George Needham (teacher)

George Needham B.A. was a teacher in the early days of the colony of South Australia.

History

Needham was born in Templemichael, County Longford, Ireland and graduated B.A. from Trinity College, Dublin. He taught in Ireland for some years before emigrating to South Australia aboard Anna, arriving with his wife and small family in November 1849. One daughter died shortly after arrival.
They had a home "Clendeliver" in Houghton, South Australia, and the Needhams opened a school in that town in 1853. A public school was opened in the town staffed by Government teachers, and Needham moved to Adelaide, where he served as Classics master at J. L. Young's Adelaide Educational Institution from at least 1859 to 1861. They had a residence on North Terrace, and offered board to AEI students on the same conditions as J. L. Young. One "old scholar" fondly remembered his scholarship and Hibernian humor. He returned to Houghton to teach at the village school. He resigned in December 1869.
In 1870 he was confined to his home as a result of a paralytic stroke, but continued to take private students.

Family

George Needham married Catherine Elizabeth Montfort in Ireland. She was a daughter of Harman Montfort and Georgina Augusta Little. and claimed descent from Simon de Montfort.
Their children included:

Robert John Needham died at "Oaklea", the home of Captain Elliott Charles Randall, Echuca, Victoria.
Catherine ""Katie" Fleming Needham married Edward Tacey on 7 April 1866. She married again in 1884 to Rev. John Hosking Trevorrow, lived in Kapunda
Georgina Anne Little Needham married John William Partridge of Clarendon on 1 September 1864. He was one of AEI's first students. They moved to New South Wales
Harman Montfort Needham married Selina Olliver in 1884, lived in Broken Hill. He was encouraged by Spencer Skipper to pursue a career in journalism, and wrote for various journals as "Paddy Melon". In 1891 he accepted a supervisory role at the Broken Hill mines, but continued writing for The Bulletin, and other papers as "Fitful".

Needham married again, to Mary Jones on 8 January 1868. She died two years later.
Rev. George Needham rector of Ballymore, County Wicklow, was an uncle