Heinrich Christian Dorhauer
Immigrant.........Adventurer.........Prominent Citizen
Christian was the 3rd youngest of four brothers, born on the 15th September 1831 in Casseedorf, Schleswig-Holstein. He travelled with Heinrich and their other brother Johann August to England and then to Australia in 1854 on the ship "Hanover"
Christian arrived in England from Germany on the 1st of May 1852 on board the ship "Ocean Queen." 19 months after his brother, Heinrich Gottfried Theodore, and 2 years after his other brother, Johann August.
At the time of his birth our name was spelt 'Dürrhauer'
Because both brothers had the same first name, Heinrich Christian used his middle name "Christian" for ease of identification and Heinrich used "Henry" the angilized version.
Both Heinrich and Christian must have been very close, They set up business together and went to the 'Hill End' gold fields together and finally returned to Woollahra, Sydney together and lived only a street apart.
Christian may have gone direct to the Melbourne gold fields soon after his arrival in Australia. He was there in 1856 when Heinrich put a notice in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper asking Christian to contact him at Surrey hills in Sydney.
Christian set up a large building workshop in Peaker Lane at the rear of 70 and 72 Queen Street, and a timber yard next to his home at 58 Queen Street, C Dorhauer & Sons, where he and his sons manufactured timber products for their home building business.. He built a run of terraced houses and shops at 64-72 Queen Street ,and also built terrace houses at 124,126, and 128 Paddington Street, and another terrace house at 63 Jersey road which was called “Cambrian House” and was occupied by his son Edward August Dorhauer. After the death of Christian in 1904, two of his sons, Otto and Frederick continued to run the business under the same name.
Sons, Rudolph occupied number 64 Queen Street, Otto Christian and Frederick William occupied number 72 Queen Street.
He married Wilhelmina Louisa Meurer on the 1st of September 1853 and they had ten children five sons and five daughters, ranging in birth dates from 1865 to 1881. Which mean't that he would have been travelling back and forth between Sydney and Hill End as Wilhelmina stayed in Sydney.
Christian kept a low profile, he was not as outgoing in the community as his brother Heinrich, but still contributed greatly to the Woollahra and Paddington areas, building many terrace houses and shops as well as general building projects. He was a generous man who consistently donated money to many community and government causes.
In 1905 his sons (Christian Dorhauer & Sons) were sub contracted to build the cabin and deck structures for the Sydney Steam Ferry Kulgoa.
The Steam Ferry "Kulgoa"
He had a hobby dairyfarm probably situated on a block of land in Francis street, not far from the corner at Old South Road, and in February 1890 during an extremely heavy rain event he nearly drowned after his premises were flooded. He was rescued by a Mr. William Hammond.
He was a prolific inventor of farm implements which included a gun trap for the purpose of destroying rabbits and hares and even larger "Pests" that invaded melon crops. Among his inventions was a butter churn that could produce butter in 4 minutes. One of his sons. As reported in the "Windsor & Richmond Gazette" Albert Ferdinand used these implements on his farm which was situated at Agnes Banks in the Richmond Sydney Area.
On 5th February 1889 Christian was appointed co trustee of a parcel of land in the County of Cumberland, Liberty Plains, at Rookwood, comprising 10 acres, 1 rood which surrounds the reserve for ornamentation and mortuary.
On 20th December 1893 Christian was appointed as a Trustee of the Lutheran Cemetery at the Necropolis Rookwood.
Christian died on the 14th June 1904 and is buried with Wilhelmina at Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney.
The Family Tree can be found on this link:
To read documents relating to the the person or event click onto corresponding attachment at bottom of page
Author: Russell Albert James Dorhauer