William Amed Demasson

William Amed Demasson, a carpenter and wheelwright by trade, was one of Toodyay's citizens who made a substantial contribution to the civic life of the town.

Among the many organizations that he belonged to, he is particularly associated with the formation of a branch of the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity in Toodyay, or Newcastle, as it was known at the time.

They were headed by Marris’ Brass Band and Brother Demasson bearing the family Bible on a velvet cushion.

The couple had five children: Laura Lavinia (b.1880), Edith Grace (1882) who died in 1886 of diphtheria, Amy Constance (1884), Ruth Marianne (b.1889) and Chapman (b.1894).

[1] Some years later, in 1906, there was another outbreak of diphtheria; Demasson and the builder Joseph Ablett Wroth had the task of making many small coffins.

[4]: 361 At first the couple and their newborn daughter lived in a Pensioner Guard cottage while Demasson built "some rooms on a position of land he had bought, in the main street".

According to Lavinia's memoirs, the front room was turned "into a small store, by making shelves all round, and counters etc… and I looked after it myself with Ettie helping…".

[4]: 346  He also bought land from the Deepdale Estate with a frontage along the Avon River and planted grapevines and fruit trees, "meaning later to build a house to live in".

Around 1908 or earlier, he had ordered a French domed ormolu clock from London, but it was mistakenly delivered to Newcastle, New South Wales – as were many items around that time.