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PORTRAIT OF FREDERICK JOHN SAW & HANNAH CATHERINE SAW

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c. 1920

Overview

An oval shaped ornate frame with a domed glass front. It has an outer ring of gold paint an inner ring of mottled brown with a raised flower and leaf motive, mainly in gold, positioned at the top, bottom and each side of the frame. Separating these two is a plain black ring. The portrait has Frederick on the left facing his wife. He has receeding grey hair with a beard and moustache wearing a white collared shirt, grey tie, and a black waistcoat and jacket. Hannah is on the right facing her husband. She has grey hair swept back and parted in the middle, also wears a little make up. She has a dark coloured coat with a light patterned collar which matches her dress. The back panel which is held in place with nails, has text written in pencil in two places. Wire is affixed through two eyelets for hanging purposes.

Historical information

Frederick (1859-1938), along with his brother William, jointly managed the Narrogin Inn from 1882 to1895. He married Hannah Catherine White (1865-1936) in Kelmscott in 1883. The Saw family played a significant role in the development of the Armadale area. In 1894 he was elected Chairman of the Canning Road Board and along with other fellow Road Board members from the Armadale area began to campaign for a new Road Board to be formed from the southern part of the Canning Road Board as well as parts of the Fremantle, Wandaring, Murray and Jandakot Road Boards. Saw though did not have the votes so he along with his supporters John Marsh (owner of Paradise Farm) and James Butcher (owner of Wungong Farm) resigned from the Road Board in protest.
For the next few months Fred Saw led a campaign for the establishment of the new road board and on 12 December 1894 the State Government gazetted the creation of the Kelmscott Road Board. Elections were held in March 1895 and Fred was elected to the Road Board and was appointed as Road Board Secretary. In May, following the death of William Butcher Jnr., he was appointed as chairman of the Road Board. He served on the Road Board for four terms, 1895, 1896-1904, 1906-1907 and 1923-1924. John also acted as Road Board Secretary for a second term between 1896 and 1898.
Hannah was not a stay at home wife. In 1898 she established an 'eating house' opposite the new Armadale train station which was also granted a license to sell 'colonial wines'. In 1916 she also donated on the corner of Fourth Road and Eleventh Avenue for the construction of the Armadale Obelisk, a memorial to the men and women from the district who had enlisted to serve in World War One and those who did not make it home.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-33-COA2015.34

Themes

People
Social History

Material

Paper

Wood

Width

396 mm

Height or length

572 mm

Inscriptions and markings

Text reads; [Frederick John Saw & Hannah Catherine Saw] / {G,W,& I. Morcombe / 9 Rex St. / Gosnells]

Keywords

SAW Hannah

SAW Frederick J Mr

Year

c. 1920

Statement of significance

This object is part of a collection of items that represent the role that local government has played in providing services to its local community. The City of Armadale was formed in 1894 as the Kelmscott Road Board and has grown from a time when it only provide roads and drains to today when the City provides a wide range of services including waste collection, libraries, museum, parks, sporting facilities, building licenses, environmental services, public events, street lighting, ranger services and community facilities.

Comparative significance criteria

Interpretive capacity

Rare or representative

Well provenanced

City of Armadale - History House

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