1877 August B7 marries Johanna
August, the then baby of the family, spent his first night on the trip to Australia in an old boiler at the Port, his mother Christiana stuffing clothing into the rusted holes to keep out the piercing wind. He was twelve months old..
In 1877 he married Miss Johanna Wilhelm of Mount Torrens, the ceremony taking place at Lobethal A couple of years later, with a son of 15 months , the family took up land (131 acres) at Kangaroo Flat, where they remained.
Strain and difficulty faced the young pair, for they had taken fortune in their hands and tackled the mallee scrub with just their own power -no horse, no vehicle; not even the ubiquitous barrow.
you can read more of their great story in the Modra Book (2004) The material courtesy of the Bunyip News
posted by Little John @ 5:27 PM
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just some more stuff from the Bunyip news
It was through August and Paulina’s energies that Gawler became known as “Watermelon Town”.
Day after day in the season He or Paulina would arrive in the town with the German wagon piled high over the rails with luscious watermelons, and park in front of the old Implement Co’s office waiting for Martin’s works to empty of men. Under the hour the full wagonload would be gone, the workers delighted with the treat so reasonably obtained. Wheat sacks would be filled with the rinds picked from the gutters. In one season 93 pounds were made from the sales of melons in this one centre alone.
August did not ascribe the growth to good gardening. Too modest? What a Modra!
In talking to the local newspaper on the occasion of their 60th Wedding Anniversary , August admitted that at the age of 89, he did not do too much these days except make war on the weeds. With “a twinkle in his eyes, and upright as a rush with full command of all facilities’, he declared, “the hoe is my rifle, the Planet Junior my machine gun, and the little plough the trench digger – all for war on the weeds”. He can tell of tales of other days – of blacks, of kangaroos; of grass hay at 6 pounds per ton; of flour at 6 pounds per bag and again at 6 pounds per ton; of attempts at wine making, pressing up to 200 gallons in a season, later to have the vines eaten out by rabbits and having to give up; of all that constitute life, and throughout to live happy and contended.
The pair were described in the Bunyip newspaper, with most of their antecedents assembled to celebrate, as “hale and hearty; happy in the union generated over 60 years”.
More from Modra family history book John L Modra and Bunyip news
August, the then baby of the family, spent his first night on the trip to Australia in an old boiler at the Port, his mother Christiana stuffing clothing into the rusted holes to keep out the piercing wind. He was twelve months old.
In 1875/6 he married Miss Johanna Wilhelm of Mount Torrens, the ceremony taking place at Lobethal Lutheran Church. A couple of years later, with a son of 15 months , the family took up land (131 acres) at Kangaroo Flat, where they remained.
Strain and difficulty faced the young pair, for they had taken fortune in their hands and tackled the mallee scrub with just their own power -no horse, no vehicle; not even the ubiquitous barrow.
“Take all” wiped out all the grain forming in the first waving green crops. Returning to the more familiar business of lower Lusatia where their sandy soils were the key to another type of agriculture, the family turned to market gardening, but still relying wholly on the rainfall. His success in this move was phenomenal, and all energies were turned in the direction of the garden. Water from a nearby well augmented the rain, until at last Mr Modra was able to put down his own water supply.
Another industry established by the young man was the growth of rye, the straw of which was taken to Holden & Frost’s for the making of horse collars and camel saddles, the last leading to business as far up as Oodnadatta. For over 30 years the business was held, the return being 5 pounds per ton of straw.
Another money-spinner was the thatching of houses, sheds, stacks, etc., Mr Modra being an accepted expert at this now, even though little is known of the work (using wheaten straw)
It was a common thing for these young people to walk to and from Gawler with their produce and requirements. August, on many occasions walked to Adelaide with eggs a day for the out journey and the next for the return.
Paulina’s walk to Gawler was a mere jaunt; she did it so often, and so regularly. After several years, a windfall, through a brother’s death, brought a legacy, and the money was wisely expended on horse strength and furniture for the home.
Even then, work was hard – the husband slaved in the garden and in odd times Paulina would harness the horses and tackle the scrub, to wrest more country for their requirements. It was recounted that one day she fell beneath the heavy roller, the horses continued and she was pressed into the sandy soil. Expecting her dead August ran forward and his wife got up and resumed the job; As if nothing had happened.
August had wonderful success with his garden. Drawn on to tell of his achievements in an article in the Bunyip News from which most of this story is taken, he spoke of cauliflowers 42 inches around the butt, and taken to Gawler. The double doors of “The Bunyip” office had to be opened to give entry to the monster. Other huge growths were a Swede 28lbs, a turnip 26lbs, pie melons up to
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