Bernard Otto Holtermann
>> see also A. P-R. 1953
Australian social history suffers from from many missing chapters. One of the more obvious gaps is that so little is known of the individual miners who reached here in their untold thousands in the great days of gold. Certainly we know that they come from almost every country, that they were venturesome spirits of enterprising personality — but that is about all.
Most accounts of life on the goldfields were written by overseas visitors, local travellers and journalists. It would hardly have occurred to the average digger to write about himself1, for he had far more pressing matters to worry about in the ceaseless search for rewarding specks, or more happily, nuggets, in the tail of his dish.
Bernard Otto Holtermann was an exception Among gold seekers in leaving behind him a substantial Amount of biographical material. The earliest domlment2 is a brief account of his life written in the earlier part of 1876, just before he and his family left Australia for their trip abroad.
Although couched in the third person, the handwriting is readily identifiable as his own. It consists of sixteen octavo pages and records the details of his voyage out to Australia and was apparently compiled for use in possible interviews abroad. No alterations have been made in the following extract, other than some corrections of spelling and insertion of punctuation.
"B.O.H. was born in Hamburg, North Germany, 29 April 1838,3 and was for 5 years employed in a Mercantile House of well-known Repute as Holtermann & Kopke, and of late years, H. H. Holtermann In 1858 he made up his mind to see the world, or rather far-famed Gold Land, Australia, more so as he had a brother in this Colony for Several years; and, secondly, he did not believe to be dressed in Military Cloth or lose three years of the best of his life as a Soldier. He made a start from Hamburg in a steamboat to Liverpool on the 15 April without any English Language. Started per train to Liverpool; stayed at Liverpool in a Boarding House for ten days with many a little Narrative in this large City as a Memory.
Then was embarked as a Steerage Passenger in the Ship Salem, Capt. Watt, for Melbourne, and started from Liverpool on the 29 April. On the starting he was surprised, as a sign of bad luck, as he terms it, by a large Piece of timber being thrown on his foot, completely crushing his big toe, but, to wind up at night, he was laid up with the beautiful Sensation of Sea Sickness, combined with being partly Heart-broken without a friend to care for him except an American Native then Cabin Cook on board, who attended to him like a father and brought him nice things to eat until he recovered from his Sickness, some 14 days, but more like 14 months to him.
He then took (it upon himself) to assist the Cook whenever he could and received nothing but kindness from the whole ship, principally the Captain who was as nice a man as he ever met. Several dozen incidents occurred on Board of which he related one or two (to the interviewer. Some of these related to the thieving habits of the crew, while another was when, while trying to oblige the Cook, he slipped in rough seas with a pudding he was carrying; both he and the pudding went rolling a11 over the deck to the amusement of the others. Another was the time when he saw two men fighting for about half an hour, only to see them shake hands when one had gained the victory. Following several deaths on board) he tried his medicine on a German woman very weak and nearly exhausted and was afraid she had to follow the others, but thinks he saved her and several others from Severe illness or death.
Many more memories he has during his Passage, which he fully intends Publishing in a small book shortly . . .'
Bernard Otto Holtermann; portrait taken in the studio of the American & Australasian Photographic Company Hill End, 1872. (777)
The survival of this document is valuable for not only does it convey some essential facts but it also epitomizes Holtermann's character and outlook on life — his natural friendliness, his sense of humour, his interest in medicine and, above all, his continuing charitable regard for the welfare of others.
Furthermore his language difficulty and quaint English, his narrow escapes from serious injury were to recur during his life. We must indeed regret that his 'small book' of experiences never saw light of day; his thoughts in later years turned from personal experiences to larger issues in the political sphere.
The Salem reached Melbourne on 7 August 1858, having taken just over one hundred days. The passenger list is still extant and shows Berhard Haterman (sic), 20, foreign'. He then boarded the City of Sydney, reaching the city of that name on 12 August in the evening.
He immediately went ashore to search for his brother at several addresses only to be told that he had gone to the diggings. Unable to find employment and unfamiliar with English, Holtermann's eventually secured a berth as a steward in the schooner, Rebecca, 114 tons Captain Souter, which sailed on 13/14 September to trade in New Caledonia and the South Sea islands. Rebecca returned to Sydney, via Port Cooper and Melbourne, on 17/20 January 1859. He now
'. . . tried many a billet that was advertised as Waiter (sic) in Photo-Gallerie, at North Shore as a Groom to mind a little Pony and occasionally pull a Boat to Sydney which was just filled by someone else, and many other trails, until he engaged as honourable Waiter in a Public House . . . then the Hamburg Hotel5 in King Street for ten shillings pr. week, but the owner, a Gentlemanly Master, gave him 12/- instead.
' He stayed there for a five month, had some experience with Gold Miners principally one very rich one from Adelong. At them days he did not like his billet and was going to Adelong or Fairfield.6 But his late Mate, Mr Meyers7 stayed at the Hotel and he made up his mind to have a trial at the then worked-out Tambaroora Goldfield, or Bald Hill, now Hill End,8 and he never left it for the first five years through not having much money but has many little anecdotes and Memories to refer to as a digger and many other occupations that came to hand. In 1861 he started with Mr Beyers Prospecting Hawkins Hill and never entirely left it to the present day and still believes in it . . .'
From this point the memoir becomes somewhat fragmentary, but in an earlier interview in the Australian Town and Country Journal, 2 November I872, he recalled 'the deep satisfaction he felt when, as a weary traveller, he reached a shady spot on the hill above Tambaroora and threw down his sixty-pound swag. The painful experiences of that dreary journey, though a desolate and trackless region, made him at times feel that it would never come to an end, that he must die on the way; but, on reaching the heights, he felt hopeful and contented.'
Only too soon was the contentment to vanish, and likewise the magic of the place with the strange-sounding name which had so often excited his imagination when he heard the field discussed by the diggers at the Hamburg. Success in finding gold depends on luck almost as much as on experience and at that time Holtermann had neither, and nearly nine years were to elapse before he was able to achieve any real financial stability.
Although it would seem that he and Beyers crossed the mountains in company, they do not appear to have been mates on an important claim until 1861. The memoir also states that Beyers was always ready to help him with money and labour. He is probably referring here to the Star of Hope claim which was eventually to become so famous, although references to other claims are mentioned in the Holtermann papers.
Holtermann and Louis Beyers photographed on top of the Hawkins Hill Ridge. There was no flat ground in the vicinity of the mine shaft for shaft timber storage. (70197)
Meanwhile Holtermann was involved in several narrow escapes, the last and worst of which was when some 'fourteen pounds of blasting powder (exploded) when he was within a couple of feet of it, hanging on a rope twenty feet from the bottom of the shaft and one hundred and ten from the surface'.
Holtermann's name is recorded as being associated with several well-known reefs as early as July 1864, whilst Beyers's Reef is noted several times during 1865 and 1866.9 The Star of Hope claim is not mentioned by name until 24 August 1868 when Richard Kerr was granted 'time-off'.
It was the Star of Hope in which the partners had the greatest faith; nevertheless there were hard times when portions of shares had to be sold to keep the claim going. In 1867, he made 'a few hundred pounds from a surface crushing10 and this enabled him to build and manage an early hotel in Hill End, the All Nations Hotel in Clarke Street. It was at Holtermann's hotel that, following the attempt on the life of H.R.H. Prince Alfred at Clontarf on 12 March 1868, a patriotic meeting was held to express the loyalty of the settlement. However he held the licence for one year only, selling out to one Nicholas Lambert on 26 August.
Earlier in the some year, on 22 February, at the Church of All Saints in Bathurst, a double wedding was celebrated when Holtermann and Beyers married the sisters Harriett and Mary,11 daughters of Edward Emmett of White Rock, a family well known in the district.
The reason for Holtermann's sale of the hotel was his desire to set up substantial new enterprises, first at Chambers Creek and subsequently at Root Hog, but both were to prove disastrous. He and his brother, who had now joined him, were reduced to acting as ferrymen, conveying travellers across the river (the Macquarie) when it was too high for fording. The ferryboat was exceedingly primitive, having been converted from a baker's mixing trough.
Work was still continuing on the Star of Hope; the expense was heavy especially on account of the necessity for timbering. To obtain both funds and labour, more partners were taken in. To original syndicate members Richard Kerr and H. Miller were now added John Klein, James Brown, and Moses Bell; the latter not actually working in the shaft but represented by a miner on wages, William Hunt. Holtermann's brother worked there at one time but does not appear to have held a share. The new syndicate members lightened some of the burdens but rewards remained very small. Yet there were surprises ahead that none could possibly have anticipated.
About April 187I, there come on to the market an eighth share in the claim - that owned by James Brown. Brown was a well-known identity on the held under the familiar name of Northumberland Jimmy; he had come early to Hill End and had been very successful, so much so that he was now clearing up his affairs prior to returning to England. He offered his share for £500 to another early resident, Mark John Hammond,12 who had long coveted it.
Hammond could not lay hands on the money, but, having certain definite ideas about the claim, he approached his good friend and Star of Hope syndicate member, Moses Bell. Moses Bell not only advanced the £500, but also provided direct encouragement by giving him the right to control the work of his own wages man, Hunt. However four months passed before Hammond could put his plan into effect, for work had to be suspended owing to top claim workings.
A few shifts on the claim were sufficient to convince Hammond of the truth of the opinion which he held, namely that the syndicate was unlikely to locate any rich veins by further sinking. In vain he tried to convince Holtermann and the others, but finally, assured of Bell's support, Hammond decided to take matters into his own hands. One evening, when he and Hunt come on shift, they cut timbers, sealed off the shaft about 130 feet down and rapidly commenced a new drive to the west. What happened when the day shift arrived is vividly described in Hammond's memoirs : (The looks on their faces are still in my memory, never to be forgotten. What they were going to do and what they would not do, was something awful. I had ruined the shaft and would have to pay dearly for it!
'We got to very high words. 1 threatened to wring one of their necks, and was in return threatened with a knife. They knew that I had them in a fix, and that whether they worked or not, the drive would go in. The only way they could stop it was by applying for an injunction to restrain me.
'They had several meetings amongst themselves, but nothing eventuated. They came regularly at the time to change shifts without a single word being uttered, good, bad or indifferent. All the talk was in the town as to what I had done. Bell stuck to me like a brick. Every morning during the week we found that no work had been done by the other shifts, but Bill Hunt and I kept pegging away.
'We were on the night shift the following week when I had the extreme satisfaction of cutting a vein full of gold. This was at 11 o'clock at night. We knocked off and reported the find to the party. The report of the discovery flew like wildfire. One would have thought these men would have been ashamed of themselves for the way they acted, but instead of that, one of them rushed to the newspapers, leaving it to be inferred that he was the discoverer, and kept his name emblazoned before the public for years afterwards. I had nothing to gain by disputing the matter. 1 had found the gold and was well satisfied with that fact.'
The find was briefly reported in the Australian Town and Country journal for 2 September 1871 and again, in the some paper three weeks later when accurate details as to the various veins were communicated by Hammond himself. He later sold his share at a handsome profit, moved to Sydney and subsequently became a man of substance, but Holtermann held on and saw his fortunes rise dramatically. With the backing of his many local friends, Holtermann accepted nomination as a candidate in the new Goldfields West Division (which included Hill End) at the forthcoming state election.
Alluvial fields, no matter how rewarding to the individual hard-working miner, offered little attraction for easy-money speculators. Quite another matter, however, were the possibilities latent in reef gold. An era of reckless speculation followed, stimulated by the rich fends at the Star of Hope, its neighbour northwards, Krohmann's13 and a number of others.
Following on the Ending of rich quality veins on Hawkins Hill, there was an influx of strangers to the district — speculators and company promoters — as had never previously been seen. Before the year was out no less than fifteen hundred claims had been staked out and shares in these futureless mines were being offered on the Sydney market, backed by exaggerated references to the fabulous riches already won from the field.
As, day by day, the news reached Sydney of the astounding results of the regular rich crushers of gold-bearing stone from the various claims along the Hawkins Hill line of reef, a frenzy of speculation developed. For a year or more — or until shareholders found themselves unable to meet their calls — this wild speculation continued, propositions based at best on the existence of payable gold somewhere in the neighbourhood, or, at worst, on the exhibition of working faces peppered with gold obtained from filed-down nuggets or sovereigns. Mines with good prospects saw their hopes for adequate finance swept away, overwhelmed in the torrent that had been so skillfully engineered by swindling speculators.14
This trend of events could not but alarm the more responsible citizens of the district, among them Holtermann, who lost no time in writing a warning letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, which duly appeared on 20 November :
'Noticing in several newspapers so many accounts or reports from Hill End, and even telegrams, which are but founded on some very slight or unsafe foundation, or mistakes — who knows which — I feel it my duty as one of a large community to state a little about these so well blown-about gold-gelds as Hill End.
'I would advise no one to buy in any claim, lease, etc., without he is well acquainted with the party selling, or has someone responsible on the spot to refer to, or who the purchaser can depend upon: if not, he had better spend a few pounds, and look for himself.
'Do not fancy that the whole of Hill End or Tambaroora are going to turn out to be rich or fortune claims. It has never been, and it is not likely it will be the case, more so the way it goes ahead now, because a man need only go and take up a lease — never mind where — blow well, and misrepresent the same, and he can raise plenty of money — never mind if it never turns out a grain of gold, it fetches money to Hill End.
But how long? Not for many months because the paying parties, not the sleeping shareholders, will get tired, and give their interests up, run the whole place down to be no good. . . . Several claims are really rich, but how far the richness runs along, no one can tell, and where it is to be found no one knows. The oldest digger knows no more than a new chum in regard to where the gold is in the ground . . .'
Holtermann (left) and Beyers (right of doorway) with smaller specimens of reef gold from the Star of Hope mine. The central-figure is thought to be Richard Ormsby Kerr. (10" X 12'' series)
It is unlikely that any of the credulous and gullible of Sydney Town heeded Holtermann's warning, or, even, for that matter, read this strangely worded, almost incomprehensible epistle, its message concealed in the small type allotted to correspondents in the pages of the Sydney Morning Herald. But in the region of Hill End, upon the arrival of the issue in question on the eve of polling day, the reaction was electric. Copies were seized on by the opposing electoral faction, scores of dubious characters clearly saw their schemes threatened and their pernicious practices in jeopardy, while many of the more responsible citizens were alarmed for the success of promising new developments, even for the future of the town.
Tempers rose and, on the morning of 26 November, polling day, a large crowd, variously estimated at between one and three thousand, angrily assembled in Clarke Street. Holtermann's action was denounced and his effigy (or portrait?) burnt on a nearby hill. He was branded as a traitor by the Hill End and Tambaroora Times15 in an editorial — which was rather a surprising volte face, for the paper had long held itself out as something of a wise authority on matters relating to mining investment.
On Holtermann's return from Sydney, he wrote a scathing expose of the situation and challenged all and sundry to come forth and deny the truth of his remarks. We do not know whether the letter was actually published, but at any rate when he emerged from his house and paraded the streets, not one of the many persons who had promised to tear him to pieces was to be seen. As for the election, in the end he lost by a mere five votes.
>> continues
Introduction / Processes / Holtermann / Merlin / Bayliss / Iconography / the Plates / Bibliography
>> see also A. P-R. 1953
The text and notes to the plates: copyright © Keast Burke 1973
The original GOLD AND SILVER plates were taken from the Holtermann negatives, Mitchell Library Sydney.