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Text Box: Walter Padbury

Text Box: Walter Padbury was born on the 22nd of December 1817 in England.  He was the second son of Thomas and Ruth Padbury with siblings Edwin, Mark, Caroline and Ruth.   He grew up in Stonefield Oxfordshire and then travelled to Australia on the “Protector” in 1830. Padbury still valued his family and so wrote letters once a week to Finstock to update them on his life. His father passed  away the following July leaving Padbury to care from himself.   At the age of sixteen he was employed as a shepherd where he earned 10 pounds a year. In April 1844, Walter married 18 year old Charlotte.. A year later Padbury opened a butchery in Perth  with this new wife. He then began the W.Padbury and Co general store keeping in both Perth and Guildford.   Although Padbury was a business man he still continued to farm and was associated with the agricultural society and was president in 1875,1876 and 1885. His political life started in 1872 when he represented SWAM River in the legislated council. In 1884 he became chairman of the Guildford Municipal council.  In 1887 Walter was elected the first mayor and served on the commission of agriculture until 1892.   He was hoping to retire in England and so took Charlotte on a holiday there in 1878. They found the climate too severe and so changed their retirement plans. Unfortunately, Charlotte died in February 1895, 12 years before Walter who died on the 18th of April 1907. The balance of his estate was 90,000 pounds  which was divided between the Diocesan trustee of the church of England, many hospitals, the Lunatic Asylum and quite a few poor houses. Walter Padbury was a business man, farmer, politician and family man through out his life.