Frank Martin Downes
1848 — 26 August 1918
Frank Martin Downes (13‑4‑8)
Frank Martin Downes was born in 1848 to Henry Downes and his wife Mary Ann, née Martin. Frank was apprenticed to John Petrie’s firm where Frank's father also worked. Caroline Ness married Frank in Queensland on 28 September 1869.
Frank later became the manager at John Petrie & Son monumental works until the firm went bankrupt in 1894. The F.M. Downes monumental works started business in April 1894 in Wickham and Gotha Streets, Fortitude Valley.
F.M. Downes Advertisement in Pugh's Queensland almanac and directory, 1901.
One of the most beautifully carved monuments in Toowong Cemetery is that of Frederick Ness, the brother-in-law of F.M. Downes.
Frederick Ness headstone (13-4-8)
On 26 August 1918, Frank was severly injuried in an accident at his monumental works when a crane jib broke and struck him, crushing his right knee, fracturing his left leg, and injuring his right ribs. Frank died in the General Hospital early that evening.