Welcome!
Welcome to our January 2026 newsletter! This month we are look at Amandus and Mary’s first child George William Hoschke.
We are also looking at a decade in time from 1900 through to 1909. This was a really busy time for the Hoschke family and they started the decade with one surviving grandchild and ended it with 10 grandchildren and had celebrated the marriages of 5 of their children and the sad losses of Mary’s mother Ann, George’s wife Ettie and Amandus and Mary’s youngest son Arthur. Of course there was a huge celebration at the end of this decade as Amandus travelled to his homeland to visit with family.
- 🏠 George William Hoschke
- 📅 A Decade in Time: 1900 – 1909
- 📸 Photo of the Month
Article of the Month
George William Hoschke
George was born in Orange, attended various schools in the Orange area and left school at age 14. On arrival at Orara he camped on the farm accompanied only by his brother Frank, as the rest of the family were initially at Coramba. Their ages were only 15 and 14 respectively. After helping clear the land he did roadwork, was heavily involved in dairy farming and played a part in local organisations, which he continued after retirement to Coffs Harbour. See George William Hoschke | Hoschke Family in Australia for earlier notes. We’ve included below some articles that give a good indication of George’s life.
George built a house & was married in 1901
KARANGI, SATURDAY. A very interesting wedding took place here on Wednesday in the Karangi Presbyterian Church, the contracting parties being George William, eldest son of Mr. Amandus Hoschke, of “Ferndale,” Upper Orara, and Miss Ruthetta, eldest daughter of Mr. James Maston, of “Danfield,” Karangi, Rev. John Mitchell conducting the ceremony. The church was tastefully decorated, with ferns, palms and flowers, and the afternoon was all that could be desired.
The bride, who was given away by her brother, Mr. W. Maston, looked charmingly happy, being dressed in a cream pongee muslin, trimmed with valenciennes lace and white satin ribbon, with the usual wreath and veil of real orange blossoms, and was attended by two brides-maids, Miss Lizzie Maston, sister of the bride (dressed in an Indian muslin trimmed with valenciennes lace and insertion) and Miss Annie Hoschke, sister of the groom (cream silk zephyr, trimmed with lace and silk).
Mr. Frank Hoschke attended as best man, Mrs. F. Cochrane officiated as organist, and the happy couple left the church to the strains of the wedding march, accompanied by a shower of rice and rose leaves, good wishes and congratulations.
The breakfast was partaken of at the residence of the bride’s parents, where a numerous company sat down in a specially built bush pavilion on the lawn. The usual toasts were honored, and the various, outdoor games were indulged in. The evening’s festivities were kept going till the “wee sma’ ‘ours.” Supper was served at 11 o’clock, after which the happy couple left for their new home on the Upper Orara. They were the recipients of many substantial and ornamental presents.
APA citation – THE CLARENCE. (1901, October 8). Clarence and Richmond Examiner (Grafton, NSW : 1889 – 1915), p. 8. Retrieved December 28, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61289621
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GRAND UNITED ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS
Defined as ” A Friendly society which provided financial support to members in need and promoted the moral, social and intellectual improvement of its members. The order began in Australia in 1848.”
ADVANCE ORARA BRANCH. Advance Orara lodge of G.U.O.O.F. is aptly named. Its watchword is advancement, and when it sets out to do anything you can expect something.
The annual installation of officers was on last Tuesday night and there was a social evening to make the gathering different from the ordinary. Meetings are held in Upper Orara’s fine public hall, and interest and enthusiasm is always evident amongst members. The germ of enthusiasm and good Oddfellowship has been let loose by the secretary, Deputy District Master Bro. S. J. Baillie and has become infectious. Good attendances at lodge meetings are the rule, but on Tuesday night the attendance was supplemented by a couple of carloads of visitors from Coffs Harbor lodge, who enjoyed an excellent night out. The trip was nice, the welcome whole-hearted, and it was a pleasure to see the way the lodge work was carried out.
0fficers were elected and installed as follows — P.N.G., Bro. G. W. Hoschke; N.G., Bro. R. A. Burling; V.G., Bro. F. White, F.S., Bro. S. J. Baillie; R.S., Bro. A. Mclntyre; Treas., Bro. A. Davis; W., Bro. E. Taylor; O.G., Bro. D. Gill; I.G., Bro. A. Hoschke; R.S.N.G., Bro. H. Chandler; L.S.N.G., Bro. W. Hoschke; R.S.V.G. , Bro. A. Spinks, L.S.V.G., Bro. W. Carney. The Installing Master was Bro. J. Sawyer, P.D.M. of Coffs Harbor.
APA citation – G. U. 0. 0. F. (1926, October 29). Coffs Harbour Advocate (NSW : 1907 – 1942; 1946 – 1954), p. 1. Retrieved December 28, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article188559032
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Farm accident
Mr. G. W. Hoschke, of Upper Orara, was stacking timber on his property yesterday morning, when the horse moved off suddenly and caught his hand between the chain and hook. The top of one of his fingers was cut almost off, being left hanging by only a small piece of skin. He came to Coffs Harbour to see a doctor, who is trying to save the top of the finger by a regrafting process.
APA citation PERSONAL (1933, August 25). Coffs Harbour Advocate (NSW : 1907 – 1942; 1946 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved December 28, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187763429
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Lightning at Orara
Severe Lightning Flash. Last Thursday, about midday, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Hoschke and family had an experience they are not likely to forget for a while. An isolated flash of lightning came suddenly out of the blue and caused considerable damage about the homestead and dairy, as well as a severe shock to the occupants of the premises.
Describing the incident, Mr. and Mrs. Hoschke said there was a sharp crack like a rifle shot within the house, and a terrific crack of thunder followed immediately. Electric switches about the place were shattered, and everyone got a shock to the system. The switch serving the wireless set was smashed and the current ran into the set and wrecked it. The fuse box of the telephone on a post of the front verandah was also shattered. Over at the dairy, less than a hundred yards from the house, the switch of the motor which operates the milking machines was smash ed. The electric installations were badly damaged, but no damage was done to buildings, although the lightning stroke was a very severe one.
Mr. Jack Hoschke had gone down to the road to get the bread left by the baker that morning and was on his way back to the house when the lightning struck. He was sufficiently close to be knocked down by the shock, and the bread was tossed out of his hands. He did not seem to be dazed for long, as he was soon on his way back to the house. He says he felt as though he were paralysed for an instant, and unable to move. It was a very narrow escape, but fortunately he did not suffer serious injury.
Beside a post at the dairy a groove was ploughed in the ground a few inches wide, and a similar groove under a tank at the house, apparently caused by the lightning. Practically every telephone at Upper Orara was disorganised.
APA citation – UPPER ORARA (1939, October 31). Coffs Harbour Advocate (NSW : 1907 – 1942; 1946 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved December 28, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187993247
By 1900 The Hoschke family, descendants of Amandus Hoschke and Mary Ann Drew, were well established in Upper Orara Valley, New South Wales. Amandus’ and Mary’s eldest son George William was aged 29 and their youngest son Arthur Henry Charles aged just 6.
Amandus and his eldest sons were engaged in small-scale farming, timber work, and labouring, typical of settler families in the district. The Orara Valley community relied heavily on subsistence farming, with limited road access and dependence on Coffs Harbour with it’s newly constructed jetty for trade.
Jessie Caroline Hoschke, the eldest daughter of Amandus and Mary had married three years earlier to George Davis and had two sons James Clarence Davis and Allen Frank Davis, although James had tragically passed away as a baby.
1900
1900 bought joy for the Hoschke family when Jessie and George’s third son Herbert Bruce Davis was born on Boxing Day at Upper Orara, Mary delivered her grandson and was the witness on this birth registration. Imagine the excitement of a new babies birth followed a few short days later by the Constitution of Australia coming into force, on 1 January 1901, the colonies collectively became states of the Commonwealth of Australia and our nation was born.
1901
In 1901 at the age of 30 Amandus and Mary’s eldest son George William Hoschke married Ruthetta Maston, known as Ettie – a young English woman who has travelled from Yorkshire as a child. Her father James Maston was another of the early settlers of the Orara Valley and their marriage would have been a joyous union of pioneering families.
Also around this time Amandus and Mary’s young daughter Mary Gertrude Isabell Hoschke suffered terribly from asthma, and was sent to live with her maternal grandmother in Orange, which was a much drier climate. Mary would remain there and never returned to live on the North Coast.
1902
Ada Mary Davis was born in 1902, the first daughter of Jessie and George Davis and the first granddaughter of Amandus and Mary. Once again Mary delivered her grandchild, along with George’s mother Rachel, with no hospital close by, this would have bought great comfort to the young family.
Like many of the families in the Orara Valley, the Hoschke family felt the broader impacts of the Federation Drought (1895–1903), which affected crop yields and livestock across NSW and forced them to continue to rely on extended kinship support, seasonal labour, and mixed farming to manage difficult conditions.
1903
1903 bought both sadness and joy for Amandus and Mary with their second and third son’s marrying into other local families and the sad loss of Mary’s mother Anne.
In March of 1903 Frederick Amandus Hoschke marries Clunie Bain Manson at Upper Orara, NSW. This marks the establishment of a new Hoschke household within the district and the marriage strengthens ties between long-established local families as shown in the photo below.
By August of 1903, Mary’s mother Anne Brown passed away aged 90 in Rockley near Georges Plains and she is buried in the Church of England section of Georges Plains Cemetery.
In the Spring of 1903 August Frank Hoschke married Henrietta Selina Richards, 24, the only daughter of Thomas and Selina Richards. Henrietta was known as Hetta.
1904
1904 was a joyous time with the birth of three more grandchildren, including their first two granddaughters, in the Hoschke family, bringing the total number of grandchildren to seven! The birth of Walter Frank Hoschke, son of Frank and Henrietta in Grafton, NSW, the birth of Elsie Bain Hoschke, daughter of Fred and Clunie in Orara, NSW and also the birth of Nellie Edith Davis, daughter of Jessie and George Davis in Upper Bucca Creek, NSW. Locally, the North Coast railway expansion continued in the region, gradually improving future access to markets and land clearing, fencing, and agricultural work dominated family life.
1905
By 1905 The Hoschke family participates in local community events, including agricultural shows, church gatherings, and informal sporting competitions. Farming in the Orara Valley becomes slightly more productive as drought conditions ease and the children of the extended Hoschke family attend local provisional schools, often walking long distances.
The year was also marked by two tragic losses, firstly Amandus and Mary’s youngest son Arthur Henry Charles Hoschke passed away tragically in January 1905 aged 11. Rheumatic fever, a complication of untreated streptococcal throat infections was indeed a common and often fatal illness in coastal and rural Australian communities like Coffs Harbour around 1905, especially among children and young adults. No antibiotics (penicillin wouldn’t arrive until the 1940s), crowded housing, large families, limited access to doctors, recurrent throat infections in humid coastal climates all led to tragic deaths of children and young adults. Six months later, further tragedy when George’s wife Ruthetta Hoschke passed away aged 28 from acute pericarditis and recurrent attacks of rheumatic fever. This must have been devastating for the family and Ettie and Arthur were buried together in the Coffs Cemetery.
1906
In 1906, Amandus and Mary’s son August Frank “Frank” Hoschke, who had been farming his own selection at Upper Orara since 1899 and raising a young family, moved with his wife Henrietta to Inverell, family lore says they moved for their children’s health and given the tragic losses of Arthur & Ruthetta the year before their move was understandable.
Coffs Harbour continued to grow as a regional centre, improving access to supplies and services for Orara Valley families. Hoschke men continue working as labourers, farmers, and timber workers, sometimes supplementing income with seasonal or contract work, however in 1906, Amandus and Mary’s son Amandus Ludwig Hoschke, aged 22, was appointed as a teacher at Kororo and Moonee Schools.
1907
1907 bought more joyous times for Amandus and Mary and their now extended family. The births of two more grandsons, Lionel Edgar Hoschke, son of Frank and Henrietta in Grafton and Arthur Charles Hoschke, son of Fred and Clunie in Orara. Much joy was also bought by the marriage of Harold Robert Hoschke to Alice Maud Margaret Morris, daughter of Daniel and Margaret Morris, on 3 September 1907 at Moonee, just north of Coffs Harbour.
1908
Two more grandchildren were born in 1908, Arthur George Davis, son of Jessie and George Davis in Upper Bucca Creek and Edith May Hoschke, daughter of Harold and Alice in the Orara Valley. Advances in transport and road formation begin to slightly reduce isolation for families in the Upper Orara area. The Hoschke family’s social life continues to centre on family gatherings, church, and local events.
1909
By 1909, the children born earlier in the decade begin contributing to farm work and household duties and the Hoschke family benefitted from improved regional stability and modest economic growth along the North Coast. Two events that demonstrated this prosperity were the marriage of Amandus Ludwig Hoschke to Helen “Nellie” Mary Edith Dammerel in Grafton, NSW. Helen was the daughter of George Dammerel a signalman, and his wife Sarah and she was also a teacher.
The other event that signalled the increased prosperity of the Hoschke family was the fact that Amandus was able to travel to his homeland of Germany, his farewell was a grand affair; On the eve of your departure on a well earned trip to Germany, your many friends in the Orara, Bucca Creek and Coffs Harbour Districts are desirous of showing some slight recognition of the excellent services you have at all times rendered for the progress and welfare of the community generally.
Tune in next month to see what the next decade brings for the growing Hoschke family.
Photo of the Month
Til next month!
