Bernhardt Otto Holtermann (1838 - 1885)

Born 29 Apr 1838 in Hamburg, Germany

Husband of Harriett (Emmett) Holtermann — married 22 Feb 1868 in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia

Died 29 Apr 1885 at age 47 in St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Bernard Holtermann is Notable.

Bernhardt Otto Holtermann was born on April 29, 1838 in Hamburg as the son of John Henry Holtermann and Anna Nachitgall. He was a successful gold miner, businessman and an Australian politican.

Migration & Early Life

To avoid spending three years in military service, he left Germany in 1858, sailing from Liverpool in the "Salem", and reached Melbourne on August 7 after a 101 day journey.^[1] Arrived in Sydney on August 12. He hoped to meet his brother Herman, but discovered he had gone to the goldfields. With a lack of English, he was unsuccessful in finding any job on land, and settled on being a steward on the schooner "Rebecca", which sailed on September 13 for the Pacific Islands and returned to Sydney on January 20, 1859.

Mining Career & Marriage

Holtermann was a waiter at the Hamburg Hotel, where he met a successful miner that persuaded him to go to Adelong. After a few months he met the Polish miner, Ludwig Hugo "Louis" Beyers, and went with him to the Hill End.

On February 22, 1868, Holtermann married Harriett Emmett in Bathurst^[2], while Beyers married her sister Mary on the same day. Bernhardt and Harriett had five children together.

The Holtermann Nugget

In 1871, the Star of Hope Gold Mining Company, which Beyers and Holtermann were a part of, struck rich veins of gold. On October 19, 1872, the "Holtermann Nugget" was discovered.^[3] The gold specimen is known to be the largest golden specimen ever found at 1.5 metres (59 inches) long and weighing 290 kilograms (630 pounds). Holtermann attempted to buy the 93 kilogram (or 3,000 troy ounces) specimen from the company, offering ₤1000 (about AU$1.9 million in 2016 currency, AU$4.8 million on the 2017 gold price) over its estimated value of ₤12,000. He was however turned down, and it was sent away to be extracted. He resigned from the company in February 1873.

The Holtermann Collection

At Hill End, Holtermann met travelling photographer, Henry Beaufoy Merlin, and his assistant, Charles Bayliss. He watched them at work, and welcomed Merlin's idea that a great series of 10 ins (21 cm) by 12 ins (25 cm) photographs should be created of the settled areas of NSW and Victoria and sent abroad to advertise the colonies and encourage migrants.^[4]

Political Career

Holtermann was elected as a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly and was a member for St Leonards from December 5, 1882 until April 29, 1885. He was particularly interested in immigration and the progress of North Sydney.

Death

Bernard passed away on his forty-seventh birthday in St Leonards.^[5][6] He is buried at St Thomas Rest Park in Crows Nest.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ CABINET // The Holtermann Gold
2. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index 1639/1868
3. ↑ Trove: Wagga Wagga Express and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW : 1858 - 1859; 1866; 1872 - 1874) / Sat 26 Oct 1872 / News of the Bay
4. ↑ State Library NSW - Holtermann Collection
5. ↑ New South Wales Death Index 6325/1885
6. ↑ Trove: The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912) / Sat 9 May 1885 / The late Mr. B. O. Holtermann.
7. ↑ Australian Cemeteries Index: Inscription 5252 - Bernhardt Otto Holtermann

• Trove: Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954) / Thu 21 Sep 1933 / Holtemann's Life Story

See also:

• Wikipedia: Bernhardt Holtermann
• Australian Dictionary of Biography: Holtermann, Bernhardt Otto (1838-1885)
• Parliament of NSW Page: Mr Bernard Otto HOLTERMANN (1838 - 1885)