My great uncle, George Charles Willcocks, was a railway contractor in Brisbane, parts of Queensland and northern NSW in the late 1800s.

He and his brother (my grandfather), Richard Willcocks, built many of Brisbane's rail lines and also quite a number up north.

 He also undertook the building of the North Quay retaining wall and part of the brick wall around All Hallow's and laid wooden blocks in Queen St, Ann St and Adelaide St for the laying of roads.

G.C. also built housing in New Farm and lived in Wynberg, now the Catholic Archbishop's residence.

There is also rumour that he built the second Victoria Bridge.

He died in 1916 and is buried alongside explorers, premiers, politicians and the like at Toowong Cemetery.

He hasn't been recognised to date, largely because historical records have been lost and information available is limited. My brother, Peter, has rectified that now through extensive research.

Peter is writing a book on him which outlines his work in Australia and in South Africa. This book has a wealth of information about this pioneering father of Queensland as he is regarded by the Historical Society of Queensland.

Liz Ball