George Lawson, widely known by his nickname ‘Yorkey’, was a Yorkshire-born Beche-de-mer fisherman who lived here during the late 19th century. Yorkeys Knob coastal village was named after George. ‘Yorkey’ is derived from his place of origin and ‘Knob’ refers to the prominent rounded headland where George established his homestead in the 1880s.
You can find more in the following books:
Williams, Mary T (1988). The Knob: A History of Yorkey’s Knob. Cairns: The Cairns Post.
AND in the recent publication Tides of Memory: A Living History of Yorkeys Knob (2026), edited by Daniela Vavrova, published by Green Hill Publishing and financed by Yorkeys Knob Residents Association.