George Milner Stephen

File:George Milner Stephen 2.jpeg

George Milner Stephen (18 December 1812 – 16 January 1894), often written G. Milner Stephen, was a South Australian and Victorian politician and faith healer.

Early life

Stephen born in Wells, Somerset, England, the sixth son of John Stephen, later judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, and his wife Mary Anne, née Pasmore. G. M. Stephen was the younger brother of Sir Alfred Stephen. Stephen was educated at Honiton Grammar School, topping every class. Stephen moved to Sydney with his father, arriving in the Prince Regent in July 1824.

{{Australian Dictionary of Biography

|last=Anon

|year=1967

|id2=stephen-george-milner-1294

|title= Stephen, George Milner (1812–1894)}}

Stephen won the silver medal for classics at Sydney Grammar School within his first year.

Career

Stephen was a man of unusual ability, a good administrator and a capable lawyer, interested in science, art and music, all of which he had studied.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} In 1831 Stephen was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court at Hobart, went to South Australia in 1838, and became advocate-general at Adelaide and a member of the South Australian Legislative Council.{{cite SA-parl |name=Mr George Stephen |pid=4142 |former=yes |access-date=19 August 2022}} When Governor John Hindmarsh left the colony in 1838 Stephen administered the colony under great difficulties from July to October. There were no funds in the treasury, and Stephen had to advance the pay of the police force from his own pocket. He "carried out a heavy duty with honour, zeal, intelligence and integrity" (A. G. Price, Foundation and Settlement of South Australia, p. 130).

{{Dictionary of Australian Biography

|First=George Milner|Last=Stephen|shortlink=0-dict-biogSt-Sy.html#stephen2|accessdate=8 March 2010}}

On 9 February 1838, Stephen was appointed advocate-general and crown solicitor in South Australia. Stephen was Colonial Secretary of South Australia from October 1838 to July 1839. He served as Acting Governor in the interregnum (16 July 1838 – 17 October 1838) between Governors Hindmarsh and Gawler,{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/AboutParliament/From1836/Documents/StatisticalRecordoftheLegislature1836to20093.pdf |title=Table A: Governors and Administrators |work=Parliament of South Australia |year=2010 |access-date=26 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312023915/http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/AboutParliament/From1836/Documents/StatisticalRecordoftheLegislature1836to20093.pdf |archive-date=12 March 2011 |url-status=dead }}

appointing Robert Bernard to succeed him as crown solicitor and advocate-general. Stephen was appointed colonial secretary by the incoming Governor.{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71684860 |title=The Land Commissionership |newspaper=Southern Australian |volume=I |issue=22 |location=South Australia |date=27 October 1838 |accessdate=13 November 2016 |page=3 |via=Trove}}

In July 1839 Hindmarsh and his wife Susan transferred ownership of the Section 353 (the Town of Hindmarsh) from themselves to Stephen and the surveyor Arthur Fydell Lindsay.Parsons, Ronald Hindmarsh Town, Corporation of the Town of Hindmarsh 1974 {{ISBN|0 9598793 0 7}}

Stephen became involved in land speculation, the promotion of which led to his being accused of forgery and perjury.{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27440660 |title=Milner Estate—Port Gawler |newspaper=South Australian Register |location=Adelaide |date=20 July 1839 |accessdate=25 July 2012 |page=2 |via=Trove}} Stephen was acquitted, but was unsuccessful in an action for libel brought against the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register in connection with this matter.

Stephen went to England to continue his law studies and was called to the bar early in 1845. He then returned to Adelaide and practised as a barrister (one of his high-profile clients was The Register's editor John Stephens), and moved to Melbourne about 1851 where he also practised with success. Stephen was in England from 1853 to 1856 and then returned to Australia. In the 2 July 1856 edition of the Melbourne Argus, an unfavourable article was printed regarding Stephen, part of which stated{{cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7132480 |work= The Argus|location=Melbourne|accessdate= 2 February 2012|title= Mr. George Milner Stephen|date= 2 July 1856}} "We are unwilling to say more about Mr. George Milner Stephen than will suffice to save the constituency he persists in seeking to represent from the regrets that would assuredly follow his election..."

In August 1859 Stephen was elected a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Collingwood and served until July 1861.{{Cite re-member|num2=873|name=George Milner Stephen|access-date=2022-07-27}}

Spirituality and faith healing

A few years later Stephen went to Sydney where for two years he was acting parliamentary draughtsman. He became interested in spiritualism and believed that he could heal people by the "laying on of hands". For many years both in Sydney and Melbourne he practised in this way, and received hundreds of letters testifying to the benefits received by his patients. While his early unfortunate experience in speculating in land was continually brought up against him in later years, and militated against his public career, Stephen's work as a healer created a great deal of interest at the time.

Death

Stephen died at the Brunswick, Victoria home of his adopted daughter, Mrs. Tomlinson, following surgery to remove a large bladder stone.

{{cite news

|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71209307

|title=Mr. Milner Stephen.

|newspaper=Australian Town and Country Journal

|location=NSW

|date=27 January 1894

|accessdate=25 July 2012 |page=20

|via=Trove

}}

Family

The Stephen family is a prominent legal dynasty in Australia.{{cite web|url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/essay/10 |title=Australian Legal Dynasties: The Stephens and the Streets |first=K |last=Fox |date=17 February 2015 |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography}} His father, John Stephen, was a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales,{{cite AuDB |first=C. H. |last=Currey |title=Stephen, John (1771–1833) |id2=stephen-john-1292 }} and his brother, Sir Alfred Stephen, {{post-nominals|country=AUS|KCMG|CB}} (20 August 1802 – 15 October 1894), was Lieutenant-Governor and Chief Justice of New South Wales. Another brother, John Stephen, (died 1854) was the earliest created alderman for the City of Melbourne.{{cite news|url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2246241|title=Funeral of the late John Stephen Esq.|date=1 November 1854|work=The Courier|page=2|accessdate=10 June 2014|location=Hobart}}

George married Mary ( – 27 December 1887), daughter of Sir John Hindmarsh on 9 July 1840{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71619586 |title=Family Notices |newspaper=Southern Australian |location=Adelaide |date=10 July 1840 |accessdate=25 July 2012 |page=2 |via=Trove}} They had seven children, including an adopted daughter:{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}

Harold Wilberforce Hindmarsh Stephen (1841 – 30 November 1889) journalist and MLA for Monaro in New South Wales parliament
Alfred Farish Hindmarsh Stephen (ca.1844 – 18 April 1928) married Annie Muriel Beaumont on 9 August 1883 minister of religion
Florence Mary Hindmarsh Stephen (10 June 1846 – 13 July 1916) married Fredrick Albert Wilkinson on 12 May 1875
George Shadforth Hindmarsh Stephen (28 November 1848 – 12 September 1890) married Alice
Lionel Viney Hindmarsh Stephen (5 December 1854 – 3 December 1922) planted "Ivanhoe" vineyard at Pokolbin, New South Wales
Evelyn A. Hindmarsh Stephen (14 June 1861 – 7 August 1951) Registrar with Department of Mines
adopted daughter Zenobia Virginia Broderick (ca.1864 – 29 March 1925) married land broker Ralph Ward-Tomlinson ( – 26 September 1918) on 27 January 1893