George Ardill

Background

Ardill was born in Newtown, the son of George Ardill, senior, a conservative Christian evangelist and social activist who was a prominent advocate of the removal of Aboriginal children from their families to be resettled in white homes.

Education

He was educated at Stanmore Public School and Newington College (1903–1907).

Career

He was a dairy farmer at Coraki for a time after leaving school, before buying his own property at Gunning in 1916. He also worked as a stock and station agent and auctioneer, and at one point also owned a motor garage. They had two children, Katie Louisa (1886-1955) who was born on 3 August 1886 at Knox Street, and George Edward (1889-1964) who was born on 18 October 1889 at Darlinghurst.

Katie attended Wellesley College, and the University of Sydney.

George was educated at Stanmore Public School and Newington College. At a local level, he was a councillor of the Gunning Shire Council from 1920 until 1934 and 1938 until 1941, and shire president in 1923 and 1927-1928.

Ardill entered state politics at the 1930 election, narrowly winning the new, notionally Nationalist seat of Yass. He was easily re-elected in 1932, 1935 and 1938, and was promoted to Government Whip in 1937.

He attempted to shift to the adjacent seat of Goulburn at the 1941 election after a hostile redistribution affected his margin in Yass, but lost to the incumbent Labor Modern Language Association, Jack Tully.

He attempted to re-enter parliament in 1944, contesting the seat of Hawkesbury, but was again unsuccessful. He thereafter retired from politics. Ardill died at Concord in 1964.

Achievements

• He was also secretary of the local agricultural society, founder of the local dramatic society, branch secretary of the Primary Producers Union and Graziers Association, and a Methodist lay preacher for the Gunning circuit.

Membership

He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1930 to 1941, representing the electorate of Yass for the Nationalist Party and its successor, the United Australia Party. Ardill was actively involved in community organisations throughout his life, serving as a member of the Aborigines Protection Board from 1936 to 1945, as Executive Director of the Society for Providing Homes for Neglected Children from 1945 to 1964, and as Foundation President of the Sound Finance League of Australia in 1933.