Reverend George Sharley, of the Episcopalean (Anglican) Church, was the son of Francis and Maria Sharley. In 1859 he married Elizabeth Free and after her death married Francis E. Suffolk in 1883. By 1871 he was a curate living at Heigham, Norfolk.

Sharley came to the Transvaal as Rector of Pretoria in 1873. In October that year Bishop Webb of Bloemfontein requested the authorities of the Transvaal to permit Sharley to conduct marriages. In January 1874 Sharley participated in the formation of the Transvaal Literary and Scientific Society, known in Dutch as the Transvaal Letterkundig en Wetenschappelijk Genootschap. This society was founded on the initiative of President T.F. Burgers. Sharley was elected joint secretary and was re-elected to this position a year later. During 1874 he delivered three of the ten or so lectures arranged by the society. The first was on coal and coal mining and was delivered at a poorly attended meeting in February. The second, in June, dealt with "The soil we cultivate". In the third, delivered in November, he discussed the coming transit of Venus in December 1874. He pointed out the importance of the event for determining the relative distances of the planets and explained the measurements that would be made. However, many listeners found the lecture too technical. The society faded away during its second year.

Sharley was active also in another initiative by President Burgers, namely the Pretoria Botanic Garden. As secretary of its management committee he wrote to the acting State Secretary in June 1875 complaining about the shortage of labour for the Botanic Garden and about the use of convicts in private gardens.

He returned to Britain in 1875 and in 1881 was curate of Hickling, Norfolk. By 1901 he was Rector of Edingthorpe, Norfolk, where he died two years later.

List of sources:
National Archives, Pretoria. Vol. SS 189, R 1329/75. Letter from Rev. G. Sharley to acting State Secretary.

National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS). http://national.archives.gov.za/naairs.htm Documents relating to Sharley, George / Sharley, G.

Plug, C. Die Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek se eerste staatsmuseum en wetenskaplike verenigings. South African Journal for Cultural History, 1991, Vol. 5, pp. 113-127.

Sharley of Heanor, Measham, Derbyshire. Retrieved from http://www.shirleyassociation.com/NewShirleySite/NonMembers/England/Lineages/Derbyshire_Heanor_SamuelShirley.html on 1 October 2020.

De Volksstem, 17 January 1874, p. 2; 7 February 1874, p. 2; 14 February 1874, p. 2; 6 June 1874, p. 1; 28 November 1874, p. 3; 23 January 1875, p. 3: Articles and advertisements relating to the Transvaal Literary and Scientific Society/ Transvaal Letterkundig en Wetenschappelijk Genootschap.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2020-10-01 11:05:59