William Edward Fretwell

William Edward Fretwell

Plaque Information
Date of Birth	c1874
Age at Death	83 years
Transcription	In Loving Memory of William Edward Fretwell Born 1875 Died 06/06/1958 Aged 83 Years

Early Life

William Edward Fretwell was born in 1874 and his birth was registered at Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. William Edward was the son of William and Mary Fretwell.

Arrival in Australia

William Fretwell arrived in Western Australia 28 May 1912. Came to Kelmscott and rented 'Signer's' cottage for a while. He was very interested in gramophones and photography, with his photographs now considered to be historically important visual records of life in W.A. in the early 1900s.

Marriage

William married Mary Agnes Fretwell nee Taylor on 1 June 1901 at Dore Derbyshire, England. They had two children Edward Martin born 1913 and died in 1913, Henry Neil born in 1915, both children were registered at Canning. His son, Neil is a resident of Roleystone.

Electoral Roll

According to the England Census Roll in 1911 the couple had no children.

Property

William and Mary Agnes Fretwell built their own home on River Road (now Brookton Highway) in 1914 on the corner of Bernard Street and River Road. He bought up a large area of land on the corner of Brookton Highway and Canning Road in Karragullen and built a house and planted many acres of fruit trees in 1926.

Occupation

William Fretwell was an Engineer Surveyor in the Chief Engineers section of the Western Australia Government Railways. Surveyed in 1915 the Brookton Highway.

Death

William Edward died at the age of 83 years on 6 June 1958.

External Links

• The W.E. Fretwell photo collection on Flickr