Rodney and Ruth Burton's Genealogy Pages
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500 Class, A Social History of George Burton and his Family: Chapter 8: Music, Fun and Family: Ella Sarah Freer
Written in 1981 for the Burton Family Reunion held on 25th October 1981 at Walkerville, Adelaide, South Australia. Winner of the S.A. Family History Award for 1981.
Chapter 8 MUSIC, FUN AND FAMILY: ELLA SARAH FREER
Ella
Sarah BURTON
b. 23 March 1881, Hilton, S.A.
d. 9 November 1952, Adelaide, S.A.
m. 1896, Adelaide, S.A.
Arthur
John Freer
b. 6 May 1876, Freeling, S.A.
d. 3 July 1960, Adelaide, S.A.
Children
1. Herbert Arthur Robert FREER, b. 7 February
1897, d. 21 December 1975
2. Clarence Aubrey FREER, b. 8 March 1899, d. 26
November 1939
3. Richard George FREER, b. 24 July 1900, d. 25
October 1958
4. Ruth Ella May FREER, b. 4 May 1902
5. Ronald William FREER, b. 23 February 1904, d.
29 April 1977
6. Arthur Burton FREER, b.10 March 1905, d. 23
July 1956
7. Holly Emma Sarah FREER, b.26 August 1908
8. Grace Helena Pearl FR EER, b. 23 May 1914
The federschleisen
was progressing merrily. The older women and young ladies spoke animatedly
as they stripped the dried feathers from their stalks and giggling, pushed the
uncooperative, fluffy piles into the casing of the large eiderdown. The final product
of this old German custom, a valuable item of bedding, would be added to the
possessions of a young couple whose marriage was imminent. While their wives
and daughters discussed the approaching marriage, the menfolk enjoyed liquid
refreshments and ruminated over crops, the weather, business and the state of
the railways. During supper two young people took more than the usual interest
in one another. Ella Burton, herself fun-loving with a drier sense of humour,
was attracted to a handsome young man, Arthur Freer, who had laughter resident
in his eyes, the corners of his mouth promising to follow suit. For Ella, his
joviality and musical ability shone through the gathering that night in
Freeling. She was glad her parents had brought her to this country town for
this novel evening with such happy company.
Freeling was a small service centre for the
surrounding district whose principal economic activity was cereal and fodder
cropping. Its importance increased when it was linked with Adelaide by the
railway as part of the line to Morgan on the North-West Bend of the Murray
River. The line was completed in 1878. Arthur John Freer was born at Freeling
on 6th May 1876, son of Richard George Freer who was a guard in the South
Australian Railways. The Freer family consisted of three boys and three girls.
The mutual attraction of Ella Burton and Arthur
Freer deepened and the young couple who first met at a pre-wedding occasion
were themselves married in 1896. Their first child, Herbert, was born on 7th
February 1897 when Ella was not quite sixteen and Arthur almost twenty-one. The
happy parents had seven more healthy children over the next seventeen years.
Their last child, Grace, born on 23rd May 1914, was also the last and
thirty-first grandchild of George and Emma Burton. Like Arthur and Lily Burton
and Isabella and William Washington, Ella and Arthur Freer had a large family
comprising, more evenly, five boys and three girls.
Ella, Arthur and their young, growing family
lived with George and Emma Burton in their home at Brooker Terrace, Richmond.
Their youngest child and colonial born daughter enjoyed very dose relations
with her parents, as did her husband, Arthur, whose practical and mechanical
skills were generously available to his father-in-law in his market gardening
venture.
Arthur Freer first worked for the South
Australian Railways and then was employed by the South Australian government as
an inspector of concrete. The growing use of concrete and steel in many forms
of heavy construction, required knowledge and skills which Arthur was able to
provide. Inspecting construction sites and ensuring that contract
specifications were adhered to, entailed a good deal of travelling and
separation from family on the part of Arthur. He worked on Duncan and Fraser's
concrete building in Adelaide; the Birkenhead Bridge over the Port River; the
Barossa Reservoir, famous in South Australia as the “Whispering Wall”; the
construction of Outer Harbor; the development of Mile End as a freight depot
and locomotive servicing centre, and numerous railway bridges and culverts on
lines spreading into the agricultural development areas of the mallee, for
example, the Monarto-Palmer railway. Young Vivian Burton, whose father was a
railway fitter at Peterborough, can remember visiting his Uncle Art Freer in
his railway carriage which served as a home when he was on the job for months
at a time. Indeed, daughter Ruth, born on 4th May 1902, was known in the family
as the “Barossa job” because father was working on the Barossa Reservoir at the
time. It was comforting for Arthur to know his Ella and family had adult company
and support while he was “up-country”. Despite Arthur's enforced absences, the
marriage was a very happy one and the family developed harmoniously. It was
always a joy to see father again, especially when his surprises included crabs
and fish from the Port River dredges.
In 1912 Ella and Arthur had their own house
built at 155 Burbridge Road, Hilton, not far from her parent's home. Quite
naturally Arthur carefully inspected the building at all stages of
construction. Grace Freer was the only child born in the new house, in which
she still lives today. Ella and Arthur imparted their sense of fun and belief
in the value of warm family bonds to their children. The Freers were gregarious
and in the early years saw quite a lot of their extended family. The elder
Burtons visited or were visited often, and after George died, Emma visited at
least once a week for dinner. The Washingtons would call and there would be
trips by horse and trap out to the Burtons at Chicago. It seemed such a way,
some wag thought they needed a cut lunch! For special occasions the younger
Burton boys, Ern, Albert and Frank, would wait at the intersection of what are
now Churchill and Regency Roads, near the Reepham Hotel, keeping an eye out for
Grandfather George's canvas hooded wagon, loaded with grandparents, the Freers
and assorted goodies. As it drew near, they would “willy” on the back. On these
happy days Uncle Art Freer was particularly popular, delightedly organising the
games and races for the children. Even for a time after the grandchildren married
and started having families of their own, they would visit Aunt Ella and Uncle
Art; Lionel and Lucie Washington; Nell and Roy Burton, with young Max; Arthur
and Margaret Burton; Ern and Anita Washington. Ern visited for years, attracted
by the warm hospitality of his Aunt Ella and Uncle Art, the Freer boys and the
opportunity for a musical get-together. Another frequent and welcome visitor in
later years was Albert Lloyd. He had been fostered by George and Emma Burton at
the turn of the century. He lived with them and the Freers at Hilton, moving
with the latter to their new home as George and Emma advanced in years. He was
brought up as part of the Freer family and considered Ella and Arthur his
parents. To the younger Freer girls, delightfully ignoring his surname, Albert
was their oldest brother.
At home, after Sunday dinner the family would
gather around father at the piano and sing hymns. Arthur's irrepressible humour
would soon win through however and the singing might often end with “Yankee
Doodle Dandy”! Arthur's musical prowess was a marvellous social asset. He could
play almost anything by ear: piano, accordion, concertina, flute and tin
whistle. Another family diversion, especially for the boys, was bagatelle. The
Freers and friends would play on the large dining table and over the years wore
the pattern of the linoleum completely away around the edges of the table.
Christmas was the family highlight of the year and is still very much a happy,
traditional affair at the family home in Hilton.
The Freer children sought work as soon as they
had completed their primary schooling. The eldest, Herbert, served his
apprenticeship as a cabinet-maker at Cahill's. During the Depression he moved
to Richard's the motor body builders, constructing the wooden frames for the
bodies. Herbert moved from this transitional stage between coaches and modern
motor cars to Holden's, where he was employed as a pattern-maker for the
machines which pressed out the sections for the all metal car bodies.
Clarence Freer worked for Humes Pipes in various
jobs: labourer, driver and pipe-making machinist. He died on 26th November 1939
at the relatively young age of forty years.
Richard Freer first worked for Babidge's the
coopers as a machinist. Unfortunately, like his grandfather, he lost an eye at
work. He was reaching up for a tin of caustic soda and it spilt into his eye.
He exhibited the same determination as his grandfather and went into business
for himself. Richard began making shirts in the shed in his backyard with the
help of his wife and another woman He then had to employ three more women, then
six. He bought out Bottomley's on Port Road and was employing sixty machinists
to make shirts, pyjamas and aprons under the Taniwha brand name. During the Second World War, Richard secured a
contract to supply uniforms for the United States army and there were soon over
one hundred people on his staff. Individual American servicemen, with Yankee
flair, were sending parachute silk for custom made shirts. Sister Grace's
children sported custom made uniforms, dresses, overalls and pants made from
beautiful material, the offcuts from Uncle Richard's busy machines. The
American connection was furthered by Richard's daughter, Euphemia, when she met
and later married an American serviceman, Andrew De Paolo, who was serving in
transport and supply with t be 48th Liberator Squadron based in Darwin.
Euphemia left to settle with her husband in the United States of America where
they raised a family of their own. The clothing business built up by Richard
Freer was itself subject to takeover and is no longer in the family.
Ruth Freer helped in home duties until she
married Fred King, an Englishman, who was a fisherman and wharf labourer at
Thevenard on the West Coast. He had served in the merchant marine in the Great
War. They shifted to Adelaide where Fred worked at Michels, the wool firm, and
then as a mail sorter in the General Post Office. Fred also served during the
Second World War in the Royal Australian Air Force, based in Queensland as ground
staff.
Variety characterised Ronald Freer's working
life. He began in the News office,
Adelaide, drove for the Shell Company for a while and then was among the very
first to enlist in 1939 as his service number, SX484, testified. He served in
the 10th Battalion in Tobruk and Palestine. Returned to Australia, the
battalion rested, then trained for New Guinea and left for that new type of
warfare but without Ronald. He was a sick man suffering from trench feet and in
Daws Road Hospital, he had to have his toes wired. No longer fit for service he
worked for the Post Office but continued illness forced his retirement. Seeking
employment with more of an outdoors nature, Ronald finally worked as a timber
clerk at Otto's timber yard and mill at Magill.
Arthur Burton Freer, bearer of both his
parents' surnames, worked for his father on concrete work after leaving school,
gaining experience on such construction sites as the bridge at Bowmans near
Port Wakefield. He then drove for Quarry Industries for a number of years
before enlisting in the Royal Australian Air Force as technical support staff.
Arthur was invalided home from Singapore, Malaya, suffering from elephantitis
in his legs. It was to trouble him for the rest of his life and required
frequent visits to Daws Road Hospital. Displaying a great deal of courage
Arthur bought a paint shop, Davidson's Paint, and from his observations during
the war, decided to meet the need for a specialist paint. He subsequently
developed a rust resistant, silver frost type paint and marketed it under the
trade name Davidson's Paint. In the hurly-burly, competitive world of paint
manufacturing, Arthur was one of the first to bring out flat, water-based
paints. Arthur died a relatively young man in 1956, leaving a legacy to his family
of a TPI pension and some dividends on his paint, as well as a fine example of
grit, enterprise and determination.
The two youngest Freer children, Holly and
Grace, both worked in the Adelaide department store with the magnificent,
sweeping staircase, Charles Moore's. Holly worked as a waitress, later cook, in
the cafeteria upstairs and Grace operated a soda fountain. When both girls
married they devoted their energies and abilities to raising families. Grace's
second husband, Bill Quinn, was a farm labourer when he enlisted in the army in
the Second World War, serving in road transport in the Northern Territory.
After the war he worked in the Engineering and Water Supply Department as a
driver, foreman and supervisor before he retired. Grace and Bill Quinn still
live in the Freer home built in 1912. Apart from two years spent in nearby
Jenkins Avenue, Grace has lived there all her life.
Consonant with the common theme in this
history, Ella and Arthur Freer sowed well the seeds of love, loyalty and mutual
respect amongst their children. By personal example they instilled a sense of
fun complemented with a sense of responsibility. Moreover they could be well
pleased with their offsprings' demonstrations of enterprising spirit backed by
courage and determination. Father's own efforts were exemplary. Past the normal
retiring age, the indefatigable Arthur was still working in munitions during
the Second World War, playing his part on the home front. On a more personal
home front, the Freer children also had an excellent example to follow in their
parents, who, with laughter never far away, enjoyed married life together
beyond their golden wedding anniversary. Ella died on 9th November 1952 and
Arthur nearly eight years later on 3rd July 1960. It is a fitting tribute to
not only the strength of the Freer family but also to that of George and Emma
Burton's family, that the traditional Christmas pudding ringed with raisins and
ablaze with flaming brandy is still an annual feature in Ella and Arthur
Freer's original and happy home in Hilton.
Owner of original | Rodney Burton |
Date | 1981 |
Linked to | Family: BURTON/BURT (F28) |
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