George Babington & Frederick LakinPrint Page 
The marble tablet commemorates George Babington (1817-1888), a worshipper at the church and former Superintendent of the Sunday School. The tablet is also in memory of Frederick Lakin who was church librarian for 25 years.
George Babington was born at Killibegs, in Donegal Ireland in 1817. He was educated there and became a qualified surveyor. He arrived in Van Diemen’s Land on the barque ‘Helen’ in 1835. He lived and worked in Hobart for a number of years and was responsible for the survey and construction of several roads. For a time George Babington moved to New Zealand and was involved in the whaling trade. He also surveyed and laid out several early small towns there.
After a short visit to the gold fields in California he returned to Tasmania and settled in Launceston where he was appointed town surveyor to the Launceston Municipal Council in September 1853. He held this position for twenty-nine years. At the time of his appointment there was no proper sewerage system and no gas or water supplies. However George Babington developed and supervised the construction of a water delivery scheme proposed by a Mr Lamont, to bring water from St Patrick’s River to Launceston. Babington also mapped out the permanent levels of the town streets and supervised all the works on the town sewers, except for Margaret Street.
With The Building Act of 1863, the duties of superintendent of waterworks were combined with those of town surveyor. George Babington filled both these roles until his retirement at the end of 1882. In private life he was a member on the Church of England and attended St John’s Church. For twenty-one years he was superintendent of St John’s Sunday School, and for ten years was a churchwarden.
He was a member of the Launceston Benevolent Society for twenty years and served as Treasurer and Executive Committee member. He was also a director of several mining companies. George Babington married and had a son and four daughters. He died in Launceston on 29th December 1888 aged 71 years.
In the 1890s, the teachers and students of the Sunday School erected a large marble plaque in the parish hall in memory of George Babington. The plaque was placed on the inside wall that has now become an outside wall within the hotel complex next door.
Location
| Address: | 31 Elizabeth Street, Colonial on Elizabeth, Launceston, 7250 |
|---|---|
| State: | TAS |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -41.439472 Long: 147.141753 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Religion |
Dedication
Erected by the teachers and students of St. John`s Sunday School, as a token of love and esteem
To the memory of George Babington, who was Superintendent for 21 years.
Died December 29th 1888.
And
Frederick Lakin who was Librarian for 25 Years
Died March 9th 1889.
"They rest from their labours and their works do follow them."
