Talk highlights Captain Cole’s ties to the Bellarine

CAPTAIN George Ward Cole, who established the town of St Leonards, will be the focus of a talk in Queenscliff later this month.

La Trobe Society committee member John Botham will speak about “Captain “Old King” Cole: from Port Phillip pioneer to Melbourne patriarch” at The Uniting Church Hall on Thursday, July 26 from 10.30am.

The talk, presented by the Queenscliffe Historical Museum, provides a view of early Melbourne life through Captain George Ward Cole, who arrived in Melbourne in 1840 following a career in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and in the Merchant Marine.

He was a respected politician, established the town of St Leonards on the Bellarine Peninsula and was a leader in the development of Melbourne.

This talk provides an opportunity to rediscover this virtually forgotten patriarch of early Melbourne.

Cost is $5 for members and $7 for non-members, and includes refreshments. Visitors are very welcome.