George Hodges Knox

Sir George Hodges Knox
Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
In office
21 October 1942 – 9 October 1947
Preceded byBill Slater
Succeeded bySir Thomas Maltby
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Scoresby
In office
10 November 1945 – 11 July 1960
Preceded byNew division
Succeeded byBill Borthwick
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Upper Yarra
In office
9 April 1927 – October 1945
Preceded byNew division
Succeeded byDivision abolished
Personal details
Born(1885-12-17)17 December 1885
Prahran, Victoria
Died11 July 1960(1960-07-11) (aged 74)
Ferntree Gully, Victoria
NationalityAustralian
Political partyNationalist Party (1918–31)
United Australia Party (1931–45)
Liberal Party (1945–60)
Spouses
Kathleen Purves MacPherson
(m. 1909; div. 1919)
Ada Victoria Harris
(m. 1921)
Parent
EducationScotch College, Melbourne
OccupationEngineer, soldier, orchardist, politician
Civilian awardsKnight Bachelor
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceAustralian Army
Years of service1909–1942
RankBrigadier
CommandsQueenscliff-Nepean Covering Force (1942)
2nd Infantry Brigade (1940–42)
5th Battalion (1939–40)
52nd Battalion (1922–27)
48th Battalion (1921–22)
No. 1 Command Depot (1916–18)
23rd Battalion (1915–16)
Battles/wars
Military awardsCompanion of the Order of St Michael and St George
Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration
Mentioned in Despatches (2)

Sir George Hodges Knox, CMG, VD (17 December 1885 – 11 July 1960) was an Australian politician, orchardist and military officer. The City of Knox is named after him.

Knox was born in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran on 17 December 1885 and educated at Scotch College, Melbourne. He was the son of William Knox, who had been a member of the Victorian Legislative Council between 1897 and 1901, and the member for Kooyong in the House of Representatives.[1]

Knox began his working life as an electrical engineer. He married Kathleen Purves MacPherson in 1909. Soon after, he moved to Beaconsfield, Victoria, to establish an orchard. He joined the Citizen Military Forces in 1909 and served during the First World War, commanding the 23rd Battalion. He divorced in 1919. In 1920 he moved to Ferntree Gully, Victoria. He married Ada Victoria Harris in 1921. He was elected to the Fern Tree Gully Shire Council in 1923.[1]

Knox won the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat for Upper Yarra in 1927 for the Nationalist Party. He became Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1942 and remained there until 1947. Between 1945 and 1960 he held the seat of Scoresby.[1]

  1. ^ a b c Browne, Geoff (1983). "Knox, Sir George Hodges (1885–1960)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 23 November 2007.