Perry Remembers Mackay, compiled by Vyvian Mengler, published 2000,.pp41 (article appeared in the Daily Mercury, July 17, 1944.)

Death of Mr. George Dimmock

We have seldom had a more regrettable duty to perform than that which devolves upon us now in recording the death of the Town Clerk, Mr. George Dimmock at the comparatively early age of 49, which took place on Wednesday afternoon shortly before five o'clock, at his residence on the Beach road.  For some time the deceased gentleman's health has not  been satisfactory and about three months ago he received leave of absence to visit Sydney where he consulted a medical advisor.  On his return to Mackay he appeared to be in much better health, but the apparent improvement was only transient, and he experienced a recurrence of the attacks of haemorrhage of the stomach which had previously occasioned trouble.  A fortnight ago he found it necessary to lay up, and from that time until the hour of his decease he never left his room, where he was attended by all of the doctors in the town as regular attendants or in consultation, and was nursed by his wife and the elder members of the family.  Mr. T. Dimmock, his eldest son having been summoned from Townsville.  During his illness many residents as well as his friends and relations, visited his house to make enquiries with regard to his condition thus indicating the regard and esteem in which he was held by all classes, and his widow and eleven children who survive him may find some consolation in the knowledge their loss will indeed be shared by the public who, in the deceased gentleman, had one of the most energetic and valuable citizens the town has ever known..

Dimmock Family Headstone, Mackay Cemetery (Glen Hall Collection, March 2008)

Mr Dimmock was born in Maitland, New South Wales, and in the seventies he came to Queensland, entering into business at Toowoomba, and subsequently at Maryborough as a saddler.  About 1880 he came to Mackay where he again followed his trade for a short time, but later on he abandoned it and took the Australian Hotel which he conducted with marked success.  Retiring from this business in 1883 he for some time engaged in mail carrying contracts.  During these years he had not neglected his duties as a citizen but had become an alderman at an early period, and was continuously re-elected, while he occupied the position of Mayor on more than one occasion, upholding the dignity of the office to the satisfaction of his colleagues and the general public.

Few men in Queensland were better versed in all things pertaining to local Government, a fact that has been recognised outside of this district at Municipal Conferences and similar public gatherings.  In 1895 the office of Town Clerk became vacant, and Mr. Dimmock resigned his seat at the Council table, and becoming a candidate for the vacant office, he was chosen to fill it.  His thorough knowledge of municipal matters in Mackay enabled him to discharge the duties of Town Clerk with the greatest efficiency, and it is not to much to say that the Mayors and Councillors with whom he was associated remember with gratitude the assistance that he was ever willing to afford them in conducting the affairs of the Council.  Independent, however, of his official position Mr. Dimmock was always intimately associated with every movement having for its object the advancement and progress of the district which he had made his home, and doubtless in recognition of the many services he rendered he was invested with the honourable appointment of Returning Officer for Mackay.  He at all times took an active interest in military matters, having, prior to coming to Mackay, been a member of the Defence Force elsewhere and joining the local company from which he subsequently was placed  on the retired list with the rank of Captain.  As a rifle shot he made his mark at the butts, and his connection with the various public institutions was such that his death will cause a blank which will not readily be filled.  He was an earnest worker in the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society, of which he was a Past Grand Master, while he passed through the various offices in the Oddfellows Society, and was also an active member of the Kennedy Royal Arch Chapter of the Masonic body.

He leaves behind him a large family to deplore their loss, and it is some satisfaction to know that domestically he was as good a man as publicly, and that he was able to endow his children with those educational advantages which will serve them well in the battle of life.  His second daughter is married, and resides in Brisbane.  His eldest daughter teaches in the State School here, and his eldest son is in the Education Department at Townsville.  One daughter is now completing her education in Brisbane, and the rest of the family live at home.

The funeral, which took place yesterday morning at 11 o'clock, was attended by an immense gathering, representing every class of people in the town and district, all the business places in town being temporarily closed as a mark of respect and to enable the many employees who held the deceased gentleman in the highest esteem, to attend.  The cortege was upwards of half a mile in length, and was headed by Bros. H.D. Petersen and T. Hatfield, as representatives of the Grand Council of Queensland of the Protestant Alliance; then followed the hearse carrying the coffin, which was profusely covered with beautiful wreaths and crosses of flowers - tokens of regard sent in by numerous friends.  After the hearse and mourning carriage, the members of the Protestant Alliance marched in procession, these again being followed by about 60 buggies and vehicles, behind which followed a very large number of horsemen.  The cortege leaving the residence of the deceased, proceeded up Gold street to Shakespeare street, and thence direct to the cemetery.  On reaching the vicinity of the State School, two contingents of school boys were found drawn up on either side of the road, and these were embodied in the procession, at its head, a very fitting recognition of the services which Mr. Dimmock had rendered to the State School, of whose Committee he had for some years been Chairman.  On arriving at the cemetery, the procession was met at the grave side by the Rev. S.P. Harris, who conducted the burial service with great solemnity.  At the grave the members of the Protestant Alliance had formed up a square, and after the Church Service was concluded, Bro C. Davie performed the service of the Order, and those present shortly afterwards dispersed with expressions of profound regret at the loss to Mackay of one of its most prominent and valued citizens.

Source:

The Mackay Standard, Friday evening, May 9, 1902.

Other Sources: