Frederick Wilhelm August Lobegeiger was the 4th of Friederich and Caroline Lobegeiger's children.
He married Ernestine Wolter.
Ernestine Fredericka Amelia Wolter was born 11 July 1852 in Templin the daughter of Christoph Friederich Wolter born 1815 d 1893 and Johanna Christine Meitz born 1820 d 1902. They were married in 1844 in the Brandenberg district of Germany.
Frederick and Ernestine (known as Anastacia) were married 6 August 1870. He died 26 August 1913 and she died 23 June 1923 and are buried at Coleyville Queensland.
They left Germany on 13 October 1865 and travelled to Queensland. They settled at Kalbar.
They had 13 children. Two of whom married into the Dickfos family.
Children of Friedrick and Ernestine nee Wolter
4.1.4.1 Anna Born 22 Oct 1871 M John Henry Schneider 1898 d 7 May 1919
4.1.4.2 Maria Born 24 Nov 1873 Never married d 16 Oct 1960
4.1.4.3 Friedrich Wilhelm Born 10 April 1876 M Wilhelmine (Minnie) Dickfos 1906
d 17 Apr 1959 Boonah
d 17 Apr 1959 Boonah
4.1.4.4 Ellen Bertha B 24 Mar 1878 d 1878 (she
died at 5 months)
4.1.4.5 Charles Hermann Born 6 July 1879 M Ellen Emma Schmidt 1901 d 3 June 1924
4.1.4.6 Christine Emilie Born 18 May 1881 Never married d 5 Oct 1953
4.1.4.7 Auguste Sara Born 27 Sept 1882 Married Henry Wieland 1904 d 28 April 1942
4.1.4.8 Alfred Benjamin Born 5 Mar1885 Married
Katherine Slattery 1920 d 20 Nov 1945
4.1.4.9 Arnold Arthur B 11 June 1887 Married Wilhelmine Christina Dickfos 1911
d 21 Dec 1946
d 21 Dec 1946
4.1.4.10 Emma Margaret Born 26 Aug 1889 Married Jack Niebling 1910 d 30 July 1970
4.1.4.11 Lena Louise Born 14 Apr 1892 Married Johann Schmidt 1914 d 20 Jan 1964
4.1.4.12 Joseph Hugo Born 28 Oct 1894 Married Amelia Zahnow 1916 1 Mar 1974
4.1.4.13 Esther Bertha Born 6 Mar 1896 Married John Hinricksen 1916 d 12 Aug 1923
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| Lobegeiger Slattery Headstone |
As the years went by, increasing prosperity enabled Old Wilhelm to acquire his own land and the end of the 1870's saw the family in the Mount Walker area. Mount Walker was originally named Mount Forbes by Lieutenant John Oxley and there are conflicting stories as to how the name was changed. It seems the name Mount Walker has been used ever since settlement began in the district.
Running south from
the foot-hills of Mount Walker is a ridge which forms the divide between the
Warrill and Bremer Valleys The road
from Harrisville to Rosevale crossed this divide and beside this road on the
ridge, under the shadow of Mount Walker, Wilhelm became a storekeeper. Old residents today will know the shop but little
evidence of the building remains.
Wilhelm was a very
methodical operator. The Lobegeiger
family is fortunate in having preserved two large account books which record in
detail the many transactions made at the store during the 1880's and early
90's. Purchases, with their prices, of
the many customers are neatly set out in a business like way, giving the reader
the impression that the book keeper was no novice in this field.
Some of the customers
were
M. Peters
M. Wolters
A. Dieckman
A .Kruger
A.
Schneider
M. Neuhendorf
A. Miller
M. Huth
M. Roback
W. Borchert (Many of these people are mentioned in this document)
This mini-supermarket
sold groceries, hardware, clothing, haberdashery, meat, confectionery, fruit,
stationery, drapery, footwear. Customers came from Mount Walker, Rosevale,
Rosewood Scrub, Fassifern Scrub, and Dugandan Scrub.
The entries in the
account books were made in a kind of German-English. Some of the prices in the 1880's were:
Eggs five cents a dozen; butter - six cents a
pound; matches - 4 cents for a dozen boxes, pair of Blucher boots - seventy
cents; cotton print material - six cents a yard; broom - fifteen cents; box of
hair pins - one cent; woollen blanket - one dollar 58; lamp wicks - five cents
a dozen; wash board - ten cents; cotton - seventeen cents a dozen reels -
peppermint lollies - eight cents a pound ; sewing machine - eight dollars.
About two miles west
of Harrisville is a paddock containing 65 acres, designated as Portion 101,
Parish of Mutdapilly (where Barry Sealy's cow-bails are at present). This land was originally granted to Henry
Moller on 29th July 1879. It
was transferred by Wilhelm Lobegeiger to William Lobegeiger Junior and
Friedrich Lobegeiger of Mount Walker on 14th October 1892 as
Trustees.
The document was witnessed
by J.H. Gill, Solicitor, Ipswich. The
Trustees to provide board and residence in their own houses for Wilhelm
Lobegeiger Senior and his wife Caroline and provide all necessary food and
clothing as long as they live and maintain and support them from income, rents
and profits arising from the said land.
Caroline could not write and signed with her mark X.
It is interesting to
note that later on another document needed to be signed by Wilhelmine Korner
and Johanne Kruger, and the signatures were made with their marks X. It appears that although Wilhelm could write
very well, his daughters were unable to do so.
In 1882 Friedrick
bought 120 acres at $4.50 per acre from H. Moller and in 1884 he bought 120
acres from A. Schmidt at $5.00 per acre.
It would appear that the 1880's were prosperous years for the
Lobegeigers.
On 19th
February 1892 Wilhelm, at the age of 72 years, made his will which reads as
follows:
"This is the last Will and Testament of me,
Wilhelm Lobegeiger of Normanby Reserve near Harrisville, in the colony of
Queensland, farmer. I give and bequeath
to my son Friederick Lobegeiger the whole of my farm situated at Normanby
Reserve upon which farm I am now living for his whole use and benefit and to my
son William Lobegeiger I leave the sum of twenty-eight pounds sterling, and to
my daughter Wilhelmine Korner, wife of Jacob Korner, I leave the sum of twenty
eight pounds sterling; to my said son Friedrick I leave the sum of eighteen
pounds sterling, and to my son August Lobegeiger I leave the sum of twenty two
pounds sterling, and to my daughter Johanne, with of Charles Kruger, I leave
the sum of twenty-eight pounds sterling, and to the children of my late
daughter Emilie Peters, the deceased wife of Wilhelm Peters, I leave the sum of
twenty-eight pounds sterling.
"All other monies, goods or properties of
whatsoever kind that I may die possessed of, I leave to my son Friedrick
aforementioned upon trust to pay these out all my funeral and testamentary
expenses and all my debts which being paid, the balance remaining, shall become
the absolute property of my said son Friedrick, my son Ferdinand Lobegeiger
having already received from me the sum of fifty pounds sterling before this
will was made. I consider him my said
son Ferdinand to have already received his full share of my property and I
therefore leave him only my love and affection.
"I hereby appoint my said son Friedrick sole
executor and trustee of this my Will As
witness my hand this nineteenth day of February in the year of our Lord, one
thousand eight hundred and ninety-two," Wilhelm Lobegeiger
Witnessed by August Kleist -
Normanby Reserve, and William Field, Accountant, Ipswich.
On 3rd April, 1893 the following
alteration was made to the will, namely:
"The very last Will of Wilhelm Lobegeiger. The land which I left to my son Friederick
Lobegeiger shall be left to W.H. Jones, Portion 101, Parish of
Mutdapilly."
Walter Henry Jones
was the first teacher at the Provisional School at Coleyville, which opened in
1890 with 22 pupils. His son was a maths
master at the Church of England Grammar School in Brisbane, and his grandson
was Clem Jones, Lord Mayor of Brisbane for fourteen years, retiring from the
position 30th June 1975.
One may only guess
why the land was left to Jones. It is
not known when old Wilhelm died, but it was before 13th June 1895
when Friedrick wrote a letter to his brother William requesting him to transfer
Portion 101 to Walter Henry Jones, Friedrick intimating in the letter that he
had attended to this matter already on this own behalf. Wilhelm was buried in the Coleyville cemetery
being the second burial recorded there.
(Whilhelm Snr buried in 1902)
Mention has been made
of Coleyville. Philemone Coley had
arrived from England to Brisbane in 1866.
He worked at Redbank Plains and later came to the Mount Walker
district. He died in 1915. In honour of this pioneer the area on the
south-east of Mount Walker became known as Coleyville, probably in the 1880's
to differentiate it from the Mount Walker district which took in a large area
of the mountain.
After the death of
his father, Friedrick Lobegeiger and his family continued to work the property
at Mount Walker. In 1905 the Normanby
Divisional Board rates amounted to $8.75.
The number and value of their stock in that year were: 14 sheep at $1; 10 lambs at 70 cents each;
160 cattle at $4 each; 15 calves at $1.20 each; 10 horses at $6 each; 33 pigs
at $1.10 each; and 1 ram at $2.
Friedrick had bought 320 acres from P. Vonderheid in 1901 at $3.00 per
acre.
In 1906 Friedrick saw
opportunity for advancement of his fortunes when land was thrown open for
closer settlement in the Silverdale district some eight miles south of
Harrisville. The local aborigines called
this area "Undullah" which means "silver-leafed iron bark"
for which tree the area is famous. Hence
the name Silverdale.
This land was part of
the Normanby Station which was originally taken up in the early 1840's. The station passed through various hands,
including those of Mr. R.G Casey father of Lord Casey, one time
Governor-General of Australia. Lord
Casey's mother was the daughter of George Harris, after whom Harrisville is
named. Finally Normanby Station was
taken over by Australian Estates, which eventually had it surveyed into agricultural
lots which were sold in the early 1900's.
An advertisement in
the "Queensland Times" for Saturday 20th October 1906
reads as follows:
"3000 acres of
Normanby Estate, property of the Australian Estates Co. Ltd. The Normanby Estate (shown in the following
photos, 1. Panoramic view of the Homestead, 2 Lucerne flats, 3 miles wide
viewed from the Homestead; 3. Warroolaba Creek from the bridge; 4. Cattle
grazing on Warroolaba Creek) situated half mile direct from Radford Railway
Station, near Harrisville on the Fassifern Railway, 46 miles from Brisbane,
Queensland. Watered by Warrill and
Warroolaba Creeks, and numerous lagoons."
"The Normanby
Estate (formerly owned by Donald Wallace and R.G. Casey) has long been coveted
by agriculturalists and dairymen. It has
always been looked upon as the choicest fattening country in the Brisbane
District and has been used for many years as a "topping" run for fat
stock intended for the Brisbane market.
It possess the largest Lucerne paddocks of any station in the State,
some of them being over three miles wide, and has been described as equal to
anything on the Hunter and Richmond Rivers in NSW or Laidley Creek in
Queensland. The soil is black alluvial
on the Flats and Ridges alike and nearly every acre of the part for sale may be
described as Lucerne land and a large portion is best potato land. The Flats can be irrigated at a nominal cost
as there is a fine body of water in the creeks."
"Particular
Advantages: The Cressbrook Dairy
Company's Condensed Milk Factory is only one and a half miles from the
sub-division. Cressbrook milk is the
leading brand in Queensland and the company are now paying 5d per gallon for
milk. The rainfall is ample and well
distributed, giving an average of 36.6 inches during the past 18 years".
"Proximity to
Market, allowing settlers to visit Brisbane by the 7.30am train in the morning,
returning on the 5.25pm train and having 6.75 hours to transact business or to
see their produce sold.
"Very little
clearing is necessary as the whole of the country is open and partly
ring-barked and there is plenty of timber for fencing and trees for
shelter"
"Auctioneers
Isles, Love & Co Brisbane. Auction
sales will take place at Harrisville School of Arts at 2.00pm on Saturday,
November 17th 1906,
Terms: one third cash. Balance in two payments at 3 and 6 years with
interest at 5% payable half-yearly."
"Some
facts: The Trelawny Estate (almost
adjoining has produced the following crops:
English potatoes 10 tons per acre; maize 60 bushels; barley - 35
bushels; oaten hay - 3 tons; panicum - 5 tons; pumpkins - 20 tons; Swedes - 40
tons and has cut Lucerne eight times in the year yielding up to two tons per
acre. A 26 acre farm on Trelawny during
4 months in 1904 consigned per railway - 2660 crates of cabbage; 110 bags of
peas; 307 bags of beans and during the 1902 drought $1200 was taken from five
acres of cauliflowers by irrigation."
"The Auctioneers
sold an adjoining farm, containing 454 acres on 7th May, 1904 for
$7000 cash. This farm had been worked for over forty years."
"To go to
inspect, take the morning train to Harrisville and the station buggy will meet
you. There is plenty of accommodation at
the local hostelries, but you can return to Brisbane the same day if necessary".
Urged on my such
glowing reports, Friedrick attended the Auction Sale and soon found himself the
buyer of some 750 acres at a cost of about $12 per acre. Here he promptly began milking cows and
growing Lucerne, maize, potatoes, pumpkins and panicum. In 1908, Friedrick bought 135 acres at $20 an
acre from C.W.L.. Heiner, a solicitor from Ipswich. This area became known as the "top
camp" and produced many good crops.
Such a large area of
land needed many workers to ensure its efficient use. In 1909 A. Dau worked as a labourer for 33
cents per day, six days per week. Albert
Gaskey worked for 42 cents a day, Warne Quall for 17 cents, Peter Graff for 25
cents and Adam Hoffman for 33 cents.
In 1910 Friedrick
decided to make the enterprise into a company with a capital of twenty thousand
dollars , the members being himself, his wife and five sons, Fred, Charles,
Ben, Arthur and Joe, with himself as sole governing director to hold office
during his life.
Objects for which the
company was established were (in part): "To acquire and take over as a
going concern the business now carried on by Friedrick Lobegeiger on the
Normanby Estate near Harrisville,
To carry on all or
any of the businesses of dairymen, cheese, butter, egg manufacturers and
merchants, bacon curers, poultry and livestock breeders, butchers, farmers,
produce merchants, general provision merchants and dealers".
The agreement was
witnessed on 21st May 1910 by John Joseph Kidner, Harrisville Bank
Manager.
Two of Friedrick ‘s
daughters never married, Maria and Christine Emilie.
Friedrick died in
1912 and his wife and five sons carried on the work of the company employing
progressive methods of farming. The
company bought the first tractor in the district, a 10-20 Mc Cormick Deering in
1920 and in the same year the first milking machines in the district, the Ridd
machines were installed.
The company operated
a saw-mill until 1921, cutting the giant blue gums that grew on the flats. One great tree yielded 5000 super feet of
timber. One day Ben and Arthur were
hauling blue gum logs to the Warrill Creek bank to stop the creek over flowing
in times of flood. Six horses were
needed for this operation. A log rolled
down the bank taking itself and six horses into deep water. All Ben could do was yell, but Arthur soon
cut the harness and the horses swam out unharmed. The log is probably still in the creek.
The Silverdale State
School opened in 1910 and Charles was on the first committee. Arthur served as Honorary Secretary of the
Committee from 1923 to 1933 and his son Len, Honorary Secretary from 1946 to
1959 and Chairman from 1961 to 1963. The
School was closed on 8th April, 1963, the last teacher being Mr Don
McGuire. The old Normanby Station gates
were operative just outside the school till 1920. There was another set of gates at the present
boundary of the Moreton and Boonah Shires on the Cunningham Highway..
Just north of this
second set of gates, on land donated by Stan and Frank Colborne, the Silverdale
Church of Christ was built and the first service was held on 4th
January 1920. The Lobeigers were great
supporters of the Church and some of the family still attend its services.
Arthur, in particular, was a stalwart of the Church.
Over the road from
the Normanby Homestead, is the Warrill View Showground. For a number of years, particularly in the
1930's one-day annual shows were held there.
Arthur was a member of the Warrill View Show Society.
Frederick’s wife
Ernestine, died in 1921 and in 1922 the company was disbanded. Fred had already gone to Rosevale where he
bought a farm which is still in the hands of his son and grandson. The other four brothers took over the
company's land and worked it independently.
Charles died at Silverdale Ben went to Ipswich and Joe went to Forest
Hill.
Arther had married
Wilhelmine Dickfos, who, is still going strongly at the age of 82, and she will
tell you she was born during Brisbane's great flood, the 1893 flood. Arther had five children - Lily who married
Bob Christensen, and three boys, Len, Mervy, and Wilfred. Arthur and his family farmed the residue of
the original holding (some of the land
had been sold to strangers) until his death by accident in 1946. His three sons today work this land side by
side but independently.
4.1.4.3 Friedrich Wilhelm Lobegeiger m Wilhelmine Minnie Dickfos
4.1.4.3.1 Harold Arthur Lobegeiger
4.1.4.3.2 Elsie Louisa Lobegeiger
4.1.4.3.3 Leslie Clarence Lobegeiger
4.1.4.9 Arthur Lobegeiger m Wilhelmine Dickfos
4.1.4.9.1 Lily Esther Lobegeiger b 24 Sept 1911 m 1931 Victor Maurice Christensen
d Nov 1993 Gatton
d Nov 1993 Gatton
4.1.4.9.2 Leonard Arthur Lobegeiger b 4 June 1914 m Thalma Joan Henkey 1938 .
d 25 Aug 1983 Kalbar
d 25 Aug 1983 Kalbar
4.1.4.9.3 Elfreda Stella Lobegeiger b 8 Mar 1917 m Rob Roy Gordon Christensen 1941
10 Oct 1992
10 Oct 1992
4.1.4.9.4 Arnold Mervyn Lobegeiger b 1919 m Mavis d Sept 2010 Kalbar Cemetery
4.1.4.9.5 Wilfred Allen Lobegeiger b 1921 m Barbara d Jan 2007
Mervyn served with the
RAAF and was in Darwin at the time of the Japanese raids in 1942. Wilfred served with the AIF in New Guinea
during WW2.
Len had four
children,
(Written by Len Lobegeiger)
Cressbrook Dairy Company
The first European settler in the Brisbane Valley was David McConnel, who took up
the Cressbrook run in 1841. In the late 1880s his son James established a condensed
milk factory on Cressbrook Creek and subdivided a large part of the run into dairy
farms and the township of Cressbrook Creek (later Toogoolawah).
The McConnel family was deeply involved in Toogoolawah’s economic and social development,
encouraging cultural, religious, sporting and economic activity. They employed a
contractor to build homes for their farmers, donated land for church purposes, and
promoted a variety of district clubs, organisations and societies. Expansion of the
town coincided with the rail connection to Ipswich in 1904 and the purchase of the
factory by the Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in 1907.
 |
| Len planting a tree at the Centenery |
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| Kingaroy Lobegeigers leaving c 1940 |
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