Background
Porter was born in 1786 in Queenborough, England. She was the daughter of a Kentish dredger, Henry Bassett, operating in the badly silted estuaries of the Swale and Medway.
Porter was born in 1786 in Queenborough, England. She was the daughter of a Kentish dredger, Henry Bassett, operating in the badly silted estuaries of the Swale and Medway.
Porter was a senior sea captain in the employ of the British East India Company, working mainly as a whaler. Their youngest child, Frederick Charles Porter, became an explorer and miner in the Victorian goldfields. Upon arrival, Porter settled in Albert Town (now known as Alberton), near Portuguese Adelaide.
Captain Porter"s home was converted later into the Sirius Hospital, located at 23 Prince Street in June 1914.
Porter set up a grocery store near the docks and also established a small farm in the hinterland. He died from ‘apoplexy’ (ie stroke) on 19 May 1872, aged 85 years.
George and Elizabeth Porter are both buried in the old Alberton Cemetery, which is now a public park.