George Cornwell was a railway engineer and building contractor working in Melbourne, Victoria in the second half of the nineteenth century. Among his prominent works, were the Hawthorn Railway Bridge

Hawthorn Railway Bridge

Hawthorn Railway Bridge crosses the Yarra River five kilometres east of Melbourne connecting Richmond railway station, Melbourne and Hawthorn Station on the Alamein, Belgrave and Lilydale Railway Lines...

 built in 1861, with a span of about 60 metres (196.9 ft), being one of the last major items of permanent way to be completed on the fledgling Melbourne and Suburban Railway

Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company

The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company opened a line from Princes Bridge railway station in Melbourne, Australia to Punt Road and South Yarra in 1859, Prahran in 1859 and Windsor in 1860, connecting with the St Kilda and Brighton...

. Under the name 'George Cornwell and Co.' Cornwell had previously been involved as contractor in many other major construction works including the Melbourne Grammar School

Melbourne Grammar School

Melbourne Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, located in South Yarra and Caulfield, suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

, the Model School, Coppin’s Haymarket Theatre

George Selth Coppin

George Selth Coppin was a comic actor, entrepreneur and politician, active in Australia.-Early life:Coppin was born at Steyning, Sussex, England, son of George Selth Coppin and Elizabeth Jane, née Jackson. His grandfather had been a well-known clergyman at Norwich...

, the Sunbury railway goods shed and other Melbourne and Suburban Railway works. Subsequently he was a contractor on Parliament House, Albert Park Station, Jack’s Magazine

Jack’s Magazine

Jack's Magazine is a located on the Maribyrnong River at Footscray, Victoria. It was constructed in 1871, to provide safe storage for bonded gunpowder and explosives imported into the colony of Victoria...

 and the Wallaby Creek water supply

Toorourrong Reservoir

Toorourrong Reservoir is a small reservoir located on the southern slopes of the Great Dividing Range approximately north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is operated by Melbourne Water and forms part of the Melbourne water supply system...

.
His work also extended to New South Wales, where he wond he construction contract for the Wagga Wagga to Albury section of the Great Southern Railway on 14 February 1878, in partnership with F Mixner.

Family and connections

He was wealthy and well connected, as his eldest daughter Alice married John Whiteman MLA, and in 1890 he went to England and bought the Sunday Times. His youngest daughter Kathleen Clarice Louise Cornwell was a prolific writer, and her children and grandchildren also became novelists, while another daughter Alice Anne, married the well-known politician and 'very old colonist', John Whiteman.

Cornwell, however, was also prone to arguments and litigation, having been convicted of assaulting 65 year old Member of the Legislative Assembly McColl.