George Fraser III was born at Matakana on 21st February 1856. He was an apprentice to his father’s well known Auckland Engineering firm.
The Frasers provided most, if not all, the ferry boats for the Waitemata Harbour Services in the early days. If you name was Fraser, you could travel the ferries free of charge.
George was not a Catholic when he married Ellen Jane Watson,. Their two sons, George and John Ernest were two of the first boarders at Sacred Heart College, Richmond Road, and their daughter, Stella, St Mary’s College, Ponsonby.
Six of the Fraser grandchildren attended St Mary’s, Northcote, when our school was opened in 1933. A special treat was a trip to the Strawberry fields in Northcote.
George III was Mayor of Northcote and Fraser Avenue was named after him. Their home still remains today in Clarence Road, behind the BridgewayTheatre, which his some built on his return from World War I, serving in the Medical Corp. in Gallipoli.
George III became a Catholic shortly before his death in 1933 and this Statue of Our Lady was erected by his wife, Ellen, in thanksgiving to Mary.
The statue was originally in the centre of the playground and on this Feast Day of Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven, the children of the school would gather around the statue and place a garland of flowers on the head of Our Lady.
To view the historical dates of Northcote Parish open this document. Download here.