Family background
Albert John Freckleton was born on 2 June 1876 in Birmingham, England, son of John Freckleton, a blacksmith, and Bertha Margaret Godfrey. In 1879, at the age of two, Albert Freckleton, his parents and younger brother, Bertram, arrived in Sydney aboard the vessel La Hogue.
Freckleton married Mary Jane Godfrey (1874-1929) on 27 December 1899 in Waterloo, NSW and they had four children; 3 sons and a daughter. He lived in Botany Street, Waterloo.
He died on 11 September 1919 in Kensington, NSW, aged 43 years and family history research indicates the cause of death was pneumonic influenza. The ‘Spanish flu’ global pandemic, as it was more commonly known, killed millions, including 12,000 Australians, over half of which resided in New South Wales. Freckleton was buried in the Old Church of England Section of Rookwood Cemetery.
Occupation & interests
Albert John Freckleton was a partner in the firm Freckleton Brothers, a brick carting business based in Hansard Street, Waterloo. The firm was first registered in 1908.
Community activity
At the suggestion of Freckleton to Waterloo Council in 1908, Freckleton approached the Railway Commissioners to extend the tramway section from Waterloo terminus to Epsom Road. Freckleton said ’it would be a great boon, especially to working girls, to whom an extra penny, as at present charged, was a consideration. At this season of the year the walk from the present terminus to Epsom Road was long and lonely, and if only for the protection of girls who were obliged to go out to work, the extension should be granted.’
Albert Freckleton was a justice of the peace (JP). He was also a freemason and a member of the Masonic Lodge, Redfern.
Local government service
Albert John Freckleton was an alderman on Waterloo Council in 1908-17 representing South Ward. He was mayor in 1912. He retired June 1917.
References
‘Municipal Elections’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 February 1908, p. 8, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1314609
‘For the Waterloo Girls’, Evening News, 22 May 1908, p. 4, http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/112964330
‘Mayors elected’, Evening News, 13 February 1912, p. 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113814015
Library of Birmingham; Birmingham, England, UK; Birmingham Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: Dro 50/1; Archive Roll: 11
Family history research via Ancestry.com.au