Frederic Britten Burden (1852 – 30 January 1897) was a businessman and newspaper editor in the colony of South Australia.
Burden was born in England, the second son of Philip Henry Burden (ca.1823 – 3 March 1864), and emigrated to South Australia with his parents when a young child, sometime before 1854, perhaps on Gipsy, which arrived in September 1853.[1] His father worked briefly for Goode Brothers, sold drapery from his Norwood home,[2] then was secretary for the Adelaide Advertiser, and headed its commercial section until his early death.
Fred Burden was educated at St. Peter's College, and worked at the warehouse of Whyte, Counsell, & Co. He then spent some years in England. His mother Mary remarried on 15 August 1865 to John H. Barrow (1817–1874), who adopted her children,[3] and had a son of their own. Barrow had founded The Advertiser with C. H. Goode in July 1858, and served as editor until his death in 1874. Ownership of The Advertiser was then in the hands of the widow Barrow and Thomas King (1833–1886). In 1879 Mary retired in favor of her son Fred, then J. Langdon Bonython joined the firm, but retaining the business name of Barrow & King. In 1884 King sold out to his partners, and some years afterwards Burden sold his share to Bonython[4] and retired to Kent, then to "Congelow", Malvern, Worcestershire, where he died on 30 January 1897, leaving a widow and two children.[5]
He married Ada Hallett (c. 1851 – 26 March 1927) on 20 May 1879[6] Their children included:
Ada married again, to Thomas Duffield ISO (c. 1849 – 11 February 1937)[8] on 27 April 1904; they lived at Mount Lofty; she died at Ruthven Mansions, Adelaide.