Chapter 9.5

George Burnett Mosman 1848-1943

George Burnett Mosman (GBM) was born when his father George Mosman was 57. He was the fifth out of a surviving family of seven children. His father died when he was seven and his mother when he was 15. 

Despite this, he had a good education which prepared him for a life outside farming. While he inherited part of Burrowel from his father, he knew he was not destined to be a farmer or grazier. 

George Burnett Mosman

When he was 22 GBM joined the Commercial Banking Company (CBC) in Kempsey. By the time of his marriage in 1888 he had progressed to become branch accountant. At age 29 at Kempsey he married Ellen Eliza Scott.

Ellen Eliza Scott

Between 1893 and 1897 several bank branches in the area closed down and CBC moved their local business to Bellingen making it the only bank branch between Kempsey and Grafton. GBM was appointed manager and remained in that post until his retirement in 1924 at around 65. 

Commercial Banking Company of Sydney 

GBM moved his family to Bellingen and they eventually moved into their longtime home on the second floor of the new impressive brick building in the centre of town. 

 

CBC Bellingen with Branch manager accommodation above. 

George and Ellen’s family was growing. Elsie Kathleen and Irvine Burnett had been born at Kempsey and Phyllis Emily, Hugh Douglas, Nellie Scott and Eric George were born at Bellingen. All of their sons became bankers.

GBM and family, 1915 

This family portrait was taken just before Irvine left for WW1. Back row Irvine, Nellie, Jack Mallum and wife Elsie Mallum/nee Mosman. Front row Ellen Eliza Mosman/née Scott, GBM, Ellen’s mother, “Granny Scott” (Eliza Jane Scott/nee Wilson) with her granddaughter Phyllis Joan Cliff on her lap, Phyllis Cliff/nee Mosman, Eric Mosman (age 8).

When he retired around 1924 they moved to Mosman, or they thought they had. When they moved in to their new home they found out that it was in Cremorne and the houses across the street were in Mosman!  It really didn’t matter as his grand uncle Archibald had once owned most of the lower North Shore. 

GBM’s was always proud of his Scottish heritage and the Mosman (single s) surname. He named his Cremorne house “Auchtyfardle” after the Mosman estate in Lanarkshire in Scotland. 

George, age 70, Ellen age 60. 

In 1934 GBM wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald “ Your correspondent has spelt the name of Archibald Mossman incorrectly with two ss. I might mention that I am a nephew of the late Archibald Mosman and the son of his brother George, both of whom always spelt their name with one s. I have in my possession some old records showing that their people in Scotland spelt their name in a similar manner for many years.”

GBM died in Cremorne in 1943 at age 84 when they had been married for 50 years. Ellen also died at Cremorne in 1956 at 87. 

Next Chapter - 9.6 Lavinia Ann Mosman 1863-1901

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