This is the story of a coastal headland, a family who helped keep the mainland in touch with South Solitary Island, and the marriage that connected the Dammerel and Hoschke families. Today, Dammerels Headland at Emerald Beach preserves the family’s name, while local collections record something of their working lives, celebrations and losses.
[Suggested photograph: Dammerels Headland, looking towards South Solitary Island.]
The connection to our family came through Helen Mary Edith Dammerel, known as Nellie, who married Amandus Ludwig Hoschke, son of Amandus and Mary Ann Hoschke of Upper Orara.
First, the story of Nellie’s family. Her father, George Dammerel, was born at Kingsbridge in Devon, England, in 1838. He arrived in Australia in 1857 and settled in the New England district, where he married Sarah Prior at Glen Innes in 1868. According to Coffs Collections, they moved to Moonee in 1885, built a house and grew sugar cane.
George became signal master at the station established on his land, overlooking South Solitary Island. The station provided a vital communication link between the lighthouse and the mainland. His wife and children also learned the signalling methods, making its operation a family responsibility.
[Suggested photograph: Portrait of George Dammerel, available through Coffs Collections.]
Life on the headland brought considerable sadness. George and Sarah’s young son George died on 5 April 1888, aged ten. Six years later, on 10 November 1894, Sarah died in childbirth, with the baby also stillborn. George was left to raise his surviving family while continuing his work at the signal station.
The Dammerel daughters became skilled signallers. One of them, Maud, is remembered for her courtship with John Henry “Harry” Fisher, a lighthouse keeper on South Solitary Island. The couple exchanged messages across the sea by Morse lamp, carrying on conversations after dark despite the water separating them.
Maud and Harry married on 18 September 1912 and subsequently lived at lighthouse stations during his career. A lamp associated with their courtship survives in the collection of Yarrila Arts and Museum, preserving a tangible connection to their story.
The Morse signal lamp associated with Maud and Harry’s courtship.
Maud’s sister Nellie had married into the Hoschke family four years earlier. Born at Armidale on 6 July 1883, Nellie married Amandus Ludwig Hoschke on 22 December 1908. At the time, he was teaching at Moonee and Korora schools.
WEDDING — HOSCHKE–DAMMEREL
The wedding report reproduced on our family website describes a ceremony at the residence of the bride’s father, conducted by Rev. C. L. H. Cox. Nellie wore ivory silk with embroidery, a wreath and veil. Her youngest sister Florence was bridesmaid, dressed in pale pink, while Ted Hoschke stood beside his brother as best man.
Friends gathered for the ceremony and wedding breakfast, and the couple received numerous gifts, including cheques. Afterwards, they departed aboard the Cavanba for Sydney, with a holiday in the Blue Mountains ahead.
Summary of “Social Notes”, Clarence and Richmond Examiner, Tuesday 29 December 1908, reproduced on the Amandus Ludwig Hoschke family page.
Amandus and Nellie were both teachers. In 1912, Amandus began teaching at Wombah, where he remained until illness brought his career to an end. Their only child, Nancey Evelyn Hoschke, was born on 25 August 1921.
Amandus died in May 1923, leaving Nellie with a daughter not yet two years old. By 1930, Nellie was living in Bondi and was recorded as a teacher. She died in November 1960.
You can read more about their lives here — Amandus Ludwig Hoschke.
This account draws on Coffs Collections, the Friends of South Solitary Island Lighthouse history and material reproduced on our Hoschke family website. Some local histories give different dates for the establishment of the signal station, so that detail remains to be clarified. If anybody has more detailed information or family photographs to share, it would be good to hear.
