33:
131:. In the depression years following he took an interest in the unemployed and in land reform. Cotton developed a working men's blocks scheme in which the government would offer blocks of up to 20 acres (8.1 ha) of crown land at low rents. The hope was that income from such blocks would eventually be adequate to support a family, forming the basis of a new society of independent producers and co-operative associations.
142:, technical education, a strong government department of labour, and boards of conciliation and arbitration. He was short-tempered and not an effective speaker despite being widely read. In the 1880s he left the Wesleyans, whose indifference to reform enraged him, and declared a new faith: 'I worship a living Christ in the person of every child, however it may have been born into the world.'
354:
What I hold is wanted is a fair representation of each class and not a packed chamber that can only legislate for the country from the standpoint of its own class interests... For several years past South
Australia has progressed in one direction only and that is in rapidly adding to its indebtedness
347:
I believe that the wage-receivers are quite as anxious for fair play as those who have to pay the wages. But who is to decide what is fair? Governments shirk the responsibility and cry delusively "It is a matter of open contract". and so it will remain... till it is realised that it is the function
377:
Anything which tended to benefit the working classes received most serious attention... There has been no man who has been more straight forward and endeavoured to do good in the community... The good acts of some men are far above their failings and little faults could well be overlooked... The
309:
Must a man be a landjobber before he can honestly propose land reform? And is the only honest politician the land agent who opposes land nationalisation? And, pray, what right have you to say that all but yourself are catering for the votes of the working men?... You may vaunt as much as you like
134:
In 1885 the South
Australian government began to implement Cotton's plan. Blocks were surveyed and occupied in many parts of the colony, from Adelaide suburbs and country town fringes to the open country. In 1896 about 12,900 people, or nearly 4 per cent of the population, lived on them.
299:...They distrust him; they do not know in what category of politicians to place him; he really stands alone. Sometimes he seems radical and appears is the advocate of thorough reform; at others he opposes the very things which would more than any other benefit the workers...
220:
Cotton's opinions attracted controversy, as extracts from newspapers of the day show. For instance, in a spirited public debate on unemployment, a Thomas H. Smeaton, under the heading "Delusive
Demagogues," said of Mr Cotton and his supporters:
243:
If wishes his 300 to 400 pioneers on labourers' blocks to succeed he had with misleading statements, but rather ought to preach to them uninterrupted industry (no eight-hours system), the strictest of economy and an unlimited amount of
268:
I hope when the historian has to look back at the difficulties small holdings had to encounter... that there will not be "perils among false brethren" to be received as amongst the bitterest opposition.
264:
If I may judge of those blocks by some I have seen, then they must be intended for blockheads, for no sane man would live on them, unless he was seeking a wilderness for the occupation of meditation.
337:
You will have observed long ago that Cotton never gives a straightforward answer however called for by nasty innuendoes, falsehoods and misrepresentations which he slips into his communications...
1211:
117:, one of the most prominent schools in Adelaide, and Cotton was the founding Secretary, a position he held for twenty years. In 1875, he was the first to import typewriters to Australia.
398:
He it was who trod that broader path of humanity, revelled in those broader views that teach us there is a temporal as well as a spiritual side to questions concerning man's salvation...
161:
145:
The depression affected Cotton's financial position to such a degree that in 1886 he was forced to resign his seat (as at that time members of the
Legislative Council were unpaid).
233:
Any man speaking of me as attempting to "gull" anybody can only be measuring me by some standard of his own to which course I respectfully demur to have judgments passed upon me...
1246:
348:
of every
Government to be a great arbitration and conciliation Association – nothing more and nothing less. In the meantime Trades and Labour Councils must act for the workers...
91:, arriving 5 March, 1849. His wife and son (William Jull Cotton) died shortly after their arrival and later in 1849 he married Elizabeth Mitchell with whom he had nine children.
227:
He is a secret enemy, not an open fee, and in future it is the duty of all right-thinking men to treat his wordy vapourizings with the select contempt they deserve...
1241:
611:
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172:
George
Witherage Cotton (4 February 1821 – 15 December 1892) married Elizabeth Mitchell (1832 – 27 December 1901) with whom he had nine children, including:
378:
working men's block system been a moral lesson to all the world... The tide of wealth had been heaped against him, but he had never shrunk from his duties.
212:
A sister, Jane
Boorman Cotton (c. 1824 – 20 November 1910), married Claude Shuttleworth (c. 1819 – 27 May 1892), and conducted Hardwicke College for Girls.
334:
much more worthy of a man who is privileged to write the prefix
Honourable to his name if he were as particular in retailing slanderous statements...
274:
For some years past Mr Cotton has been energetically blowing his own trumpet from the homestead blocks. Some of us working men are growing tired of :
197:
Edward
Witherage Cotton (1 March 1870 – 31 October 1941), married Mary Catherine Dempster on 5 September 1894. He was one of the first students at
320:
Taken at its best it seems to us that it is more a hindrance than of a help to the establishment of a sound and rational system of land tenure...
324:
That he is sincere does not admit the question, but why the continual proclamations, why always clamour for the expected chorus of applause?...
392:
of 3 February 1893 has a proposal for a "Cotton
Memorial Homestead Institute" and at the same time the author unwittingly pens an appropriate
473:
128:
48:
254:
a South Australians in finance, and yet every effort he makes seems to increase the fog through which we have to discover his meaning...
87:
for two years. After working in London he migrated with his wife, Mary Ann (Jull), and his parents to South Australia aboard the barque
415:
of 26 May 1894. The Block Scheme area of Cottonville in the southern suburbs of Adelaide was later re-subdivided and incorporated into
460:
1236:
416:
121:
198:
188:
William Mitchell Cotton L.R.C.P., M.R.C.S. (4 May 1860 – 21 April 1899), married Maude Pullein on 26 June 1888, died in London
120:
In 1879 Cotton retired from real estate, leaving the business to his clerk Edward Andrew Devonshire Opie, an "old scholar" of
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A school named after George Cotton was opened in 1914 and closed in 1945. The town of Cotton in the Hundred of
149:
426:
Preparatory School was named after Cotton (and another after his father in law). The Cotton Memorial Hall in
56:
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310:
your love for the "poor man"; there is one thing you dare not do... you dare not be an honest politician.
423:
114:
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223:
Dangerous men these at the present. Discard them working-men; they will fool you and nothing more...
124:, and his son George Samuel Cotton, who followed his father as secretary of Prince Alfred College.
605:
185:
George Samuel Cotton (22 February 1858 – 26 October 1918), married Annie Wallace on 15 July 1880
455:
487:
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297:
Yet another citizen offered an unflattering opinion of Cotton in the Register, 4 August 1890:
202:
99:
179:
Emma Morcom Cotton (c. 1853 – 31 July 1908), married William Bowen Chinner on 23 June 1875
113:
to consider the purchase of a site for a Wesleyan college in Adelaide. This was to become
110:
44:
32:
1196:
83:, England to Samuel and Lydia Cotton. He was apprenticed to a carpenter and studied at
51:. He was especially notable for being a champion of a scheme in South Australia to put
17:
1205:
194:
Francis John Cotton (30 September 1868 – 18 April 1880), died after swimming accident
52:
352:
And on 10 February 1890 Cotton wrote in relation to parliamentary representation:
191:
James Boorman Cotton (22 April 1862 – 9 May 1878), died at sea when mast collapsed
368:
after a brief and painful illness, leaving his widow, four sons, and a daughter.
76:
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303:
In the heat of a public debate on the "land question" a correspondent to the
1169:
491:
231:
The maligned politician sprang to defend himself on 13 April 1886, page 6f:
103:
106:
in 1862 and went into business as a land agent, becoming quite wealthy.
393:
382:
At his funeral, a wreath from some "blockers" bore the inscription –
94:
Upon arriving in South Australia, Cotton worked as a carpenter at
31:
80:
60:
626:""Mr Cotton and the Military" (the Chronicle, 25 June 1870)".
208:
Charles Henry Cotton (23 September 1873 – 27 February 1947)
598:
Small Holdings, the Mainstay of Individuals and Nations
162:
Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
272:
Another citizen entered the fray on 22 February 1888:
127:
In 1882 (at the age of 61), Cotton was elected to the
384:"In loving gratitude to father, friend and champion"
1212:
Members of the South Australian Legislative Council
396:for a man of compassion and Christian principles:
109:In 1865 Cotton called a meeting of laymen of the
557:. 7 September 1875. p. 2 – via Trove.
258:A Rev Honner criticised Cotton's scheme in the
307:on 31 July 1888 puts the following to Cotton:
248:A further unsolicited opinion is given in the
1184:The Manning Index of South Australian History
834:"Rev. A. Honner's letter anent 50,000 blocks"
806:"Rev. A. Honner's letter anent 50,000 blocks"
341:On industrial relations, Cotton wrote in the
176:Mary Elizabeth Cotton (c. 1851 – 5 July 1862)
8:
1247:People educated at Wesley College, Sheffield
332:on 28 August 1888 pass judgement on Cotton:
314:An editorial on the Block system is in the
1142:"The Cotton Memorial Home Stead Institute"
610:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
464:. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,
364:Cotton died at his home on Young Street,
266:But Cotton retorted on 17 February 1888:
694:"The Hon G. W. Cotton and the democracy"
974:"Henry George and the Hon G. W. Cotton"
439:
292:And he sighs for the Government's bobs.
1242:19th-century Australian businesspeople
1059:"The parliament and the Adelaide club"
1003:"A whimper from the Hon. G. W. Cotton"
603:
516:
514:
512:
510:
508:
456:"Cotton, George Witherage (1821–1892)"
205:, later a farmer in Western Australia.
182:Samuel Mitchell Cotton (1854 - ?)
75:Cotton was born on 4 February 1821 at
449:
447:
445:
443:
7:
1197:The State Library of South Australia
722:"Mr. G. W. Cotton and Trades Unions"
49:South Australian Legislative Council
1232:19th-century Australian politicians
1170:"The Descendants of Richard Cotton"
1087:"The late Hon. G. W. Cotton M.L.C."
522:"The Late Hon. G. W. Cotton M.L.C."
1186:, State Library of South Australia
461:Australian Dictionary of Biography
322:On 21 March a correspondent said:
25:
778:"Fifty thousand homestead blocks"
288:He winks and shouts at the snobs,
241:on 16 September 1886 complained:
122:Adelaide Educational Institution
63:) on which they could carry out
199:Roseworthy Agricultural College
1168:Stent-Campbell, Linda (1998).
890:"What are Mr. Cotton's views?"
730:. 16 September 1886. p. 7
466:Australian National University
280:Cotton's the man for all jobs,
47:land dealer and Member of the
1:
1122:. 19 December 1892. p. 6
1094:. 17 December 1892. p. 6
1067:. 10 February 1890. p. 6
1039:. 31 December 1889. p. 7
842:. 22 February 1888. p. 6
814:. 17 February 1888. p. 7
786:. 15 February 1888. p. 3
575:Parliament of South Australia
529:. 17 December 1892. p. 6
237:Another correspondent to the
1150:. 3 February 1893. p. 7
1114:"The late Hon. G. W. Cotton"
758:. 27 October 1886. p. 7
262:, 15 February 1888, saying:
158:British Economic Association
1011:. 28 August 1888. p. 7
982:. 28 August 1888. p. 7
156:of London, a member of the
154:Royal Horticultural Society
148:Cotton was a Fellow of the
138:Cotton also championed the
1263:
954:. 21 March 1888. p. 7
926:. 16 March 1888. p. 4
870:. 4 August 1890. p. 6
702:. 13 April 1886. p. 6
674:. 13 April 1886. p. 6
646:. 31 March 1886. p. 7
596:Cotton, George W. (1888).
328:Two correspondents to the
284:He scowls on all the nobs,
1147:South Australian Register
1119:South Australian Register
1091:South Australian Register
1064:South Australian Register
1036:South Australian Register
1008:South Australian Register
979:South Australian Register
951:South Australian Register
923:South Australian Register
898:. 31 July 1888. p. 6
895:South Australian Register
867:South Australian Register
839:South Australian Register
811:South Australian Register
783:South Australian Register
755:South Australian Register
727:South Australian Register
699:South Australian Register
671:South Australian Register
643:South Australian Register
569:"George Witherage Cotton"
554:The Express and Telegraph
526:South Australian Register
225:, and another man wrote:
85:Wesley College, Sheffield
430:is named in his honour.
150:Royal Colonial Institute
1237:People from Staplehurst
41:George Witherage Cotton
18:George Witherage Cotton
946:"Working men's blocks"
918:"Working men's blocks"
573:Former members of the
549:"Type-Writing Machine"
371:An obituary is in the
37:
862:"The sewating system"
638:"Delusive Demagogues"
454:Hirst, J. B. (1969).
424:Prince Alfred College
115:Prince Alfred College
35:
27:Australian politician
411:is discussed in the
375:, 17 December 1892:
345:, 31 December 1889:
252:on 27 October 1886:
98:and store-keeper on
129:Legislative Council
102:. He then moved to
59:of land (around 20
1158:– via Trove.
1130:– via Trove.
1102:– via Trove.
1075:– via Trove.
1047:– via Trove.
1019:– via Trove.
990:– via Trove.
962:– via Trove.
934:– via Trove.
906:– via Trove.
878:– via Trove.
850:– via Trove.
822:– via Trove.
794:– via Trove.
766:– via Trove.
750:"The savings bank"
738:– via Trove.
710:– via Trove.
682:– via Trove.
654:– via Trove.
537:– via Trove.
201:, under Professor
43:(1821–1892) was a
38:
475:978-0-522-84459-7
318:, 16 March 1888:
216:Newspaper reports
16:(Redirected from
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497:14 November
422:A house of
77:Staplehurst
55:onto small
53:working men
1206:Categories
434:References
140:State Bank
606:cite book
533:2 October
484:1833-7538
413:Chronicle
409:Noarlunga
492:70677943
390:Register
373:Register
366:Parkside
343:Register
330:Register
316:Register
305:Register
260:Register
250:Register
239:Register
160:and the
152:and the
104:Adelaide
96:Willunga
89:Athenian
394:epitaph
490:
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403:Legacy
168:Family
57:blocks
428:Mylor
360:Death
61:acres
1177:2008
1156:2022
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612:link
583:2022
535:2014
499:2022
488:OCLC
480:ISSN
470:ISBN
388:The
81:Kent
71:Life
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