Sarah Ann Wilkinson was born in Launceston in 1839. Her father Thomas was at the time Catechist to prisoners in Launceston and Private Secretary to Major Ryan, Commandant of Launceston. The family moved to Port Philip in 1840, buying land in Brunswick in 1841. After a 10 year sojourn in Portland, they returned to Brunswick. In 1856 Sarah Ann married pharmacist Joseph George, and became a qualified pharmacist herself. The couple ran the pharmacy in Sydney Road until 1905 (Joseph dying in 1903), bringing up nine children to adulthood and losing three as infants. In 1915, as Thomas' last surviving child, Sarah erected a drinking fountain in his memory. It still stands at the corner of Park Street and Sydney Road, Burnswick. Sarah's strong political views were reflected in her presidency of branches of the Australian Women's National League, and her pride that all eligible male relatives had enlisted in the Great War. She was regarded as a woman of fine business instincts. Sarah's profession, like that of her husband, is declared on her tombstone in the Melbourne General Cemetery.

This entry was written with the assistance of Jennifer Hearn, Linda Schulz and the Brunswick Community History Group. They would be grateful if anyone with more information about Sarah George could contact them: details obtainable through the AWAP contact form.

Sources used to compile this entry: Folk-Scolaro, Francesca (ed.), Brunswick Stories and Histories: A Collection of Articles From Fusion, Brunswick Community History Group, Brunswick, 1999; Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria - Archives, c. 1857 - c. 1955, MS 9601; Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection; Shultz, Linda M, Thomas Wilkinson: a Pioneer of Principles and Conviction, Linda M Schulz, Barrack Heights, New South Wales, 1994.