The 1980s continued the story of a Hoschke family that was now several generations removed from Amandus and Mary Ann’s arrival in the Orara Valley. The family had spread well beyond its original home in Upper Orara, with descendants living across New South Wales and Queensland. The pioneering generation had almost entirely passed away, and the family story was increasingly being carried forward by their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their families.

1980

The new decade began with the death of Cleive Ernest “Pat” Hoschke, who passed away on 7 May 1980. Cleive was the son of Ernest Carl Hoschke, the tenth child of Amandus and Mary Ann, and Ellen Buckland. Ernest had been one of the younger members of the original family who travelled north to the Orara Valley as a child in 1886.

1981

In 1981, the family lost Edith May Smith, née Hoschke, who died on 31 July. Edith was the daughter of Harold Robert Hoschke and Alice Maud Margaret Morris. Harold was the eighth child of Amandus and Mary Ann. Edith had therefore been born into one of the branches of the family that remained closely connected to the Orara and Coffs Harbour district.

1982

William Frederick “Bill” Hoschke died on 13 March 1982. Bill was one of the children of Frederick Amandus Hoschke and Clunie Bain Manson. Frederick, the third child of Amandus and Mary Ann, had established his own family in the Orara district after selecting his property Nonegoby in 1905.

Later that year, on 16 December, Irving James Finucane also died. Irving was the husband of Edith Elizabeth Mary Tait, connecting him to the Tait branch descended from Mary Gertrude Isabel Hoschke, the eleventh child of Amandus and Mary Ann.

1983

The following year saw the death of Edward Arthur Tait, who died on 29 May 1983. Edward was the fourth child of Mary Gertrude Isabel Hoschke and William David Tait. Through his mother, he was a grandson of Amandus and Mary Ann Hoschke.

The Tait family had originated in Wellington, where Mary and William raised their family above the family bakery before later moving to Sydney. Edward had served in the Australian Army during the Second World War, spending three and a half years with the 104 General Transport Company of the Australian Army Services Corps.

1984

In 1984, another member of the Tait branch passed away when Robert William Tait died on 27 March. Robert was born in Wellington in 1916, the second child of Mary Gertrude Isabel Hoschke and William Tait. During the Second World War he served with the Royal Australian Air Force, seeing service in Canada, Egypt, the United Kingdom, India and the Middle East.

After the war, Robert had a long career with Castrol Oils and lived for many years in Sydney. His death marked the passing of another member of the generation whose lives had been shaped by the experience of wartime Australia and the enormous social changes that followed.

1985

Phyllis May Hoschke died on 19 June 1985. Phyllis was born in 1916, the daughter of Ernest Carl Hoschke and Ellen Elizabeth Fisher Buckland. She was therefore a granddaughter of Amandus and Mary Ann.

Phyllis had grown up in the years following the family’s move to the North Coast. Her family eventually moved to South Tweed Heads, where she and her husband Bert established their home. Their family remembered Phyllis for her beautiful garden and the many hours she and Bert spent working in it.

Sadly, Phyllis died in 1985. She was only 69 years old and did not live to see her grandchildren marry and establish families of their own. She and Bert had children who went on to have eleven children between them, meaning that her branch of the Hoschke family continued into another generation.

In December 1985, Ralph Robert Ide died, aged 70. Ralph was the son of Hulda Minnie Hoschke, the twelfth child of Amandus and Mary Ann, and Robert Burdett Smith Ide. Ralph had grown up in the Upper Orara community and, together with his wife Joyce, remained connected with the district.

Ralph had served during the Second World War with the Volunteer Defence Corps, spending three years with the 16th Battalion. He and Joyce had three children and had settled in the Orara Valley after their marriage in 1936.

1986

1986 brought several losses within the wider family. On 5 April, Melbourne Malcolm McPhail died. Melbourne was the husband of Elsie Bain Hoschke, daughter of Frederick Amandus Hoschke and Clunie Bain Manson.

Later that year, Geoffrey Edward Hoschke died on 27 November 1986. Geoffrey was the only child of Edward Thomas “Ted” Hoschke and Margaret Porter. Ted was one of Amandus and Mary Ann’s thirteen children and had served in France during the First World War. Geoffrey’s own life continued that tradition of service. He served during the Second World War with the 2/12 Australian Commando Squadron, attaining the rank of Corporal.

1987

In 1987, the family lost Lionel Edgar Hoschke, son of August Frank Hoschke and Henrietta Selina Richards. Lionel died in Queensland aged 80. Born in 1907, he was part of the generation of grandchildren of Amandus and Mary Ann.

Lionel’s branch illustrates the geographical spread of the family. Although the Hoschke story began in the Orara Valley, descendants had established homes and families in Queensland and other parts of Australia.

On 25 July 1987, Arnold Arthur Charles Hoschke also died, aged 71. Arnold was the son of Harold Robert Hoschke and Alice Maud Margaret Morris. He had married Ellen Maude Susannah Brooks in 1936 and was living in Enmore, Sydney, later in life. His death meant another member of the family descended from Harold Robert Hoschke had passed away.

1988

In 1988, the wider family lost Arthur George Davis, son of Jessie Caroline Hoschke and George Davis. Arthur was born at Upper Orara on 15 August 1908 and died at Casino on 31 August 1988, aged 80. He was one of Jessie and George’s seven children and therefore a great-grandson of Amandus and Mary Ann through their daughter Jessie. Arthur married Alice Blanche Norma Lucas at Coffs Harbour in 1934, and they had three children: Gordon, Barbara Norma and James Arthur.

But 1988 also gives us something particularly important for the family history.

Ada Mary Davis, Arthur’s sister and another descendant of Jessie Caroline Hoschke, wrote her recollections in 1988 for inclusion in the Davis Family Descendants book.

Ada had spent part of her life working at the Orara Post Office, alongside her aunt Annie Hoschke, and had a wealth of memories of the family and the local community. By writing down her recollections in 1988, she was helping to preserve information that might otherwise have disappeared with her generation.

This is a significant moment in the longer Hoschke story. The family had moved from simply living its history to actively recording its history.

1989

The final year of the decade brought the death of Alice Davis, née Lucas, on 9 February 1989. Alice had been married to Arthur George Davis for more than fifty years. Arthur had died only a few months earlier, in August 1988, making Alice’s death another significant loss for their family.

Through her marriage to Arthur, Alice had become part of the Davis branch descended from Jessie Caroline Hoschke, Amandus and Mary Ann’s fourth child. Her death therefore closed the decade with the loss of another person connected to one of the family’s oldest North Coast branches.

The Hoschkes at the end of the 1980s

By the end of 1989, more than one hundred years had passed since Amandus and Mary Ann began their Australian family story.

The pioneers themselves were now long gone. Their children were almost entirely gone. Their grandchildren were becoming the older generation.

But their descendants remained.