He emigrated to South Australia, travelling to Melbourne by steamer SS Great Britain then arriving by coaster Admella in Adelaide in early 1859; his brother Joseph had emigrated in 1856 to join William Barker as a business partner.
[6] In 1874 George moved to Adelaide, where he set up a business dealing in wool, hides, skins and other produce, and soon had branches in other States.
He was in 1882 appointed general manager of the Apollo Soap and Stearine's new Thebarton factory, which however closed after a few years, then in 1887 was taken over by W. H. Burford & Sons.
Sidney Wilcox began working for his father around 1880, and in 1889 was, with G. Glen Legoe, brought into the business as a partner.
They founded a Sydney business operating at 136 Kent Street with local partners Henry Samuel Rickards and Frederick William Kugelmann, dissolved in November 1889.