People/maywoodalfred.html
< People
[[People/index.html|
]]
Alfred Maywood
The story of Alfred Maywood (1867-1919) is told in an article by Clarke et al. in Fremantle Studies vol. 12. I'll summarise, and also quote those authors.
One of twelve children living in the East End of London, he somehow got himself to the Colony in 1889 on the Elderslie, and went to work for Sandover & Co. in August 1890.
Clarke et al.:
Alfred immediately threw himself into Fremantle community life, within a year becoming librarian/secretary of the Fremantle Philharmonic Society and secretary/treasurer of the Western Liedertafel (male voice choir). He sang, recited and played the violin, and performed at numerous local concerts. He also joined the Fremantle Rowing Club and the Fremantle Artillery.
Alfred certainly embraced the social life of his new community and there he met his future wife, Martha Jane Downes, or Popsie as she was affectionately known. Martha was a talented musician, taking leading roles in concerts performed by the Fremantle Orchestral Society. Martha used the surname Josephson as she was the stepdaughter of Abraham Moise Josephson, an influential merchant in the colony, especially in Fremantle. She was born in Fremantle in 1870 to Betsy Downes who was unmarried, which made Martha illegitimate in the language and judgement of the times. Betsy became Josephson’s housekeeper and Martha grew up in the Josephson home on Cantonment Rd (now Queen Victoria Street). Betsy and Abraham entered a de facto relationship, marrying in 1896 after the death of Abraham's first wife.
The relationship of Alfred and Martha blossomed and on 11 November 1891 they married at St Johns Church, Fremantle. Their first child, a daughter, Dorothy Grace Clury, was born in 1892 and a second daughter, Felicia Leila, followed in 1895. In 1898 a son, Reginald Alfred Josephson, was added to the family and finally in 1900 a second son, Leslie Roberts. The children followed in their parents’ musical footsteps, Dorothy and Felicia playing violin and cello at various Fremantle concerts. ...
... Maywood was a keen amateur photographer and has left a carefully curated photograph album featuring Fremantle in the 1890s/1900s - landscapes and streetscapes, residents, commercial and cultural activities and sports. This is a photographer's album, not an album of snapshots; it is an artistic creation intended for display and browsing by visitors. Maywood was both documenting local life and creating artistic forms.
Some Maywood photos, all of which are in the RWAHS Tognini archive, having been donated by Maywood's daughter Dorothy Tognini
High Street, early 1890s, looking east towards the Town Hall. The prominent corner is with Pakenham Street featuring a butcher's shop which used to be that of the Pearse brothers, with the Criterion restaurant next. The extant building on the right is known as the Ajax Building.
Members of the Fremantle Rowing Club. Maywood was a keen rower.
'Riverview', home of Edward Mayhew.
The caption written on this is 'Native Woman'.
[[People/photographers/img/womanhut.jpg|
]]
This is the same woman, posed in front of her 'hut'.
References and Links
Clarke, Lorraine, Lenore Layman, & Jude Robison 2023, 'Fremantle through the eyes of A.T. Maywood', Fremantle Studies, 12: 1-14.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 30 October, 2023 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/maywoodalfred.html (it was last updated on 1 November, 2023). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.