Patricia Freda Whale, best known by the pen name Freda Bream, was a teacher and writer who was born in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Education
Bream completed an arts degree at university, before doing a year"s teacher training that left her "with a fixed resolve that teaching was not for me". In her later years she wrote crime fiction, and finished up her life in a retirement village - an experience she didn"t particularly enjoy.
Career
She instead worked in a wide variety of jobs, including serving in the army and working as a charwoman, factory hand, waitress, cook, and postwoman. She also got married and had two sons. Then, almost by accident, she returned to teaching after a 20-year gap.
She ended up as Senior Mistress at Morrinsvale College.
In an article published in the New Zealand Herald in 1991, she wrote of missing contact with other age groups – the girl next door, the man across the road, the people in local shops. The reality of mixing with those in the village was constant exposure and reminders of the health changes in ageing.
“‘I find myself soaking in a pool of unhappiness. becomes increasingly sad as you age.” She questioned whether relieving older people of physical work, mental strain and decision-making is a good idea and suggested that people should think about such things when planning for their future.