F. W. Commons

Frederick William Commons (1860-1925) was an Australian monumental sculptor who was commissioned to carve the monuments in the Ballarat Town Hall. He was commissioned to carve four allegorical figures for Parliament House, Melbourne, each 12 ft high and for £2,100. However, it never eventuated due to the depression. Today, many of his works can be seen in statues and monuments in the Ballarat district.

Early life and education Commons was born in Linton, Victoria in 1860, to Cornish parents Richard Commons and Elizabeth Barkla. He was described as the "first white child born in the township".

Commons was educated at the school of Ebenezer Parker MA in Scarsdale. Many of his memorials and monuments were exported to customers in America.

Many memorials in public buildings, such as the Ballarat Town Hall, and hundreds of headstones in district cemeteries bear the inscription F. W. Commons. the Snake Valley District War Memorial, and a devotional sculpture at the Convent of Mercy, Ballarat East (Sacred Heart College).