From Winsome Griffin
George went to school at Loburn and later to Southbrook school in July 1900 leaving for work at the end of 1901.
He went to work for Mr Boyd for 8 months on a farm at Fernside at the age of 13 years. His next employment was at Jack Seeds flax mill at Southbrook in 1902 until 24th August 1903. South brook was about a mile from Rangiora and at this time, there were two flour mills, a number of churches, a school, post office and two store. The flax mill made rope and about the time that the first Deering binder came into use, Mr Seed invented a new twine that was a great success. He sold out so George took up employment with Dave Sutherland, the butcher at Rangiora who had been a competitor of George Herbert Cone. In 1904, George was 16 and he worked at the Southbrook Roller Flour mill. It was a wood and iron building four stories high and the machinery was driven by steam and water power. It had a weekly output of fifty tons and was under the managementof Mr John MacKenzie. The following year George went to Napier and worked cutting maize and splitting posts but after a few months he returned to the South Island and next worked for the Woodend butchers, Ballanger and Cassidy. About 1906 he returned to work at the flourmill and later became manager of the Aulsebrooks Flour Mill in Christchurch.
