Slade, George Milner

Slade, George Milner

Born in 1787 to George and Hannah Slade (née Grover) in Dorset, England, George Milner Slade enlisted in the 6^th Battalion 60^th Foot Regiment of the British army, becoming a paymaster in 1815.

His military career was impeded by his dismissal from the army following the misappropriation of funds during his time as paymaster in Jamaica. Spared transportation to the colonies, Slade was ordered to repay the missing funds.

Following his return to England, Slade married Anne Cameron. The couple soon set sail aboard the ship Regalia to Sydney, arriving in January 1820.

In 1821, Governor Lachlan Macquarie nominated the inexperienced Slade to the office of Sydney coroner with an annual salary of £90. In 1828, Slade resigned from the coronial position to open a store at Port Stephens north of Sydney. The business failed soon after, resulting in Slade filing bankruptcy and being sentenced to gaol for over a year.

Following his release, Slade was appointed the clerk for the Assignment of Convict Servants,  located in the Hyde Park Barracks. In 1836, Slade was appointed the Commissioner of the Assignment Office by Governor Richard Bourke. 

By this time, Anne had become a custodian for William D’Oyley, a young boy who had survived the wreck of the Charles Eaton at the entrance of the Torres Strait in northern Australia in 1833. Following William’s return to England in 1838, the couple moved to Brisbane where they opened a store. Anne died after a short illness in 1846. At the time of his death at his home in North Brisbane on 13 April 1848, Slade was the Clerk of the Bench, Registrar of the Court of Petty Sessions, and Postmaster of the Moreton Bay District.