Sir George Handley Knibbs (13 June 1858 â 30 March 1929) was an Australian scientist, the first Commonwealth Statistician and the first director of the Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry, predecessor to the CSIRO. He was nicknamed "the Knibb".
Knibbs was born in Frederick Place, Sydney, son of John Handley Knibbs, foreman, and his wife Ellen née Curthoys.
Knibbs joined the New South Wales Land Survey Department in 1877 and in January 1878 was appointed a licensed surveyor.
In 1906 the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics was created and Knibbs became its first director. He was the first Statistician for the commonwealth census in 1911.
Knibbs was created a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1911 and was knighted in 1923.