Person:George Atkins (8)

GEORGE MELBOURNE was born at Mitchells Island and went to schools at Mitchells Island and Lanadowne. He was left handed but was made to write with his right hand, During the Great Strike he worked in Sydney painting the sides of ships. Meb married Mary Hately in 1919 and settled on the Atkins farm at Mitchells Island. He was very capable at fixing most things round the farm and had a well equipped blacksmith’s shop. In the 1920’s he built from a kit the first wireless in Mitchells Island, also the cabinet that housed it. This cabinet is still in use as a video cabinet. Residents of the Island used to ride horses to Meb’s place to listen to cricket being broadcast from England. A cedar hand- carved bedroom suite made by Mab is still in the homestead. He supported St. Mark’s Church and helped with major repairs to the church in 1925. His, last job was to build the existing easterly entrance. The altar in the church is dedicated to the: memory of George Melbourne and Mary Atkins. Meb also had the first tractor on Mitchells Is. (a Fordson). He had the misfortune to turn it over on himself in 1939. Melb died at the age of 56 on 4.11 1952 and he and Mary are buried at Scottt Creek. The Atkins homestead which is still in the family originally had a shingled roof, two rooms upstairs and bull-nosed iron round the verandah. In the l920’s the rooms upstairs were done away with and the roof changed to iron. Basically today 3 rooms are unchanged from when the house was built over 100 years ago. A clock owned by Rachel & William still stands on the mantle shelf.