6 AGH Hein Branch

The above photo is of the family in 1910.

1895 - First child Gertrude Ruby born in Qld

1897 - Second child Ida May born in Qld

1900 - Third child Martha Annie born in SA

1901 - Fourth child Grace Maud born in SA

1903 - Fifth child Mabel Alice born in SA

1905 - Sixth child Albert George born in SA

1911 - Seventh child Andrew Thomas born in SA

For more information on these children and their descendants click on their names immediately above.

AUGUST GEORG HEINRICH HEIN was born in Hamburg on 26 July 1865 in Hamburg and baptised on 06 August 1865 in the Evangelical Lutheran Trinity church in the central Hamburg district of Hamme. I have not placed any baptism records from Germany anywhere else on this site but at the foot of this page is the one for August, together with some discussion. German records are more detailed than those in say England.

August arrived in Australia aged 11 – he is photographed above, about 33 years later, with his wife and six of his seven children; shipping records in Germany say he left aged 9¾ but it appears he arrived in Australia aged 11 (all records were hand written in pen and ink and prone to both errors at the time of writing and at the time of transcribing). He is photographed as a young boy with his family, prior to leaving Germany, at the beginning of chapter five.

The oldest of five children, it must have been an incredible adventure for the young boy. He arrived in Adelaide in January 1877 and the family travelled on to Mt Gambier to be reunited with his Auntie Christine. After 12 years in the colony August and his brother Julius (“Lou”) were naturalised as Australian citizens. Later that year, 1889, August and his mother and sister Ida left South Australia and sailed back to Bremen (75km SW of Hamburg) on the ship the ‘Salier’. A month later his father, sister Martha and youngest brother Albert also sailed back to Germany (on the ‘Hohenzollern’).

One year later, 1890, August and his father returned to Australia on the Elberfeld and, a month later, his mother, Ida, returned with the three younger children and the young woman Marie Meier (labelled ‘maid’). Second son, “Lou”, stayed in the Mt Gambier area and did not make the return journey to Germany.

August and his younger brother Albert, and the ‘maid’ Marie, all took up selections of land in Queensland in May 1893 in the Sleepy Creek area outside of Roma. At some time, August met Susanna “Annie” Graf and they were married in October 1894. They worked and purchased the land in Queensland and sold it in 1899 before returning, with their two children, to the Mt Gambier area in South Australia.

Two versions of family folklore exist on the journey - they may have travelled overland from Roma to Mt Gambier with bullock and wagon (a journey of over 2000 km that would take 13 months); or they may have travelled by wagon from Roma to the Port of Brisbane (450km) then by coastal steamer to Port MacDonnell - an equally long and arduous journey. They travelled with their daughters, Gertrude, (who turned five on the journey) and Ida (who turned three); before reaching Mt Gambier, at The Ridge (near Casterton Road) on 17 April 1900, Susanna (Annie) gave birth to her third daughter, Martha. Her last four children were all born near Mt Gambier in South Australia.

By 1905, when Albert was born, August had moved his wife and their five daughters from the small cottage at The Ridge, into a larger home in OB Flat, at the bottom of Day’s Hill adjacent to his sister Martha. The new home was built in 1903, after August bought 3 acres of land from Samuel Hill in 1902. According to Geoffrey Manning’s book “Place Names of South Australia”, OB Flat was named after a herd of cattle branded “OB” (owned by Mr O. Beswick) that roamed in the area.

A seventh child, Andrew, was born into the OB Flat home in 1911 and all the children attended the OB Flat Primary School with their ‘Manser’ cousins who lived next door. August had seven children born between 1895 and 1910; his sister, Martha, and her husband William (Manser) had eight children - Baden born in 1900, Eric in 1902, Ida 1904, Beryl 1905, Jack 1908, Ralph 1909, Elsa 1912 and Arthur in 1915 - so the fifteen children, living in adjacent farms, and going to school together, were a close band of cousins.

There may well have been ‘trouble’ between August’s parents; later Ida purchased land separate to her husband and, sometime before his death, she moved to 90 Cliff Street, Glenelg. She died in 1925 (90) and is buried at the Brighton Cemetery, SA.

By 1922 daughters Ida and Martha had married. Mabel was about 18 and did not start her nursing career for another five years (1927). It is believed Gertrude stayed in Mt Gambier, either with one of her sister’s or perhaps with Tom White’s parents – she married Tom in 1924.

Ida, Martha and Gertrude stayed in Mt Gambier and the rest of the family moved to Waikerie in 1922, for about 10 years. Grace had a daughter, Betty (born in 1920), and Betty had become part of August and Annie’s family. August, Annie, Grace and Betty, Albert and Andrew moved to the house in Strangman Road, Waikerie where Albert would later live with his wife, Lydia Wuttke.

Late 1932 August and Annie moved back to Mt Gambier and bought a house at 35 Wehl Street North in January 1933. Albert and Andrew stayed on in Waikerie – Albert married a local girl, Lydia Wuttke (from Swan Reach), in 1929 at St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Waikerie. Andrew was also married in this church; he married Myrtle Kruesler in 1934; she was born in Exeter, near Port Adelaide, in 1911.

Sometime after his marriage Andrew also returned to Mt Gambier where he and his mother and father (August and his wife Annie), and four of his five sisters (not Ida) are buried. Albert is buried in Waikerie.

August went from Hamburg Germany to Mt Gambier South Australia, back to Germany, then to Queensland Australia, back to Mt Gambier, north to Waikerie South Australia, returned and settled in Mt Gambier.

August died in 1940 – whilst only 74 years old he had done a lot of miles. I think he would have been an interesting man to have around for dinner.

August Georg Heinrich Hein – the facts

born 1865 Hamburg, Germany

died 1940 Mt Gambier, Australia

Son of Julius August Louis Hein and Ida Friederike Eleanore Hein (nee Karow)

Husband of Susanna (‘Annie’) Graf - she was born in 1872 died 1934 (62)

Father of: Gertrude, Ida, Martha, Grace, Mabel, Albert and Andrew.

The Heins were born in Germany. August arrived in Australia, aged 11, on the ship The Herschel that docked in Port Adelaide on the 12th of January 1877. He arrived with his Parents, Julius (39) and Ida (41) Hein, and his sisters Ida (b: 1870), and Martha (b. 1873), and brothers Julius (b. 1868) and Albert (b. 1874). The family had left Hamburg, Germany, on the 27th of October 1876.

August’s Wife: Susanna “Annie” Graf

Annie Graf was Swiss. Annie’s birthplace is listed as Gerbingen on her wedding certificate (hand written and possibly phonetically interpreted by the writer) is actually Gippingen, in the canton of Aargau, near where the Aare River flows into the Rhine River which is the border between Switzerland and Germany.

In February 1879 Susanna, aged 6, sailed from London on the ship the Scottish Lassie with her mother Katherina Graf (30) and (uncle) Gottfried Graf (22), bound for Australia. Susanna’s mother, Katharina, born in Gippingen on the 23rd of June 1848, died at sea on the 25th of May 1879, after giving birth to a baby boy four days earlier.

The ship docked in Rockhampton, Queensland on the 6th June 1879; Susanna had turned 7 on the voyage and arrived in Australia with her baby brother (Carl Graf) and Uncle Gottfried. To be reunited with Katharina and Gottfried’s sister (Paulina Graf) they had to journey from the Port of Rockhampton to the inland town of Meringandan, near Toowoomba – a distance of 632 kilometres.

Most likely they would have made their way to the Port of Brisbane by coastal steamer and then up the Bremmer River by paddle steamer to Ipswich. A railway line from Ipswich to Toowoomba had been established 12 years earlier and they probably availed themselves of this service.

Paulina and her husband Jacob Graf had taken up a selection of land on the Darling Downs at Meringandan. Sadly, baby Carl died aged 38 days. Susanna and Gottfried became part of Paulina and Jacob’s family and from that time forward Susanna was always known as “Annie” – possibly a contraction of Susanna to Anna. Paulina and her husband Jacob had arrived in Australia in 1873 and had a daughter born on the voyage (named after her mother, Paulina), one year younger than Annie.

By the time “Annie” was 7 she had travelled from Gippingen in Switzerland, to London, England, on to Queensland, Australia, and had become an orphan. She lived with relatives in the Toowoomba area for 14 years and then with her husband in the Roma region for five years before travelling from Roma to Mt Gambier (1860kms), where she lived for 20 years. She moved to Waikerie in 1922 but returned to Mt Gambier before 1930. She died in 1934 and is buried in the Mt Gambier cemetery.

Susanna (Annie) Graf – the facts

Born 26th April 1872 Gippingen Switzerland

Married 6th October 1894 to August Hein at Sleepy Creek, near Roma

Died 16th July 1934, aged 62, Mt Gambier, Australia

Daughter of Katharina Graf, step-daughter of Paulina and Jacob Graf

Mother of Gertrude, Ida, Martha, Grace, Mabel, Albert and Andrew.

Surviving Grandchildren of August

August and Annie had 20 grandchildren. Sally McLean, a granddaughter of AGH’s daughter Grace, has compiled a list of the grandchildren - shown below.

Gertrude ‘Gert’ Ruby HEIN, b: 27 July 1895 Roma, QLD. d: 13 April 1982 (86)

·        Robert Francis (“Bob”) WHITE b: 20 Dec 1925 d. July 2018 (92)

·        Marie Aileen (“Ailee”) WHITE (McIntosh) b: 19 Nov 1927 lived in Millicent, d. 05 Aug 2022

·        Florence May (“Bebe”) WHITE (Stanes) b: 16 May 1929 d: 17 Oct 1991 (62)

Ida ‘Dick’ May HEIN, b: 18 May 1897 Roma, QLD. d: 1987 (90)

·        Arthur Allan (known as “Merle”) SPEHR b: 11 May 1916 d. 1997 (81)

·        Noel Ervine SPEHR b: 1 June 1918 d: 24 Dec 1972 (54)

·        Morvan Leon (known as “Jimmy”) SPEHR b: 27 July 1920 d: 16 Mar 1931 (10)

·        Alistair Hayden SPEHR (known as “Sos”) b: 1922 d. 1986 (64)

Martha ‘Mart’ Annie HEIN, b: 17 April 1900 d: 1967 (67)

·        Colin Wilbur WALKER – b: 23/8/1921 d: 25/8/2000 (79)

·        Heather Jean WALKER (Ferguson) – b: 14 August 1925 d: 9/6/2005 (79)

·        Mervyn (‘Merv’) Hugh WALKER – b: 11 May 1929 d: 14 Jan 1991 (61)

Grace ‘Jo’ Maude HEIN, b: 19 Sept 1901, d: 19 April 1981 Adelaide (79)

·        Betty (‘Bet’) Lorraine HEIN (McLean) – b: Mt Gambier: 5 Oct 1920 – d. 22 Jan 2013 (92)

·        Geoffrey (‘Geoff’) Haydon MANNING b: 25 June 1926 d. 12 Sept 2018 (92)

·        Wanda June MANNING (Dwan) b: 22 June 1927 – d: 10 July 2021 (94)

Mabel ‘Bunny’ Alice HEIN, b: 28 June 1903, d: 16 Mar 1998 (94)

·        John HILL – b: 18 August 1938 - Living Mt Gambier SA 

·        Geoffrey HILL – b: 26 September 1941 - Living Yahl, SA

Albert ‘Ulla’ George HEIN, b: 7 December 1905, d: 1997 (92)

·      Kevin G HEIN OAM b: 17 Feb 1932 – 29 September 2025 Lived Mt Gambier bur. Waikerie (Legendary family member)

·      Pamela Jean HEIN (Bell) b: 3 May 1938 – Living Waikerie SA

Andrew ‘Andy’ Thomas HEIN, b: 10 July 1911, d: 22 July 2005 (94)

·        (Ethel) Anne HEIN (Crawford) b: 17 Apr 1936 – living Life Care, Aldinga

·        (Gwenneth) Joan HEIN (Barry) b: 25 Nov 1937 d: 20 July 2014 (76)

·        Noelene Fay HEIN (White) b: 25 Dec 1939 – living Boandik Lodge, Mt Gambier, SA

Photo Gallery

August in 1889, either in Hamburg, or immediately after his return to Australia.

August farming in 1922.

The Hein home at Waikerie in 1922.

Eating watermelons on the verandah of the Waikerie home in 1923. August's wife Annie, centre, with daughter Grace, left and granddaughter Betty.

August in 1930 with grandchildren from left Betty, Geoff and Wanda.

Martha, August and Mabel in 1935.

The above photo is of the family at Christmas 1939, at Jim and Mabel's property at Yahl, 3 months before August died. Back row from left, Mabel with husband Jim Hill, Martha with husband Reuben Walker, Elizabeth Hill (Jim's mother), Grace, and Gertrude with husband Tom White. Front from left granddaughter Marie White, August and granddaughters Heather Walker and Florence White.

This is the left hand page of August's baptism record. This page mainly describes the parents. August's record is the second one where you can see his father is Julius August Louis Hein and his mother is Ida Friederike Eleonore nee Karow.

This is the right hand page, which starts with August's name, then date and hour of birth, date of baptism, list of godparents and name of pastor. Normally the forms allow for 3 godparents but here his grandmother is added in as a fourth.

Sally McLean, a great grand daughter of August, has done the following research on the church.

"I think this is probably the church where August was baptised. Dreifaltigkeitskirche is on Horner Weg 17, Hamm, Hamburg. (Hamm is a quarter in the borough of Hamburg-Mitte, in the eastern part of Hamburg).

 "It is a very modern church – I would have loved to see photos of the old church. 

" A church was built in 1693 and Hamm became its own parish. This church stood until the night of July 27-28, 1943 when, in a hail of bombs, almost the entire Hamm district was reduced to rubble. There was nothing left of the old Church of the Trinity, which was built in 1693. It is said that the old church suited the village garden landscape belonging to the wealthy Hamburg families. When the time came to rebuild the area, Hamm had developed into a densely populated district of Hamburg and they wanted to build a big city church for the growing population. The new Trinity Church is an Evangelical Lutheran church, (built in 1956/57 to a design by Reinhard Riemerschmid) as a successor to the one destroyed in World War II (the Hammer Church from 1693).

"This is the web site of the modern church as rebuilt after the war."

Back to PJT. The main church for August's grandfather was St Jacobi, a Hauptkirche (main church). Jacobi is one of the five or so churches whose towers dominate modern Hamburg, the others being St Michaelis, St Petri, St Nikolai and St Katharinen. A concise discussion of these churches and others can be found here.