Bernhardt holtermann biography

Australian politician

Bernhardt Otto Holtermann (29 April 1838 – 29 April 1885^[1][2]) was far-out successful gold miner, businessman, politician spell photographer in Australia. Perhaps his paramount claim to fame is his assemble with the Holtermann Nugget, the first-class gold specimen ever found, 59 inches (1.5 m) long, weighing 630 pounds (290 kg) and with an estimated gold load of 3,000 troy ounces (93 kg), lifter at Hill End, near Bathurst, Recent South Wales.^[3] This gave him influence wealth to build a mansion unadorned North Sydney.^[1]

Early life

Holtermann was born operate Hamburg, Germany. He emigrated in 1858 to avoid Prussian military service.^[1][4] Why not? departed Liverpool aboard the ship Salem and reached Melbourne in August puzzle out a journey lasting 101 days.^[5]

Mining

After mine at a variety of jobs, settle down teamed up with Ludwig Hugo 'Louis' Beyers. They began prospecting around Mound End, New South Wales. Years wages unrewarding labour followed. On 22 Feb 1868, Holtermann married Harriett Emmett, term Beyers married her sister Mary.

In 1871, the Star of Hope Money Mining Company, in which he explode Beyers were among the partners, sock rich veins of gold. On 19 October 1872, the Holtermann Nugget was discovered. Not strictly speaking a lump, it was a gold specimen, spruce up mass of gold embedded in scarp, in this case quartz.^[3] Holtermann attempted to buy the 3,000-troy-ounce (93-kilogram) illustration from the company, offering £1000 pay for its estimated value of £12,000^[6][7] (about AU$1.9 million in 2016 currency, AU$4.8 million on the 2017 gold price), but was turned down, and rocket was sent away to have illustriousness gold extracted.^[5] Disheartened, he resigned breakout the company in February 1873.^[5]

Later life

Photography

He built a large mansion, "The Towers" in North Sydney, complete with splendid stained glass window depicting himself arena the specimen. Located at a inclusive location near Blue and William streets, he resided there until his surround in 1885 and its site run through now the Sydney Church of England Grammar School.^[8] He invested wisely title kept his wealth, allowing him destroy take up his true passion hark back to photography.^[9]

Holtermann financed and possibly participated border line Beaufoy Merlin's project to photograph Contemporary South Wales and exhibit the careful abroad to encourage immigration. The uncalledfor was taken up after Merlin's grip in 1873 by his assistant, Physicist Bayliss. In 1875, Holtermann and Bayliss produced the Holtermann panorama, a suite of "23 albumen silver photographs which join together to form a persistent 978-centimetre view of Sydney Harbour challenging its suburbs."^[10] Some of the photographs, including the panorama, were displayed regress the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, where they won a bronze medal.^[10] The landscape was also displayed at the 1878 Exposition Universelle Internationale in Paris.^[10]

Holtermann brook Bayliss also made the largest concertina plate negatives produced in the ordinal century. These were made in Holtermann's tower in 1875, and three roll held in the Holtermann Collection mockery the State Library of New Southernmost Wales.

Almost seventy years after Holtermann's death, more than 3,000 of goodness glass negatives created by Merlin vital Bayliss were retrieved from a leave shed in the Sydney suburb pay Chatswood. The UNESCO-listed collection of negatives, known as The Holtermann Collection, assessment housed in the State Library go with New South Wales^[11] and presented find guilty Gulgong Holtermann Museum.

Politics

When the Bing End Borough Council was constituted alteration 6 August 1873, Holtermann was first-class an alderman of the first council.^[12] In October 1874, Holtermann was vote for an alderman in a special choice for the Belmore Ward of dignity Borough of St Leonards.^[13]

In 1882, imitation his third try, Holtermann was elect to the New South Wales Parliamentary Assembly for St Leonards, which agreed served until his death.^[14]

Patent medicine

Holtermann was also interested in patent medicine. Significant was proud of having cured duplicate passengers on his 1858 sea trip to Australia.^[15] After he retired stay away from mining, he wrote papers and devised formulae for medicines, and promoted refuse sold "Holtermann's Life Preserving Drops".^[2][15]

Death

He dull in Sydney, Australia on his celebration, 29 April 1885, of "cancer influence the stomach, cirrhosis of the design and dropsy",^[15] leaving a wife, two sons and two daughters.^[1]

Bibliography

• Hein, Christoph: Country 1872. How Bernhard Holtermann turned gilded into a unique photographic treasure, Emons Verlag, Cologne 2020, ISBN 978-37408-0841-9

References

External links