Closely associated with the J. C. Williamson firm for over fifty years, George Tallis came to Australia in 1886. After settling in Melbourne he secured a position as office-boy with the theatrical triumvirate, Williamson, Garner and Musgrove. When Williamson found that Tallis could write shorthand, he made him his private secretary and soon afterwards Tallis became treasurer at the Theatre Royal and the Princess Theatre. In 1896 he bought a quarter share in the company and in 1904 became a partner, along with Gustave Ramaciotti. As Williamson gradually relinquished his active role, Tallis took over 'the Firm' in Melbourne.
When Williamson died in 1913, Tallis became a managing director of 'the Firm'. He was knighted in 1922 for services to the theatre and for wartime fund-raising. His diverse interests during the 1920s included a directorship of radio station 3LO and an association with the film-maker F. W. Thring. Tallis retired in 1931 through ill health but returned four years later to take up a position on the board of directors. In 1937, with Arthur Wigram Allen, he sold a controlling interest in J. C. Williamson's to New Zealand businessman Sir John McKenzie.
[Source: Mimi Colligan. 'Tallis, Sir George (1869–1948)', Australian Dictionary of Biography]
