Biography

George Lawrence (1850-1932)

George Lawrence was from Cuddington in Buckinghamshire, England. He lost his father at an early age and was put to work to help support the family. When he was sixteen he walked the 44 miles to London to seek work in the building trade and started work as a builder’s labourer. He eventually rose to a journeyman’s wages (ninepence an hour) and managed to scrape a living in and around London.

About this time there was considerable talk about the advantages offered to young people in New Zealand. In 1873 and at the age of 23, Lawrence, together with his wife and infant daughter, embarked on the ‘Surat’ from Gravesend. New Zealand was sighted on New Year’s Eve, 1873, but unfortunately their vessel ran aground off the mouth of the Catlin River. Local colonists assisted in the rescue of passengers and crew and the French naval vessel, ‘Vire’, transported the passengers to Port Chalmers on January 3rd.The immigrants were given temporary shelter in the Caversham barracks and Lawrence found work as a bricklayer at fifteen shillings a day.

Two years later George Lawrence managed to establish a business in King St, later taking in his adult sons as G. Lawrence & Sons Ltd.

During his long career, Lawrence erected many buildings in the Dunedin and Southland areas. He also spent time on many civic committees, eventually becoming mayor of the city in 1906. He was appointed Executive Commissioner for Otago in 1907 and was a Justice of the Peace for thirty years.