George Billson was born on 12 January 1817 in Lincolnshire, England. His father was Joseph Billson, a surveryor, and his mother was Elizabeth Billson née Antil.[1][2][3] In 1842, he travelled to New Zealand for a year, after which he visited Sydney and Valparaíso and returned to England. In 1848, he moved to Adelaide for two years. He spent 1850 to 1852 as a miner in the California gold rush. After that, he moved to Bendigo and worked as a storekeeper.[2]
In 1856, Billson bought land in Beechworth.[2] On 26 March 1864, he married Isabella Blades.[3] He worked on the goldfields in Woods Point from 1864. He settled permanently in Beechworth in 1875.[2] He bought the Oven's Brewery, which became Billson's Brewery in 1865. The business was taken over by his son Alfred Billson in 1882.[2][3]
Billson was elected to the Beechworth Shire Council in 1868, serving as mayor from 1869 to 1871.[2][3] He was elected to represent the Electoral district of Ovens in the Victorian Legislative Assembly at the 1877 Victorian colonial election.[4] He supported Graham Berry's liberal government.[3] He won re-election at the February 1880 election[5] but was defeated at the July 1880 election.[6] He won the seat at the 1883 Victorian colonial election and subsequently held the seat until his death.[7]
He died at his house in Beechworth on 9 February 1886, aged 69, from an ongoing heart disease. He had three sons and two daughters, including Alfred.[2] His funeral was attended by thousands, and he was buried in Beechworth cemetery.[8] A letter of condolences from MPs was signed by 24 liberal members of the Legislative Assembly, including future Prime Minister Alfred Deakin and former Premier Graham Berry.[2] His son Alfred later represented the Electoral district of Ovens from 1904 to 1927.[3]
