There are two versions of how Amandus arrived in Australia as a young man, which we will explore. This photo is believed to be Amandus in Germany at age 19.

Version 1

The first is that he arrived from Germany on a ship named Aurora.  This version of the events occurs in some family notes and appears to match the crew list and his naturalisation document.

Version 2

The second is that he and a friend were sailors on a ship bringing immigrants from Germany and that they deserted when the ship arrived in Brisbane.  This version of the events occurs in other family history documents.

Evidence for version 1

He is recorded as a sailor on the ship Aurora arriving in Sydney in October 1865

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On his naturalization document he states that he arrived on the Aurora.

Doubts about version 1

• He was listed as a seaman on the Aurora, not as a migrant, and the Aurora was a ship working in the Pacific Ocean.  “Aurora” was a popular name for ships and searching in TROVE for ships named Aurora is like searching for a person named “Smith”. The following points were sourced from TROVE.
  • The ship on which Amandus worked is recorded, in a number of articles, as sailing under Captain Lessing and carrying cargo (such as coal, breadstuff and flour) between Pacific Ocean ports in Hong Kong, Manilla and Chile (Tome and Conception Bay).
  • The only passenger to show up was the young son of the captain.
  • In September 1865 the Aurora sailed to Brisbane with a cargo of breadstuff from Tome in Chile.
  • In October 1865 the Aurora sailed to Sydney, in ballast, and Amandus Hoschke was then a member of the crew.
• His naturalization document is a New South Wales document as Australia did not exist until the colonies federated in 1901.  So, it fits that he did arrive in the colony of NSW on the Aurora from Brisbane in the colony of Queensland.  Then the question is how he got to Brisbane.

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Evidence for version 2

• There was an ongoing connection with the Goeths family who lived in Queensland showing that there was a friendship between the two young Germans who came from the same part of Germany.
• The future wife of Frederick Goeths was a passenger on the ship La Rochelle arriving in Brisbane 25 December 1865 and his descendants believe he was a sailor on that ship.

Doubts about version 2

• Amandus is documented as being a sailor on the Aurora, under Captain Lessing, at the same time as Frederick Goeths was presumably on the La Rochelle sailing to Brisbane so they could not have both deserted from the ship at that time.
• This contradicts the story of them jumping ship together in Brisbane.

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What can we be reasonably sure of –

1. The first we know of Amandus in Australia is that he was a crew member on the Aurora which arrived in Sydney, from Brisbane, in October 1865
2. Later he worked on the Alexandra
3. Frederick Goeths married Margaretha Wittman and she was a passenger on the La Rochelle which arrived in Brisbane on 25 December 1865, after leaving Hamburg on 5 August 1865
4. Frederick and Amandus both came from Germany, knew each other (although we do not know when they met) and the families remained in contact – many years later there is a postcard sent to Annie Hoschke from the Goeths in Queensland which appears to be dated 7 December 1910
5. Amandus was naturalised in 1902, under NSW legislation dated 1898, as arriving in NSW on the ship Aurora in 1865.

In the notes, from George Hoschke, it says that Amandus left Germany in 1861 aged 18.  If he worked on German ships, and there were several bringing migrants to Australia, he may have met Frederick Goeths during this time, or knew him before leaving Germany.  They may have deserted from these ships but not likely at the same time.  In the family recollections George, Lina and Annie all say that Amandus deserted from a German ship.  It fits that Frederick was a sailor on the La Rochelle in late 1865, met Margaretha Wittman who is documented as being a passenger, and deserted from the La Rochelle to marry her. They then settled in Queensland.  A little before this Amandus is recorded as a crew member on the Aurora, and later, on the Alexandra.

So, if they could not have jumped ship at the same time then how did they stay in touch with each other?  By 1865 it appears that Frederick settled in Queensland and Amandus was working as a merchant sailor.  In those days the only communication was via the post or personal notices in newspapers.  Perhaps they were able to get in touch via their families back in Germany?

Do any of you have ideas / comments on what might have actually happened or better still new information?

While in some ways it does not matter much how Amandus reached Australia it is a mystery to have conflicting versions of the details.