Australian Dictionary of Biography

George Chisholm [detail], New Zealand, 1949

Perisher Historical Society

Robert George Chisholm (1910–1998), snow skier and civic leader, was born on 26 July 1910 at Swan Hill, Victoria, elder child and only son of Robert Chisholm, farmer, and his wife Robina, née Brown, both Victorian-born. By 1919 the family had moved to Sandringham, Melbourne. George, as he was known, became a farmer like his father, working a property at Woori Yallock. On 28 September 1935 he married New Zealand-born Lilian Maude Woodard at Scots Church, Melbourne.

Chisholm commenced skiing as a young man and quickly became a proficient competitor, spending much time in the Victorian Alps. He experienced success at Mount Hotham in 1940 with wins in the downhill and slalom events of the Ski Club of Victoria championships. In 1946 he captained the Victorian team at the Australian ski championships and in 1949 was manager and non-competing captain of the Australian men’s team that attended the first post-World War II Inter-Dominion skiing championships in New Zealand. He returned with the idea of installing a ski tow in the Victorian snowfields and the next year was prominent in establishing one at Mount Hotham. A 1,600 feet (488 m) descent at Thredbo was named after him in 1950, and was the site of the Australian ski championships in 1953 and 1954.

Such was Chisholm’s reputation in snow sport, that he was named manager of the Australian team to attend the 1952 Olympic Winter Games in Oslo. The campaign was seen as something of a test run for Australia competing against the winter sports powerhouses of Europe and North America. He was again manager at the 1956 Winter Olympics at Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, while Lilian was the team’s chaperon. At Cortina, the long-track speed skater Colin Hickey achieved seventh placings in both the 500 and 1,000 metres events, the best results yet by an Australian. Chisholm retained his interest in competitive skiing, including administering associations and clubs, setting courses, organising races, instructing, and refereeing. He was president of the Australian National Ski Federation and chair of its race committee, and published articles about snow sports, including a record of the 1952 Oslo games.

By the mid-1950s, having co-purchased a liquor licence and grocery store at Albert Park, Chisholm described his occupation as ‘director’ or ‘manager.’ Like his father, a former mayor (1925–26) of Sandringham, he had a commitment to community affairs, serving as a councillor (1949–69) of the City of Sandringham, including two terms as mayor (1954–55 and 1963–64). Sporting and industrial accident rehabilitation was a special interest: he was a foundation board member (1963) of the Hampton (Rehabilitation) Hospital and served for six years as president.

George and Lilian Chisholm were generous in their support of national and local causes, opening their Sandringham home for fund-raising events, including for the Australian Comforts Fund during World War II, the Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital appeal, and to raise funds for Winter Olympics teams. In 1980 he was appointed MBE for services to local government and to skiing. Lilian died in 1986, and in 1989 at Sandringham he married Cicely Grace Ross, née Beckwith. A man of ‘intense energy’ (Bennett 1998, 20), Chisholm retained his love of skiing and, while he was physically able, spent as much time as he could in the snow. Predeceased (1997) by his second wife and survived by the two daughters of his first marriage, Pat and Robina, he died of pneumonia in a retirement home at Yarra Junction, near Woori Yallock, on 25 June 1998 and was cremated after a service at the Sandringham Uniting Church. His estate included property at Woori Yallock and Sandringham, and a share portfolio. That year a reserve at Sandringham was named for him, honouring his service to the local community.