Bernhardt Holtermann
Bernhardt Otto Holtermann (born April 29, 1838 in Hamburg , † April 29, 1885 in Sydney , New South Wales in Australia ) was a German-born gold digger, businessman, photographer and politician.
Holtermann became famous because the largest piece of rock containing gold and quartz with around 3,000 ounces of gold was named after him "Holtermann Nugget". The gold value was around € 3.26 million in November 2017.
Early life
Little is known about his early life. Bernhardt Holtermann was the son of John Henry Holtermann, a trader, and his wife Anna, nee Nachtigall. After graduating from school, he worked in the office of his uncle HH Holgermann for five years.
Since he did not want to serve in the Prussian military for three years , he first traveled on a ship to Liverpool , where he arrived on April 15, 1858. There he embarked on April 29, 1858 on the Salem and reached Melbourne , Australia on August 7, 1858. On this voyage, an illness broke out and four crew members died. A young woman fell ill and Holtermann, who had medical knowledge, cured this woman. This earned him great recognition on the ship.
On February 22, 1868, Holtermann married Harriett Emmett and Beyers in Bathurst on the same day, Mary, Harriett's sister. Holtermann and his wife had three sons and two daughters.
Prospectors
From Melbourne he traveled on the City of Sydney to Sydney , where he arrived on August 12, 1858. He wanted to meet his brother in Sydney. But this one was in the gold fields. As he spoke little English , his job search was unsuccessful and he traveled from September 13, 1858 on the merchant ship Rebecca between Sydney and New Caledonia . On January 29, 1859, he returned to Sydney. There he worked as a waiter in the Hamburg Hotel , where he met Hugo Ludwig Luis Beyers , an experienced gold prospector. In 1861 they bought a plot of land near the gold mining town of Hill End (Tambaroora), which they called the "Star of Hope Mine". Both accepted other work because they did not have enough financial means to run a mine . For example, Holtermann worked as a baker, butcher and ferryman . Whenever they made enough money, they worked in their mine. Holtermann almost lost his life in the mine when explosives exploded nearby and seriously injured his face. He was unable to work for six months afterwards and had fought with death. When they ran out of money, Holtermann borrowed money from a Chinese businessman, which he paid back in October 1872 after the large gold discovery. After working unsuccessfully in their mine for both years, they managed to find gold in 1867, which brought them several hundred pounds . Holtermann invested this in the All Nations Hotel , which he operated until 1869. He sold it and invested in two previously unsuccessful gold mines on Chambers Creek and Root Hong on the Macquarie River . In order to be able to continue operating the “Star of Hope Mine”, Holtermann and Beyers needed additional funds, so they sold mine shares. These shares could also be acquired through the corresponding provision from a paid miner. On February 17, 1872, the Star of Hope Mine Co. was founded with a share capital of £ 72,000. Holtermann and Beyers were the main shareholders . For his part, Holtermann insisted that he be employed as a pit manager.
In 1871 it was discovered that there were more gold veins in their mine area, but these veins leaked. The gold digger and owner of the mine Mark John Hammond (1844-1908) then continued digging in a different direction. In a publication in the Sydney Morning Herald on November 20, 1871, Holtermann had warned against rash investments in the mine. Hammond was impressed and paid off his share. Shortly after the payout, the great bulk of gold was found. Hammond received none of this, although he was digging in the right direction. This brought Holtermann into disrepute among the gold diggers, but was quickly forgotten again; because he was elected to the first "Hill End Borough Council" a little later.
On October 12, 1872, two new gold veins were discovered in the "Star of Hope Mine", which promised rich finds. When the "Holtermann Nugget" was found, Holtermann was not present. This piece of gold and quartz rock was the largest ever found. When it came to light on October 19 at 2:00 a.m., it weighed about 286 kg. The length was 149 cm (4 lb. 9 inches), the greatest width 67 cm (2 lb. 2 inches); it contained approximately 3,000 ounces of gold with a then value of £ 12,000. Holtermann only owned shares in it, as did the other shareholders. However, he was the one who took the initiative fastest and had himself photographed with the rock by Henry Beaufoy Merlin . It was to his credit that the large piece of rock was not immediately shattered to extract the gold. Hence it was named "Holtermann Nugget". The term nugget is incorrect because nuggets consist entirely of gold with no additives.
Businessman
When Henry Beaufoy Merlin (1830–1873), a traveling photographer , came to the goldfields of New South Wales with his young assistant Charles Bayliss at the end of March 1872 , Holtermann turned to photography . He was deeply interested in it and hardly bothered about his mines. He supported and financed Merlin's project to take photos of the settlement in New South Wales and Victoria . Merlin developed the photos using the so-called collodion wet plate process and produced images in the format of 21 × 25 cm. The recording session lasted about one to two hours in this procedure. Since the development had to take place promptly, a mobile darkroom always had to be carried when using this method for landscape photography. With the photographer he opened the studio of the "American & Australasian Photographic Co." in Hill End. Holtermann wanted to take over the advertising and distribution of the photos. In 1873 Merlin toured New South Wales with his photographs in a specially built vehicle. In the same year Merlin died. Holtermann had invested about £ 1,000 in the photo work. Merlin's assistant Bayliss then went to Victoria and took around 200 photos there, mostly around Ballarat . Holtermann attached the photographs of the panorama of what was then Sydney to a 9.78 meter long roll of fabric and exhibited them in the United States at the 1876 Philadelphia World's Fair . His panorama was awarded a bronze medal. Holtermann traveled to Philadelphia in 1876 and then to France , Germany and Switzerland, where his exhibitions were recognized. In 1877 he returned to Sydney. At the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878 he presented the panorama of Sydney again.
Furthermore, Holtermann successfully sold his Life Preserving Drops (German: life-preserving drops ), which were based on the chemical formula of a German doctor. He also contributed £ 150 to help build a hospital in End Hill . This building is now the End Hill Visitor Center , where the only surviving bottle of his drops is kept. He also sold German " lager , sewing machines , gas-producing machines for home gas lighting and telegraphic devices ".
In 1874, on the heights of St Leonards , now part of Sydney, Holtermann built a palatial building with a 27 meter high tower. This tower was specially built and was used by Holtermann for panoramic photographs of Sydney Harbor and as a darkroom . For this project he hires Charles Bayliss. They photographed series of photos in the format 46 × 56 cm and expanded the image formats up to a size of 152 × 91 cm. The individual photos could be combined to form panoramas. These recordings were later lost. It was only in 1951 3500 were glass plates - Negative a suburb of Sydney rediscovered, in a garden shed in Chatswood. Today the converted building with the tower houses the Sydney Church of England Grammar School .
Politician
Holtermann was a founding member of the Hill End Borough Council. After two unsuccessful attempts, Holtermann was elected to the Australian House of Commons for St Leonards in 1882 . His membership in 1885 ended at the end of the electoral term. He was involved in local affairs such as the construction of the post office, courthouse, tram and the "North Shore Bridge" in North Sydney , the Sydney Harbor Bridge , which was built much later . He personally donated £ 5,000 to build the bridge. Holtermann was also committed to helping migrants in Australia . Shortly after his death, a Sydney newspaper reported that Holtermann was a Freemason from Unity Lodge .
Aftermath
The rediscovered collection of about 3,500 glass plate negatives, including 700 from Bayliss is now kept in the National Library of New South Wales and it is in the list of World Heritage of UNESCO entered. In the former gold rush town of Gulgong, the Gulgong Holtermann Museum was set up in one of the oldest buildings that has been preserved from the gold rush .
literature
- Christoph Hein: Australia 1872. How a German found happiness and wrote photo history . Emons, Cologne 2020, ISBN 978-3-7408-0633-0 (with 150 historical photographs).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Men of the Past. mr. BO Holtermann. Famous Hill Gold End , February 18, 1914, on the Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative. Retrieved November 18, 2017
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Holterman found the largest mass of gold . In: 200 years of history of the German-speaking community in Australia. Part IS 26-28. Special Edition: The Week in Australia of January 1988. Europa Kurier Pty. Ltd. Bankstown. ISSN 0726-4860
- ↑ a b c d Keast Burke: Holtermann, Bernhardt Otto (1838-1885) , from 1972, on Australian Dictionary of Biography . Retrieved November 18, 2017
- ↑ a b c Holtermann Panorama , on nga.gov.au. Retrieved November 18, 2017
- ↑ Holtermann Collection , on amw.org.au. Retrieved November 18, 2017
- ^ Death of Mister Holtermann MLA , May 2, 1885, in Australian Town and Country Journal. Retrieved on August 17. November 2017
- ↑ The Holtermann Collection , on sl.nw.gov.au. Retrieved November 18, 2017
- ^ Gulgong Holtermann Museum , on holtermannmuseum.com.au. Retrieved November 18, 2017
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holtermann, Bernhardt |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Holtermann, Bernhardt Otto (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-Australian gold digger and businessman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 29, 1838 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 29, 1885 |
| Place of death | Sydney , New South Wales |