German Club, Sydney

Last updated

The German Club
Der Deutsche Verein
Formation1853
Dissolved1915
Location
Coordinates 33°51′58″S151°12′41″E / 33.866134°S 151.211343°E / -33.866134; 151.211343

The German Club (German : Der Deutsche Verein) was a private club founded in 1853 and located in Sydney, New South Wales, at 89 Phillip Street. Its membership was men-only and was the oldest gentlemen's club in Australia catering specifically to the German-Australian community prior to the First World War, upon which by 1915 it had closed amid a tide of Anti-German sentiment in Australia.

Contents

History

Early years

With the growing German community in the Colony of New South Wales in the second half of the 19th century, the club was established on 26 September 1853 as a result of the "want of a place of resort having been generally felt by the daily increasing number of educated people of different classes". It was established with the expressed purpose of being "a place of social resort open to the members for the purposes of reading, conversation, singing, etc." [1]

Established prior to the unification of German in 1871, the club catered to Germans of all nationalities in the colony. In November 1858, the club, located on its new premises on Wynyard Square, hosted the crew of the Austro-Hungarian naval ship, SMS Novara, commanded by Bernhard von Wüllerstorf-Urbair, which was visiting Sydney as part of its round-the-world scientific expedition. [2] In September 1857, a committee was set up at the club with the expressed purpose for sending another expedition to look for the missing explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, who was last heard of in 1848. The 1858 expedition was to be led by fellow explorer Augustus Gregory. [3]

The club moved from Wynyard Square in 1862 in favour of new premises on O'Connell Street. By the 1880s, the club had moved to 55 Castlereagh Street. On 2 October 1890, a fire broke out in buildings adjacent to the club, resulting in significant damage as a result of the flames and falling masonry. [4] As a consequence, the club was forced to move to new temporary premises at 29 Hosking Place until its new club house at 89 Phillip Street was completed. [5] In August 1893, the new club house was completed at a cost of £10, 600 and membership that year stood at 150. [6] The grand new club house was designed by Melbourne architect Richard Loweish, built by Eaton Brothers, and consisted of three floors with an additional basement level, bar, billiard room, dining hall, concert hall, reading and committee rooms and 13 rooms for accommodation on the top floor. [7] [8]

Closure

With the outbreak of the First World War, the future of the German Club was uncertain, with many members leaving or being interned. In November 1914, the club was thoroughly searched by Police who noted that "In no instance, was anything discovered to cause it to be thought that these clubs were being used for purposes inimical to national interests." With the Australian German community facing great strain with the outbreak of war and rising anti-German sentiment, the club resolved to establish a small fund "for the use of distressed Germans in New South Wales." [9] Meanwhile, in Parliament the Premier, William Holman, was asked on 13 November 1914 whether it was his government's intention to revoke the licenses of the various German clubs in Sydney. Holman replied it was not and, in any case, he "was not in favor or an attitude of unnecessary hostility being adopted to German residents." [10]

On 13 May 1915, the Secretary of the German Club notified the Inspector-General of Police, James Mitchell, that it was the club's intention to voluntarily close given the heightened threat of damage and violence with Anti-German sentiment rising in Sydney following the sinking of the RMS Lusitania on 7 May. [11] This did not deter attention from the club, however, because as the war developed so did anti-German hatred continue to grow within the city. Thus attention continued to be given by the public and the press to anything remotely German within the city. The Mirror of Australia on 10 October 1915, in a similar vein, reported that the German club premises were being used to house Germans who had been rejected from other hotels within the city: "Why should the members of these institutions be permitted the slightest consideration whilst their countrymen are committing outrages in the highways and byways of Europe?". [12]

On 1 December 1915, the closed club premises were attacked by a mob of soldiers who threw stones, breaking every facade window of the club. The mob was shortly after broken up by police, assigned to protect the property from damage. [13] One soldier, Private Gordon Robertson, was apprehended by police and charged with malicious damage and riotous behaviour. Robertson appeared before Special Magistrate Clarke and was fined £5 for each offence, and ordered to pay £1, 2 shillings, in damages. Clarke noted to Robertson that "There is too much of this kind of thing. You are a disgrace to the military uniform and a disgrace to Australia." [14] [15] [16] Later that month, the club made an application to renew its license, intending to eventually reopen. However the Licensing Court refused to entertain such a renewal until after the war. [17]

Club premises

By December 1916, the club had entirely closed and the premises were put up for sale. After a protracted sale process, in April 1917 the club became the home of the Highland Society of New South Wales, which undertook some minor alteration in 1921. [18] [19] [20] The Highland Society remained there until December 1932 when the former club premises were again sold to the Commonwealth Wool and Produce Company Ltd, which undertook substantial alterations to the interior in 1933 to accommodate their offices. [21] [22] The former club house was eventually demolished in 1947 when it was resumed by the City of Sydney in a road expansion scheme in the CBD. [23] Many of the traditions of the German Club were continued by its sister club since 1883, the Concordia Club, which today also goes by the secondary name of Deutscher Verein (DV; "German Club"). [24]

Notable members

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of Strathfield</span> Local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Strathfield is a local government area in the West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Bradfield (engineer)</span> Australian engineer

John Job Crew Bradfield was an Australian engineer best known as the chief proponent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, of which he oversaw both the design and construction. He worked for the New South Wales Department of Public Works from 1891 to 1933. He was the first recipient of an engineering doctorate from the University of Sydney, in 1924. Other notable projects with which he was associated include the Cataract Dam, the Burrinjuck Dam, and Brisbane's Story Bridge. The Harbour Bridge formed only one component of the City Circle, Bradfield's grand scheme for the railways of central Sydney, a modified version of which was completed after his death. He was also the designer of an unbuilt irrigation project known as the Bradfield Scheme, which proposed that remote areas of western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia could be made fertile by the diversion of rivers from North Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales Government Railways</span> Rail transport agency in NSW, 1855–1932

The New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was the agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balmoral, New South Wales</span> Place in New South Wales, Australia

Balmoral is an urban locality in the suburb of Mosman in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is in the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman and is part of the Lower North Shore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Hordern</span>

Sir Samuel Hordern was an Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist. Born into the prominent Sydney trading family, Hordern directed the family company of Anthony Hordern & Sons from 1909 to 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meriden School</span> School in Strathfield, Inner West, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Meriden, An Anglican School for Girls is an independent Anglican single-sex early learning, primary, and secondary day school for girls, located in Strathfield, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlyle Greenwell</span> Australian architect

Carlyle Greenwell was an Australian architect whose houses, designed in the first half of the 20th century, are often heritage-listed. He was also a philanthropist who made bequests to the University of Sydney funding research in Anthropology and Archaeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney County Council</span>

The Sydney County Council (SCC) was formed in 1935 to produce electricity and operate the electricity network in a number of municipalities in metropolitan Sydney. Unlike other New South Wales county councils, which were voluntary associations of local councils to undertake local government activities permitted or required of them by the Local Governnment Act 1919, Sydney County Council was established under a separate piece of legislation by the state government to perform the electricity distribution and streetlighting operations of the local government areas concerned. On its establishment it assumed control of the Electricity Department of the Sydney City Council, which was already supplying electricity to other municipalities. In 1952, the SCC lost most its electricity generation functions to the Electricity Commission of New South Wales and retained only its distribution functions. The SCC was merged with other municipal county councils in 1990 to form Sydney Electricity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadham Preparatory School</span> Independent, primary, day school in Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia

Wadham Preparatory School was an independent day, co-educational, preparatory school founded on Christian principles. The school was located at 9–11 Wallis Avenue Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Newman (architect)</span>

Alfred Gambier Newman was an Australian architect active in the first 20 years of the 20th century. He designed significant work for both the Methodist Church and the Newman and Vickery families.

Stanley Noble Rickard was a New Britain-born Australian architect active in Sydney and Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century. His work in the Federation Bungalow style is listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of Redfern</span> Former local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Redfern was a local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The small municipality was proclaimed in 1859 as one of the first municipalities proclaimed under the new provisions of the Municipalities Act, 1858, and was centred on the suburbs of Redfern, Eveleigh, Darlington and Surry Hills. The council was amalgamated, along with most of its neighbours, with the City of Sydney to the north with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948. From 1968 to 1982 and from 1989 to 2004, the area was part of the South Sydney councils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of Darlington</span> Former local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Darlington was a local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed in 1864 and, with an area of 0.2 square kilometres, was the smallest municipal council in Sydney. It included the entire suburb of Darlington, excepting a small block between Golden Grove and Forbes streets, which was administered by the Municipality of Redfern in Golden Grove Ward. The council was amalgamated, along with most of its neighbours, with the City of Sydney to the north with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948. From 1968 to 1982 and from 1989 to 2004, the area was part of the South Sydney councils.

Joseph Robertson MA was an Australian Congregationalist minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipality of Enfield (New South Wales)</span> Former local government area in New South Wales, Australia

The Municipality of Enfield was a local government area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed as the Borough of Enfield on 17 January 1889 and, with an area of 3.6 square kilometres, included the modern suburbs of Croydon, Croydon Park and Strathfield South, with parts of Enfield, Belfield and Greenacre included in the West Ward. In 1949, the council was split into two, with Central and East Wards being added to the Municipality of Burwood and the West Ward being added into the Municipality of Strathfield, with the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Pollard Sampson</span> Australian architect

Thomas Pollard Sampson was a Tasmanian-born Australian architect active in New South Wales during the first forty years of the 20th century. His work encompassed the styles of the Federation Arts and Crafts and Bungalow through to the Inter-War Styles. In 1912 he designed an octagonal roofed stadium at Rushcutters Bay that seated up to 12,000 spectators. At the time, the Sydney Stadium was said to be "the largest roofed-in structure in the world." In the 1920s and 1930s, as a golfer and member of Concord Golf Club and Pennant Hills Golf Club, he designed the clubhouses at both courses. The buildings of both these well known Sydney clubs are still in use in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsay Gordon Scott</span> Australian architect

Lindsay Gordon Scott ARAIA was a prominent Sydney architect best associated for his design of the Erskineville Town Hall and numerous surf pavilions in New South Wales, including several on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

Herbert Osborn Dennis was a Victorian-born Australian architect who largely practiced in Sydney and is known for his early domestic designs and for his later substantial inner city industrial buildings showcasing early modernism.

References

  1. "Rules of the German Club in Sydney". State Library of Victoria. Sydney: The German Club, Sydney. 1853. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  2. "NOVARA DINNER[?] AT THE GERMAN CLUB, WYNYARD-SQUARE". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 29 November 1858. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  3. "EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF DR. LEICHARDT". The Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser . NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 September 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  4. "REPORT OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE FIRE BRIGADES". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 October 1890. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  5. "CASTLEREAGH-STREET". Illustrated Sydney News . NSW: National Library of Australia. 11 October 1890. p. 16. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  6. "STRANGERS WITHIN OUR GATES". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 26 August 1893. p. 4. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  7. "Valuable City Property Fronting Phillip Street". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 December 1916. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  8. "THE NEW GERMAN CLUB". The Daily Telegraph. New South Wales, Australia. 14 August 1893. p. 5. Retrieved 10 August 2023 via National Library of Australia.
  9. "GERMAN CLUB IN SYDNEY". The Sydney Stock and Station Journal . NSW: National Library of Australia. 27 November 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  10. "GERMAN CLUBS IN SYDNEY". The Farmer & Settler . Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 14 November 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  11. "GERMAN CLUBS". The Sydney Morning Herald . NSW: National Library of Australia. 14 May 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  12. "THE GERMAN CLUBS". The Mirror of Australia . Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 10 October 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  13. "BOISTEROUS SOLDIERS. CITY SCENES". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 2 December 1915. p. 10. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  14. "SMASHING GERMAN CLUB WINDOWS". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate . NSW: National Library of Australia. 17 February 1916. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  15. ""DISGRACE TO AUSTRALIA."". Evening News . Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 16 February 1916. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  16. Robertson went absent without leave on 21 January 1916; was later discharged by the army for his conviction and his misconduct on 13 March 1916. NAA: B2455, ROBERTSON GORDON.
  17. "GERMAN CLUB LICENSES". Daily Examiner . Grafton, NSW: National Library of Australia. 8 December 1915. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  18. "THE GERMAN CLUB". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  19. "SCOTSMEN PURCHASE THE GERMAN CLUB". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 April 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  20. "Building Application (BA) Plans - Phillip St (89) (A-00573170)". City of Sydney Archives. 1921. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  21. "PROPERTY SALE". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 21 December 1932. p. 12. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  22. "Building Application (BA) Plans - Phillip St (89) (A-00583149)". City of Sydney Archives. 1933. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  23. "Elizabeth Street Extension May Begin Soon". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 7 January 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  24. "Concordia Club, Sydney". www.concordiaclub.org.au. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  25. Terri McCormack, 'Betche, Ernst (1851–1913)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/betche-ernst-2988/text4365, published first in hardcopy 1969, accessed online 16 December 2015.
  26. "MR. H. H. GROTH". Evening News. No. 11, 158. New South Wales, Australia. 17 March 1903. p. 3. Retrieved 23 October 2016 via National Library of Australia.
  27. "Wilhelm von der Heyde". Strathfield Heritage. Strathfield Council. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  28. "BANQUET AT THE GERMAN CLUB". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 18 April 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 17 December 2015.