George Fray
| First name | George |
|---|---|
| Last name | Fray |
| Country of Origin | England |
| Date of Birth | 22/06/1855 |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1882 |
| Submitted by | Mary Mannings |
Story
George, son of Charles and Emma Fray, was born 22 June 1855, at the back of 55 Upper Gough Street, Birmingham. He followed family tradition and was an indentured metalworker, working for Britannia Lead in Birmingham. At 24 years of age he married Alice Satterthwaite, aged 23 years, on 4th October 1879 at St. Luke\’s Church, Birmingham. After marriage and during the 1881 Census they were living at Gt Hampton Row 14 Court 3 House, Birmingham. Alice was one fourteen children. Two years after his marriage George decided to bring his family to Australia, son George jnr was 20 months old. They came aboard the ‘Hereford’ as assisted immigrants. According to the ship\’s log they departed Plymouth on 3rd February 1882 and arrived in Sydney on 22nd April after 78 days at sea. Alice was sea sick for the whole journey. The ships log also stated that both George and Alice could read and write.
George worked on farms on Sydney\’s North Shore. At one time he either owned a milk run or a dairy farm at Willoughby. He lived in Market Street North Willoughby in 1885. After growing up in such a large family Alice must have been very lonely when she came to Australia. We were told that when she was pregnant with her second child she was very ill and was befriended by strangers who took her into their home and nursed her back to health. Ada Lucy was born at Naremburn in 1883 and in 1886 twins Joseph and Alice were born in Greenwich. Alice died young.
George moved his family to the Tweed River district and settled on a farm at Cobaki Creek. Here he cut timber, dairy farmed and grew bananas. George made most of the furniture for their home.
George and Alice planned a three-month holiday in England in 1914. They left Australia on a German ship named Friedrich der Grosse bound for Bremen in Germany. George posted a photograph of them both, on a postcard, from Naples dated 22nd April 1914. WW1 was declared on 4th August 1914 between Germany and England. George and Alice had to wait another nine months to get a passage home. That would have been a rather worrying trip as Germany was sinking ships around the world with their U-boats.
From his death certificate, we learn that George suffered intense pain for four days then was operated on by the local doctor on the dining room table. He did not survive the surgery, as it was peritonitis caused by a burst appendix. He died on 26/03/1924. Alice lived on with a paid companion and died on 16/05/1940. George jnr, Joseph and Ada all lived in or near Tweed Heads. Their families spread around the country.