Sir George Handley Knibbs (13 June 1858 – 30 March 1929) was a respected Australian statistician and public servant. He was the first Commonwealth Statistician, appointed to lead the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics after the federation of Australian colonies. Knibbs held the position from May 1906 until early 1921, after which he was appointed as the first director of the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry (the predecessor of the CSIRO), a position he held for five years. Knibbs began his working life as a surveyor, in government service as well as in private practice. From 1890 he lectured in surveying and related fields at Sydney University. From 1902 until early 1905 Knibbs was employed by the New South Wales Department of Public Instruction, including a period as an education commissioner, investigating and reporting on the latest educational methods of Britain, Europe and America. After Knibbs was appointed to lead the newly formed Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics in 1906, he began the task of establishing procedures to ensure the uniformity of data collection from the offices of statistics of the Australian states, including preparations for the first federal census. He supervised the publication of the Commonwealth Year Book in 1908, the first of an annual series of authoritative and highly regarded compilations of national statistical and historic information. Under Knibbs' direction the first commonwealth census was carried out in 1911, followed by a 'war census' in 1915. Knibbs developed an international reputation for his competency as a statistician. The ability and confidence that marked his leadership as the federal statistician greatly elevated the standing of the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. In early 1921 Knibbs was appointed director of the newly established Institute of Science and Industry, on a five year contract. Despite government expenditure reductions the institute initiated measures to increase pastoral production and the eradication of pest species. Knibbs resigned at the end of his period of employment due to ill health.
Biography
Early life George Handley Knibbs was born on 13 June 1858 the family home at Frederick Place in inner-city Sydney, the eldest of five children of John Handley Knibbs and Ellen (née Curthoys). His father's occupation was recorded as a foreman. The family lived in inner Sydney, after about 1865 in Petersham.
Surveyor In December 1877 Knibbs was appointed to the New South Wales Department of Lands after being found to be competent as a candidate "for license to survey under the Crown Lands Acts". In January 1878 he was appointed a licensed surveyor, on the staff of the Trigonometrical and General Survey of New South Wales. Knibbs resigned from the Survey Department in 1879 to take up private practice as a surveyor. George Knibbs and Susan Keele James were married on 2 January 1883 at Petersham. In May 1883 Knibbs was specially licensed as a surveyor under the Real Property Act. In June 1883 he was appointed to the permanent staff of the General Survey section of the Department of Lands as a licensed surveyor. In the course of his work Knibbs was known as a government surveyor.
University lecturer In May 1890 Knibbs was appointed as a lecturer on surveying in the engineering department at Sydney University. His position at the university was as an 'independent lecturer', "responsible directly for his teaching to the University Senate". Knibbs contributed scientific articles to a large number of Australian and international journals. He had joined the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1881 and was honorary secretary and editor of its Journal and Proceedings for nine years. He served as president of the Society in 1899-1900. Knibbs was elected president of the Institute of Surveyors in 1892. He served in that role for a total of four years. In 1897 and 1898 Knibbs was elected president of the New South Wales branch of the British Astronomical Society. In 1899 Alexander Oliver, president of the New South Wales Land Court, was appointed by the then-colonial government to examine and report on suggested sites for a federal capital, in respect of desirable characteristics, locations and the probable cost of constructing public buildings. Knibbs was one of four experts selected to advise Oliver. The three others on the expert panel were G. Allen Mansfield (chairman), Walter L. Vernon (government architect) and John Barlow (president of the Institute of Architects). In September and October 1901 Knibbs and Barlow presented papers and led discussions on the subject of 'The Federal Capital' at combined meetings of the Institute of Architects and the Institute of Surveyors in Sydney. During his fifteen years as a lecturer at Sydney University Knibbs lectured in subjects such as geodesy, astronomy and hydraulics. In 1905 he served as the acting professor of physics.
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