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Johann Schischka (1852 - 1936)

Johann (John) Schischka
Born in Lititz 55, Bohemiamap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married Mar 1878 in Auckland, New Zealandmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 84 in New Zealandmap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Paula Staunton private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 17 Jan 2015
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Biography

John was born in 1852 in Pilsen, then known as Bohemia, now known as Czech Republic.[1]

He was among the Bohemian migrants who came to New Zealand and settled in at Puhoi.

Immigration
He migrated to New Zealand arriving on the Liverpool [2] Departed Gravesend, London on 8 Nov 1865, arrived Auckland 5 Mar 1866 after 117 days.

The 4 couples with children were: Lorenz SCHISCHKA (aged 42), wife Rosalie - nee SCHINDLER, (42), sons Vincent (20), John (13), Christian (8), Joseph (2) and daughters Anna (16), Catherine (11), and Theresa (6).

John married Elizabeth (Burn) Schischka at the St Matthew's Anglican Church in Auckland City in March 1878.

St Matthews Anglican Church
Pictured on the right is the original wooden church from 1878.

"John managed Wallace Supplies in Auckland, supplying farming equipment - and this developed into a nationwide enterprise. He also set up the National Trading Company, located in Emily Place, Auckland City, a major wholesaler of household goods. This company eventually lead to the creation of Foodstuffs, located in Mt Roskill. Foodstuffs exists to this day as the wholesale operation behind a chain of supermarkets."[3]

Children registered in NZ Births, Deaths and Marriages Online [4]

1879/478 John Lorenz m. 1913 Margaret Craig d. 1966
1880/18918 Friedelein Elizabeth True m. 1923 Frederick Brown
1881/10803 Rosalia Edith m. 1906 Sidney James Cosgrove [5]
1885/494 Frank Joseph / Josef m. 1927/3870 Dorothy Walters
1889/17459 Elizabeth Eileen m. Oct 27 1917 George Francis Davis in Sydney
1893/1188 Rudolf Burn m. 1935 Dorothy Rae Clark
1896/7727 Elvira Muri m. 1928 Harold William Parkinson
1898/9883 Rewa Iris Simmonds d. 1924 aged 26
1904/17944 Schischka Arnold Young m. 1930 Emily Elizabeth Stevenson
1906/3185 Hermione Armstrong (1906-1993) - m. 1930 Cedric Wilde Kitchener Reynolds, children
Robert Reynolds (teacher, game board designer)
Julia Mary Reynolds (1932-2015) (property entrepreneur)


GOLDEN WEDDING. MARCH 1928[6]


MR. AND MRS. JOHN SCHISCHKA. Fifty years ago next Monday, Mr. John Schischka was married at St. Matthew's Anglican Church to Miss Burn, and the celebration of the golden wedding anniversary will take place in the evening at their residence, Westwood, Shelly Beach Road. Mrs. Schischka comes from an old English family. Her father was in the shipping business here, and her grandfather and great grandfather were in the British Navy going back to the days of Nelson. Mr. Schischka was born in Bohemia 76 years ago, and is a descendant of Ziska, whose name is well known in history as the winner of independence for his native country from the Emperor of Germany. Recently when Mr. Schischka visited Bohemia, he went to see the handsome statue that has been erected to his illustrious ancestor's memory.

Mr. John Schischka came to New Zealand with his parents in the ship Liverpool, and landed in Auckland on March 5, 1866. In the course of an interesting chat, Mr. Schischka recalled some of the hardships encountered by the early pioneer settlers at Waiwera and Puhoi. "My father," he said, "had 50 acres of freehold in Bohemia which he sold to come to New Zealand. Half the money was left on mortgage. We had a free grant of land from the Government in the Waiwera district. It was covered with bush, and at first the only thing we could sell off our holding were shingles and firewood. We split shingles to supply the demand in Auckland and at Thames. In those days a lot of shingles were used, as corrugated iron had not then come into use for covering roofs. Things were very dear when we arrived in Auckland. My father paid £26 for one ton of flour, £18 for a ton of potatoes, and £26 for a cow. That about exhausted what little capital was left, and so we went to splitting shingles , and cutting firewood. It was not a very remunerative business in those days, or else we did not get a fair price. I remember that on one occasion we only got two 100 lb bags of flour for 40 tons of firewood we had cut. Still, we had to keep at that work for the first six months after we went on the land, and then the rest of the money came to hand from Bohemia for the 50 acres of land father had sold. A few years later I came to Auckland and started a grocer's shop on the corner now occupied by Probert's Buildings, opposite .the Town Hall. That was in 1877 and since then I have carried on business in this city."

In those days the shops kept open till midnight on Saturday, and it was no unusual thing for Mr. Schischka to get rowed across in a boat to the Shore and then tramp all the way to his home at Waiwera, a distance of 28 or 30 miles. He would leave his home at midnight on Sunday, tramp back to the Shore, in order to open the shop again on Monday In the early days people were not afraid of a good walk, and it was quite a common practice for settlers at Waiwera and Puhoi to tramp in to the Shore to visit Auckland, and they often carried loads back with them.

Mr. Schischka later moved his business to Grey Street, where he had the misfortune to be burned out when the insurance was a small one. "I was treated very well by the insurance company," said Mr. Schischka when recalling that incident, "it not only paid my claim in full, but handed back to me the damaged stock." The business was next moved to Elliott Street and then Mr. Schischka bought Hewin Brothers grocery business at the corner of Queen and Wellesley Street. That was kepi going for some time as a retail establishment and the place in Elliott Street was wholesale. Later, Mr. Schischka bought the freehold at the corner or Fort Street and Emily Place, where he erected the present warehouse occupied by the National Trading Company, of which he is managing director, a position which he also fills in the Wallace Supplies Company. "When I bought the freehold in Fort Street," said Mr. Schischka, "I was told by commercial people that it was too far away, but it turned out all right, and will be quite near to the new railway station."

When over three score years and ten, Mr. Schischka toured Europe, visiting Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Bohemia. "If I was asked," said Mr. Schischka, "where I would prefer to live if I left Auckland, my answer would be give me London every time."

Mr. and Mrs. Schischka have nine children living for their golden wedding anniversary, Messrs, J. L., F. J., R. B., and A. Y. Schischka, Mesdames Fred Brown. Sidney Cosgrove, George Davis, and Misses E. M. and H. Schischka.


He passed away on December 2, 1936 aged 84. [7]

OBITUARY 3 DECEMBER 1936[8]


MR. JOHN SCHISCHKA PIONEER AUCKLAND MERCHANT One of Auckland's pioneer traders and merchants, Mr. John Schischka, died yesterday at his home, Westwood, Shelly Beach Road. As managing director of the National Trading Company, Limited, and Wallace Supplies Limited, Mr. Schischka was one of the best-known members of the business community in Auckland. Born in Central Europe in 1852, Mr. Schischka arrived in New Zealand at the age of 11. Always keenly interested in music, he supported himself by playing the violin at theatrical performances and other city functions in the late 'sixties. He commenced his business career as a junior with the late Mr. H. B. Morton in 1872, remaining there for seven years. Before he left this firm, he had saved sufficient money to start, in 1876, under his own name, a small trading firm, which made rapid strides, and was formed into the National Trading Company, Limited, in 1908. Mr. Schischka was the first man in New Zealand to become interested in the chain store movement, forming Wallace Supplies, Limited, 21 years ago. This company now controls 121 stores in the Dominion. He was also the first to instal a cigarette-making machine in the Dominion. A foundation member of the Bohemian Orchestra, Mr. Schischka also was keenly interested in bowling, and was president of the Ponsonby Bowling Club from 1928 to 1930. A man of simple tastes, he always shunned publicity. His wife died two years ago, two years after their golden wedding. He is survived by four sons and five daughters. The funeral will be held at Hillsborough this afternoon.

The Hillsborough cemetery record [9] lists him as Schischka, John, died 2 Dec 1936, aged 84, born Bohemia.

Sources

  1. Birth record: http://www.portafontium.eu/iipimage/30065129/litice-13_0540-n?x=-152&y=166&w=1125&h=457
  2. Puhoi Historical Society http://www.puhoihistoricalsociety.org.nz/ships.html
  3. As narrated by John Schischka, Feb 2017
  4. bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz
  5. NZBDM marriages 1906/7679 Edith Rosalia Schmichka (sic) Sidney James Cosgrove
  6. AUCKLAND STAR, VOLUME LIX, ISSUE 53, 3 MARCH 1928
  7. NZBDM deaths 2/12/1936 1936/23112 Schischka John 84Y
  8. NEW ZEALAND HERALD, VOLUME LXXIII, ISSUE 22592, 3 DECEMBER 1936
  9. New Zealand, Cemetery Records, 1800-2007 for John Schischka Auckland




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Comments: 1

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Just a correction, John Schiska to my knowledge had nothing to do with founding Foodstuffs Ltd/Four Square. There are two connections to Foodstuffs. One is via Winson's who occupied the second floor of the National Trading Co of NZ building, and manufactured Pam's for Foodstuffs. Winson likely made all of Schiska's lines relevant to their production under the different brands he had.

The second connection is that the National Trading Co of NZ actually still exists, now wholly owned by Foodstuffs and used as a shell company by the corporation for property holdings. One can assume when the last son died they bought the business probably for the stores/properties.

posted by Darian Zam

S  >  Schischka  >  Johann Schischka

Categories: Liverpool, sailed 8 November 1865