George Randall was a confectionery manufacturer, migration officer and orchardist. He was born on 9 February 1843 at Hertford, England. He married Naomi Jackson on 20 May 1868 and the couple immediately left for Queensland. In 1881 Colonial Secretary Arthur Palmer appointed him emigration agent and lecturer for the Queensland Government in England. Randall held that position until 1902. He also represented Queensland as manager and commercial agent at the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition. Randall was instrumental in settling many farm workers from England in Queensland. Between tours of duty he reported on the conditions, success, etc. of such migrants in Queensland, and campaigned for a migration policy.

Richard John Randall (1869-1906), artist, was the elder son of emigration agent George Randall's. He was born on 5 February 1869 in South Brisbane. After studies in Brisbane and England he returned to Queensland in 1899 to become a talented and prolific painter, particularly of landscapes but with some portraiture. After his death from a cerebral tumour on 15 October 1906, George Randall vigorously supported his son's reputation by memorial publications, the gift of his works to the City of South Brisbane and the maintenance of his studio there (later relocated and restored to the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens.