Family background
Albert Josiah Medcalf was born in 1874 in Waterloo, the fourth son of Joseph and Ellen Medcalf (nee Harris). In 1908 he married Ida Loftus at Petersham. They had no children.
Medcalf died on 5 October 1929 and was buried in the Methodist Cemetery at Rookwood. His funeral was attended by a number of leading representatives of South Sydney and Epping, including the Mayor and aldermen of Redfern, the Masonic Lodge in Epping, and the Real Estate Association of New South Wales.
Occupation & interests
Albert Medcalf was chairman of the directors of Joseph Medcalf Funerals, a company started in 1880 by his father Joseph Medcalf and still operating in Redfern today. In 1902 he was granted an auctioneer’s license and then worked in real estate.
Community activity
According to his obituary, Albert Josiah Medcalf was greatly interested in public affairs. At the time of his death, he was the Worshipful District Master of the Freemasons of Epping, having previously served in the Rockdale Freemasons association. After moving in middle age to Epping, Medcalf was a trustee of the Epping Methodist Church, a trustee of the Epping School of Arts and foundation member of the Epping Bowling Club.
Local government service
Albert Josiah Medcalf was elected to Redfern Council in December 1925, and represented the same ward as his father Joseph Medcalf before him. He was on the Finance Committee, and also on other committees dealing with issues relating to parks, public health and hall hire.
Medcalf served just one term on Redfern Council. In February 1929 he informed his fellow aldermen that he had been suffering from ill-health for some time, and wanted to take a holiday for purposes of recuperation. He therefore asked for three months leave of absence, extending this twice until September, when he requested further leave of absence because his continuing poor health made attending council meetings impossible. He died two weeks later.
References
Biography researched and written by Marian Lorrison, November 2015 .
‘Legal notices’, The Sydney Morning Herald, March 22, 1930, p.3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16635622
‘Licensing Courts, Redfern’, The Sydney Morning Herald, January 3, 1902, p.3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14446916
‘Alderman A.J. Medcalf’, The Sydney Morning Herald, October 30, 1929, p.21 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16597377
‘Municipal Elections’, The Sydney Morning Herald, November 24, 1928, page 23, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16511676
‘Personal’, Evening News, November 29, 1929, p. 10, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119004335
‘Father: Son Aldermen’, Evening News, November 1, 1929, p.3, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article119010580
Redfern Minute Books, January 12 1928 – April 16 1931
2521/1908 Medcalf, Albert J, Loftus, Ida J, Petersham – NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages