Tardun Farm (1931-1980)

The Pallottine St. Joseph’s farm at Tardun in the Geraldton vicariate was modelled on the successful New Norcia idea. It was not initially intended as an Aboriginal mission and only became one in 1948.

 

When the Pallottines took over the Kimberley vicariate in 1928 they had three mission stations, Beagle Bay [1], Lombadina [2] and Broome. Bishop Raible [3] was eager to extend the Pallottine reach and Fr. Georg Walter [4], now in semi-retirement, supported these efforts. He expected that ‘the farm will be the foundation for Beagle Bay and for the spread of the society in the whole of Australia’.¹

 

The idea of a separate farm some distance away in a more fertile region had been floated since 1926 when the Western Australian government offered land at a reduced rate to Archbishop Clune, and Fr. Droste [5] at Beagle Bay became naturalised to enable him to acquire a title deed.²

 

The idea to form a branch settlement in the south is sound, it is the realisation of what Fr. Whitmee considered necessary from the beginning and what I strove towards in Australia. Without a settlement in the south Beagle Bay mission is left high and dry. It would be as if we had left the Cameroon mission in those days without a base at home. Fr. Droste seems to plan on growing food (wheat) that cannot be raised in the tropical north because of its climate and infertile soil on this farm in the south and then ship it to the north. Although the distance is more than 1000 km shipping freight is always cheaper and would therefore not add much to the cost of the food. Incidentally the flour consumed at Beagle Bay now is also freighted up from the south, so incurs the same freight costs. At any rate Fr. Droste observed how the Benedictine missionaries at the Drysdale River are provisioned from their mother house in New Norcia in the south which also has a very large farm, and therefore are spared the pressing financial worries. ³

 

In view of the cattle tick infestation that had affected the Beagle Bay herds, Walter considered it necessary to establish an alternative source of income, and a farm in the south could also serve as a rest area for the missionaries in the north. He felt that it would not require a large increase in staff and would offer an opportunity to replace some of the older brothers in the north with younger ones. Some of the older ones could be sent south with a number of the mature blacks at Beagle Bay to start clearing a site. The Bishop of Geraldton had given approval to acquire a farm at Mingenew, but Walter felt that this was too close to New Norcia, and a location nearer to Perth would be preferable, and was likely to be worth millions in the future. Limburg would have to guarantee the interest payments for a few years, but a farm was eventually going to be self supporting. ⁴

 

But where to locate the farm? In the midst of these considerations the Apostolic Delegate in Australia suggested that the Pallottines extend their reach to the northern part of South Australia, where Point McLeay, Point Pearce and Killalpaninna had been given up by Protestant denominations and the Catholics had not been able to unfold.

 

In any case one must be very careful, because the mission there seems to be very difficult since two other orders, the Jesuits and the Sacre Coeur padres who have been there for 18 years, have given up or want to leave. Why didn’t the Salesians take it on after they realised that there was no space for them in the Kimberley? ⁵

 

The Pallottines canvassed a number of options including Munja government station at Walcott Inlet (1926-38), or taking over the Forrest River Anglican mission, and Droste was under the impression that the government was keen to sell Moola Bulla to a mission society.

 

Allow me to return to an earlier inquiry regarding the government station Bulla-Mulla in the northern Kimberley district. We should try if possible to acquire it from the western Australian government. Fr. Droste wrote in the last issue of Stern [der Heiden], that the government would like to hand it over to a mission society. Because the soil is more fertile in this area than in Beagle Bay, the rain more abundant and the area less settled by whites, it would be possible to settle the blacks there and train them in farming without the detrimental influence of the white race. What I was writing in the last chapter of my book, ‘Goals and Prospects’, could be realised there to solve the burning question of the future of the Australian Aborigines. It is a terrible pity that Fr. Droste has died, he could give us clear information about this issue. That was also the reason why I longed to speak to him. I wanted to discuss this important issue with him. In financial terms the [German Pallottine] Province would hardly be burdened further as Bulla-Mulla has 15,000 head of cattle and therefore a nice income. Of course it could not prosper as a government station because the high salaries of the officials devour everything. ⁶

 

Tardun farm was acquired in 1931, and well staffed with Brothers supervised by Fr. Albert Scherzinger. Brothers Frank Nissl and Paul Müller arrived in Broome in June 1931 and were met at Mullewa by Br. Henry Krallmann who was already at the farm. They were joined by Br. Paul Ratajski as mechanic, farmer and carpenter and Brother Josef Schüngel as cook.⁷ Schüngel travelled from Limburg together with Br. Josef Tautz and Anton Boettcher. According to Fr. Hügel Tautz spent his first year at Tardun to refurbish the living quarters. ⁸ Br. Wollseifer said that during his visit in 1933 Br. Anton Boettcher and Br. Bernhard Stracke were also at the farm, though they do not appear in the Pallottine records. Br. Contemprée was also at Tardun in its first years.

 

The living quarters were a 30ft by 10ft hessian hut divided into sections by hanging pieces of hessian from the sheet-iron roof. The end section was ‘chapel’ with prie-dieus of wooden boxes. Bishop of Geraldton James O’Collins (1930-41) considered forbidding to reserve the Blessed Sacrament there.⁹

 

The inadequate building exposed them to extreme heat and rain and bush flies, mosquitoies, sandflies, and snakes. They made do with mattresses on the dirt floor, and seats made from wooden boxes. They rose at 5am for morning prayers and mass, went ploughing after breakfast, and took lunch in the paddocks.

 

Their first glorious harvest of wheat met with a slump in prices at less than 2 shillings a bushel. They stacked the wheat into 15-foot high piles and covered them with bags, but still the stockpile was spoilt by rain. At other times drought forced them to find water for the 1,000 head of sheep.

 

Br. Schüngel made his final profession at Tardun in September 1933 and at Christmas that year a visit from Br. Wollseifer is captured in a group photograph showing Fr. Scherzinger, Br. Müller, Br. Stephen Contemprée, Br. Frank Nissl, Br. Paul Ratjaski, Br. Ochsenknecht who was to replace him, Br. Krallmann as well as visiting Br. Wollseifer.

 

Br. Ratjaski probably left soon after the photo was taken, and Br. Krallmann also didn’t stay long. Br. Tautz probably left within a year.

 

Instead of Aboriginal labour the Brothers hired migrant workers. One Yugoslav farm worker suffered serious skin burns when he accidentally doused his face in dieseline when he wanted to apply insect repellant lotion, and an Italian bricklayer suffered from heat exhaustion and was carried away from his work ‘stiff as a board’, but fully recovered next morning. The bricklayer, hired at £5 per week, constructed a monastery with Brothers Basil Halder and Frank Nissl. They build a substantial place with ten rooms, a refectory, a chapel, and a verandah with timber hauled in in from Geraldton and bricks delivered to the railway siding at Tardun a few kilometers away from the farm. The monastery (now heritage-listed) surrounded by the few weatherboard houses and a small store that were Tardun, was opened by Bishop Raible in 1938. There were no Aborigines at Tardun or at the farm.

 

In 1939 and Brother Nissl left Tardun and Br. Contemprée was called to wind up Rockhole. When Wandering Brook mission opened Fr. Scherzinger as its first rector arrived in January 1944.¹⁰ Fr. Anthony Wellems took over as rector of Tardun.

 

Once the initial hardships of living conditions were improved and the first disastrous harvest overcome, Tardun became a favourite place for the Brothers.

Brothers Ratjaski and Contemprée both later returned to Tardun. Br. Stracke worked at Tardun from 1934 to 1941 and remembers it as follows:

 

Br. Stracke on a mission mule. Courtesy Liz Davie, Broome

 

The home mission in Germany was affected by the depression, too.

So in the late twenties the mission thought that they could have a farm down south to supplement the mission. In Tardun, near Mullewa. Sometimes I feel it cost more money than it supplied to the mission. They’ve got an agricultural school there still run by the Pallottine fathers. But it didn’t work out the way they had intended to.

[The Wheat farm was] about 8000 acres and a bit of a tractor, which was seldom used, and horses. Those that used tractors and needed fuel all had to walk off, and we bought sheep for three shillings each one year. The workforce at Tardun was nearly all Brothers. No one from Beagle Bay except sometimes one or two men, but they were always homesick, it didn’t work out too well.

We didn’t have a house when I got there. One day when I got back a cock-eye had lifted the roof from my room and everything was wet. Later we built a house. We employed a bricklayer but we did the laboring, plumbing, carpentry.

We never got much for the wheat, and a jute bag cost a shilling each. It was hard work to load the wheat into the trucks, before bulk handling.

We made our own porridge out of wheat, with quite a bit of chaff in it. But it didn’t hurt anybody, and we didn’t starve, having a few eggs and having our mutton.

We sold to Wesfarmers and Dalgety. Elder Smith didn’t handle wheat. … They made a profit mainly due to the fact that the Brothers worked for nothing, no wages. We sometimes employed a teamster for two pound a week plus keep. Sometimes we killed a pig, made our own sausages, and we had chooks. We did send wheat to Beagle Bay and they had a mill and ground it and mixed it with other flour. It was cheaper to buy the flour from Geraldton or Perth. Nowadays the Tardun farm is completely divorced from Beagle Bay, it’s an agricultural school for Aboriginal children run by Pallottines, mostly boys, not part of the Diocese.

The [wheat cutters] shearers were employed on contract, a shilling a pound, and we harvested the oats late October, and then wheat and finished just before Christmas so you could celebrate with a bit of extra porridge perhaps. We had a chapel and a priest, he also did parish work. Christian Brothers from Perth had a farm next to us, mainly for boys from the orphanage. We didn’t have to shoe the horses, soft soil. Very few rabbits in that country. Emus were a bit of a pest, they trample. One afternoon we drove 29 emus into a trap. And we had a pig feed for a while, otherwise you wouldn’t get much wheat.¹¹

 

 

Tardun boarding school¹⁹

In 1948 it was decided to extend Tardun mission to Aborigines. Its rector Fr. George Vill added a boarding school with space for 80 to 100 Aboriginal children similar to Wandering Brook. Decommissioned RAAF materials were used to construct dormitories, a school, kitchen, cool-room and chapel.¹² Four Schönstatt sisters from Germany arrived. This mission was financially supported by the German Catholic Bishop’s organisation Misereor and the Western Australian Charities Lotteries Commission.¹³ The Catholic Womens League in Perth sent clothes and materials. Girls were trained in domestic work and boys in agriculture.

 

The first two Presentation Sisters arrived on 30 January 1948, and the girls dormitory with 30 beds and the boys’ dormitory with 20 beds were ready by mid-February. The first pupils for the boarding school arrived from Mallewa on 9 March 1948. Soon after their arrival health problems started and one boy escaped twice (see below, Children at Tardun). For some reason there were also two 2-year olds at the mission, who would sleep or play next to the teacher during class. Headlice were a constant worry and “Fr. George was not above delousing a head or wiping ‘green lantern nose’.”

 

The Tardun Chronicle for 1 April 1948 relates that “The senior and almost senior girls were taught some cooking, how to clean rooms, to use a sewing machine and to iron clothing. They were helpful and became quite efficient.”

 

In July 1948 the mission was lit by a Southern Cross generator, and the new mission school was opened on 12 September 1948, “unique in Australia namely a boarding school for Natives and Half-castes, and it was to be conducted like similar institutions for white children in cities and towns throughout Australia.” The children were drawn from Geraldton to Morowa and were sent home to their parents during vacations.

 

In February 1949 two Dominican Sisters arrived and the two Presentation Sisters left the same day. Next day in a massive chain operation involving most of the 44 boarders, 90 sheets were washed and hung out. The new Niagara washing machine arrived the next month, and separate bough sheds were built for the boys and girls as a shaded area during day-time. On St. Joseph’s day (19 March 1949) the children were taken to the annual beach picnic at Dongarra convent, where Mother Prioress distributed lollies, and Fr. George Vill gave pocket money to the bigger children to spend in town. They had meals on the lawn with the Dongarra girls waiting on them, went swimming, performed songs accompanied by Br. Stephen. It was a long day, rising at 4.30am, stopping by Mingenew Convent, arriving 10am, departing 5pm and back at the mission at around 11pm.

 

For Easter they had boiled and coloured Easter eggs, and buttered eggs on toast for breakfast, and High dinner was meat and cabbage with mashed potatoes, plum pudding with custard, and chocolate covered eggs, lollies and a cool drink.

Everyone received a new uniform, the boys in grey with blue ties and sandals, the girls in cream and brown (tunics, blouses, hats, socks, sandals) with pink pullovers. For the Christ of King procession in Geraldton in October they were all ‘decked out in white’ (after a cleansing swim on the beach).

 

On 15 May 1949, during the school holidays, Premier Ross McLarty arrived with a large party of visitors, and when school recommenced on 19 May Bishop Raible visited with Fr. Francis Girke. The children performed songs, were given lollies and half a day off, and went for a walk to the old shearing shed (Old Camp) with the Sisters. On 21 the Bishop perfomed Mass and ‘The children were deeply impressed.’

 

In 1950 Fr. Vill was called to Melbourne and Fr. Leo Hornung became the rector at Tardun. ¹⁴ The Dominican Sisters who had swept such changes over the mission, were replaced by four Schoenstatt sisters in April 1951. ‘All are quite young and know little English.’ They wore simple and practical habits in blue serge and stayed until April 1960.

 

The Schoenstatt Sisters had a knack for processions that became very popuar in the Catholic world in the 1950s. The children were lined up neatly and processed around the mission to mark special days on the Catholic calendar, often bearing candles and home-made paper lanterns and singing hymns: to bless the crops on 1 May 1951, to dedicate Tardun mission to Mother Thrice Admirable (31 May 1951), to inaugurate the Mother Thrice Admirable Shrine on the entrance road (31 May 1952). On St. Joseph’s Day (1 May – Patron Saint of workers) a procession that involved anything that had wheels including wheelbarrows and little carts with dolls and teddy bears, processed between the workshops and the recently completed St. Joseph wayside shrine to bless the vehicles (1 May 1958). During Novena in the Advent period the statue of Mother Mary was carried (by procession) from place to place to rest in different buildings each day. Specially translated for the occasion and fervently intuned was the Herbergsuch, a ‘Searching for Shelter’ Advent song portraying the dialogue of a pauper searching for shelter and being turned away at each door. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwD9WlFbXnI [6])

 

Another innovation introduced by the Schoenstatt sisters was to enter work of the children in the Mullewa Show, and in the next few years several children gained prizes for their work – ten firsts in 1955.

 

Sister Bonitas suffered from chronic car sickness, and car travel was rendered the more agonizing with a frequency of break-downs. In August 1951 the Sisters had a memorably journey when they were stranded near Carnarvon with Fr. Girke and Dean Lynch with a broken differential box on the Plymouth. They phoned from Three Springs and Fr. Kelly took the Dean’s car to pick them up. On the return journey the Dean’s car also broke down, and Fr. Kelly walked five miles to Tardun siding to phone for more help. Br. Stephen came with the Morris diesel truck and towed them back, but when he arrived at the mission he realised that the tow rope had broken and he had left the others behind!

 

Another mishap occurred when news was received from Perth that the new washing machine had arrived in June 1958. Fr. Hennessy and Br. Michael (Gill?) took the Magirus truck to Fremantle – 11 hours each way – to pick it up from the Goods Depot but found that only a few boxes of donated goods had arrived. They made some hasty purchases of cement, timber, sugar etc. to make up a load and left again at 4.30pm. At 2.30am, with Fr Hennessey at the wheel singing Eucharistic hymns, and looking forward to a warm bed within the hour, the wheels bogged in the soft edge of the road near the Canna turn-off and they could go neither forward nor backward with the back wheels slipping off the road. They turned down towards the embankment but dug into a water course, with the truck now in great danger of rolling. They spent a shivering night until a local farmer, young Mr Micke, came by in the morning and tried to pull the truck, which caused it to edge over still further. The whole truck had to be unloaded, and they were now glad not to have a 6-foot high washing machine weighing a ton on board. The mission was phoned and the International truck came to take on the load and pull out the Magirus. They got home at 11am. ‘Plenty of vehicles’ and even farm machinery were bogged in the unusually wet year of 1958 (17 inches of rain compared to an average of 11.6 inches).

 

Shortly before her death in July 1952 the mother superior pleaded for reinforcements, and four more Schoenstatt Sisters arrived in July 1953. Two of them with Sr. Aegidis were allocated to the new mission at Wandering Brook. Sr Martrudis introduced singing in two parts for Mass. In 1954 a concert before Bishop Gummer included a religious drama based ‘on the figure of Mary in the style of the Mystery Plays so favoured in Europe in the Middle Ages’.

 

There was close collaboration between the Christian Brothers and the Pallottines at Tardun, often joining in outings, working bees, and sports competitions. Fr. Kelly and Dean Lynch (Christian Brothers) joined forces to lobby the Mullewa Police in October 1952 when it was proposed to impose a curfew on Aboriginal people in the town. There was concern about public drunkenness, and the two priests argued that the Vagrancy Act was quite sufficient to deal with the problem.

 

A new monastery, called ‘Orana’, was mapped out in December 1952, brick making began in February 1953, the cricket pitch was dug at the same time. The new playground equipment arrived in February 1955 consisting of ‘a swinging boat, a double swing, a horizontal ladder, giant slide and a double seesaw. The children are very eager to get it ready for use.’ Until the first swimming pool was ready on 24 September 1955 (Fr. Luemmen’s last act at Tardun) the children used to ‘go for a swim to the square tank on the Christian Brothers property’. The new monastery (New Convent) was opened before a crowd of 450 in November 1957, and in July 1959 the Vincent Pallotti statue, that had been shifted around the monastery verandah several times, received its place of honour in the centre of the lawn. (It was destroyed in the early 1980s.)

 

When the children were collected after the holidays in January 1958 many were infected with scabies, and a throat infection was spreading, so that 12 children were taken to hospital. The Department of Native Welfare was notified and a doctor called from Mullewa, and another 25 were lined up for injections. Just before Christmas 1958 a measles epidemic spread and ten children were unable to go home for holidays.

 

End of an era

On 27 April 1960 a grand concert farewelled the four Schoenstatt Sisters. ‘We did not like to see them go. But lack of vocations made them decide to give up Tardun.’ Nailon also does not offer an explanation other than ‘The Schoenstatt sisters were unable to get vocations and withdrew from Tardun’. ¹⁵ She observes that they were replaced with lay missionaries, drawing on the volunteering enthusiasm emerging among young Australians in the 1960s, which meant a high staff turnover. Only one Marian Sister was present to supervise the volunteers (Margaret Mary McLean 1960-1964, Margaret O’Neill 1964-1966, and MacLean again August 1966 till 1977). The major responsibility of the Sisters was the Catholic primary school, whereas the older grades were a state school. Due to the difficulty in attracting Catholic teachers, the whole school was turned over to the state after two years.¹⁶

 

In early 1962 the staff consisted of Fr. Wehrmaker as rector, Fr. Finnegan as boys’ prefect (and baker), Sr. Margaret as Mother Superior, two teachers from the Education department and six lay helpers. Four boys and four girls were also working, and the mission housed 32 boys and 34 girls. In August Fr. Edmond Finnegan prayed for rain, having been successful with a similar prayer in May that was answered with 5’’. In September 1962 Br. Stephen Contempree was also present, and there is reference to a flu epidemic affecting 40 children, two Brothers and a lay missionary. Presumably Br. Wilhelm Engel and Br. Basil Halder were also present. Still, the Pallottines were now in the minority among the staff, and increasingly adventure-seekers arrived as volunteers in an ‘old bomb’ or a caravan and stayed for short periods.

 

Br. Ludwig Gunther arriving in mid-1963 was the last German to come to the mission. In 1964, the last year of the Tardun Chronicle, the community were two Fathers (Wehrmaker, Evans), 4 Brothers (Halder, Gunther, Clark, Whiteley), two teachers and 9 lay missionaries of whom 7 had come from the training institute.

 

From October 1960 to September 1978 Fr. Eddie Wehrmaker was rector at Tardun overseeing a period of radical change. When Wehrmaker arrived the buildings were still the old air force structures relocated from Geraldton. There were issues with sewerage and maintenance. Within 12 years the whole mission was re-built in brick and tile with finance from Misereor and the Lotteries Commission, starting with a new kitchen block finished in 1965. Other income derived from the farm and maintenance, child endowment and boarding fees paid by parents and government for the 120 children at school. These children were mostly from farming families and the farm workers of the district, and most of them were Aboriginal. To offer some education beyond primary school an agricultural school was added in 1968, which the Christian Brothers later took on.¹⁷ Elsewhere Nailon writes the agricultural school for Aboriginal boys was closed in 1980, leaving Tardun with only a primary school.¹⁸

 

 

Children at Tardun²⁰

The first children who arrived from Mallewa on 9 March 1948 were Don Flanagan (15), Harry Mithamarra (or Wittamarra) (14), Ray Underwood (11), John Comeagain (5), Ruby Jackson (7) Peter Jackson (5), Gladys Papertalk (10). They were accompanied by Dean Lynch. Mr. Jackson from New Norcia was asked to take Joe (3) back with him because he was too young. John Comeagain was admitted to Mullewa hospital with pneumonia (19 March – 1 April). Don and Gladys were also taken to Mullewa in April, and Phil (9), Chris (8), and Glennis (5), from the Ryan family at Yalalong [sic] station arrived.

 

Harry Wittamarra (or Mithamarra) said he could already read, but only one book. He was overjoyed when he found that book, a second primer, among the books donated by Mullewa State School. He could also multiply and divide, but only by 2.

 

On 18 April 1948 Don Flanagan ran away, and when he returned next day he was told that he must remain at the mission until he turned 16. He escaped again on 31 July, and returned in March 1949 to ‘a great welcome by the boys’, on the same day that Dorrie Ryan fell during a three-legged race in the playground and lost consciousness, and was taken by ambulance to Mullewa. She returned from hospital after eight days.

 

In July 1948 Arthur Nipper (7) arrived from Moore River settlement sewn into his clothes so he wouldn’t loose them on the journey.

 

The following children underwent confirmation by Bishop Gummer on 30 June 1949: Harry Withamarra, Charlie Joseph, Phil Ryan, Maurice Hedlam, Raymond Joseph, Joe Sha, William Jones, Chris Ryan, Roderick Hedlam, Ray Underwood, Ruben Bartlett, Helen Joseph, Dorris (sic) Ryan, Florence Hedlam, Gladys Papertalk, Margaret Jones, Jean Bartlett, Olive Egan, Ruby Jackson.

 

On 31 August 1949 Charlie Charlie (or Charlie Comeagain, at the mission since 27 April 1948 at age 12) ‘was shot in the stomach as the result of an accident with a rifle’ which he had taken from the truck. Br. Stephen accompanied him for an operation to Geraldton where Fr. Girke visited him on 9 September, and he came back on 27 October 1949.

 

On 25 July 1950 18 children received First Holy Communion and Harold Little, Edith Little and Margaret Ashwin were baptized.

 

By August 1951 Gladys Papertalk (now age 13) taught the ‘Sister’s little class’ in the school, and in the early 1960s there were usually about eight (unnamed) ‘working girls’ and ‘working boys’ on the mission.

 

On 8 December 1953 First Holy communion was received by Roy and Ray Mc Gibbon, Basil Maher, Joe Jackson, Marjorie Baumgarten, Evelyn Doongoo, Veronica Lawson and Joyce Ryan. Basil Maher had arrived on 2 September 1950. On 8 August 1951 ‘Fr. Kelly went to Mullewa to collect Mary June Maher and Yovonne. The father agreed to pay 10/- weekly, which he never did. It later appeared that he only wanted to dump the children for the shearing season.’

Ray Mc Gibbon was taken to Mullewa hospital on 10 December 1953 ‘with a possible bone infection in the hip’. Fr. Girke picked up Veronica and May Lawson (and lay helper Robert Stack) from Mullewa on 18 February 1954.

 

Jim Spratt, age 12, won the International School Exhibition in Dublin in September 1954. His painting had been entered in a Melbourne competition and was nominated for first prize, but was disqualified because only Victorian school children could compete. The judges asked permission to submit it to the Dublin exhibition. At the same time Edith Little (16) won the Mullewa Shows award for best decorated cake. She was working in the Tardin kitchen since 1953. When Riverton Missionary Centre was opened in May 1955 ‘a native girl from Tardun would act as cook’.

 

By 1954 ‘our altar boys were well trained and did very well in the ceremonies’.

But - there must be one on every Catholic altar – Jim Spratt (14) was caught stealing wine and sharing it with other boys in April 1956. He ran off with Bernard Mourach and was expelled, and his parents were most upset about this heavy-handed expulsion. The incident was mentioned in Parliament House in R.F.B. Lefroy’s address of the Special Committee on Native Affairs in 1958.

 

Bernard Mourach was sent to Riverton (Rossmoyne) to enrol at Clontarf in May 1957.

 

Winning a ‘curtain raiser’ football game against Mullewa in July 1955 by over four goals, the best players were Gordon Coomber, Joseph Shea, Brian Spratt, Colin Little and Ron Harris (from Mullewa) playing against the Mullewa team best Maurice Shiosaki, Brian Brumpton, John Peet, Max Giles, Graham Hutton and Leo Page.

 

For Christmas holidays most children used to go home to their parents. In 1955 only the three Kelly children, Gloria Hill, B. Maurack [or Bernard Mourach?] and R. Stack remained at the mission. They attended midnight mass on Christmas Eve with the Brothers and many neighbours. The Sisters then went to Wandering and the Fathers and Brothers holidayed in Riverton, the new Pallottine Centre on 5^th Avenue (Rossmoyne). Only Fr. Murray and Br. Basil stayed back to supervise.

 

On 29 June 1956 six girls ran away at night, discovered the next morning. Three were detained at Morowa police station next morning and two more at Mullewa on 1 July, all three were collected by Fr. Anton Omasmeier. There is no further reference in the Tardun Chronicle to the other girl.

 

In the inaugural ‘monster athletic meeting’ between the Christian Brothers (St Mary’s Agricultural School – scoring 100 points) and Pallottines at Tardun (St. Joseph’s Pallottine Mission School scoring 159 points) in October 1956, outstanding results were achieved by Alan Egan (took the 100 and 220 yards in the under-13 and scored 22 points), Brian Spratt (secured the 100, 220 and 440 yards in the under-15 and got 20 points), Roy McGibbon (two jumps in the under-12 with an outstanding leap in the broad jump, 13ft 8 1/2in, 16 points), Basil Maher (15 points) and Ray McGibbert (13 points). In true sportsmanship, the highest scores of the opposing team were also reported (G. Kelleher 15 points, M. Tarvers 14, K. Spencer 12.5, J. McKay 12).

 

In September 1959 Geoffrey Mongoo ran away from the mission and hid in the bush for nearly two weeks before he was brought back.

 

In 1964 the Tardun Chronicle refers to ‘two coloured ladies, Mrs. Maher and Mrs Yates’, who reside on the mission with their children. Mrs Yates has a 1-year old Rosemary.

 

Staff Associated with Tardun²¹

 

Krallmann [7], Br. Henry 15 July 1928- died at Beagle Bay June 1951

Hermol, Br. Frank August 1928-May 1929, water diviner from Beagle Bay, fell sick (not listed in Leugers)

Wilson, Jim August 1928- mission boy from Beagle Bay

Smith, Dick February 1929- from Beagle Bay

Murphy, Tommy February 1929- from Beagle Bay

Roe, Willie from Beagle Bay February 1929- June 1932

Howard, Gregory February 1929- from Beagle Bay

Howard, Paula housekeeper February 1929- from Beagle Bay

MacDermott, Mrs. housekeeper Easter 1929-

Ratjaski, Br. Paul August 1929- left 1937 or 1938 for Beagle Bay, discharged from leprosarium March 1953

Wendling Br. Joseph arrived Australia with Ratjaski, first mentioned February 1930, returned to Limburg September 1930 (Leugers: born 1893 Trier, professed 1914)

Kasparek, [8] Br. Matthias November 1929- died May 1930, bookkeeper

Scherzinger [9], Fr. Albert rector February 1930 – April 1937, returned 26 January 1950 from Melbourne, returned from Germany March 1951 with Fr. John Herold

Newman, Rudolph aka Rudolph Roe, first mentioned February 1930, left September 1930, arrived Broome 18 October 1930

Casper, Tom and John Yugoslav workers, arrived 1930, (aka Peritich?)

Peritich, Tom and Jack aka Raditich, (aka Casper?) left 1932

Fumic, Frank arrived 1930 (share farmer?) purchased ‘The Estate’ 1933

Boettcher, Br. Anton (Tony) arrived Australia 11 November 1930- left Pallottines 1950

Tautz [10], Br. Joseph January 1931-

Schuengel [11], Br Joseph January 1931- October 1933 to Beagle Bay, returned Easter 1940 - 1945 helped land clearing for boarding school, to Kew

Nissl [12], Br. Frank June 1931-September 1938

Mueller, Br. Paul June 1931- left the community in 1949, returned to the Pallottines 1950s: present in May 1953, helps with seeding, spent Christmas at Tardun 1954, came back to stay in February 1955. To Germany in August 1957

Hanke [13], Br. Frank built the Tardun monastery (opened 1938) and the dormitories for the new boarding school (1945), diagnosed with leprosy 1948, took the train to see doctor in May 1954

Luemmen, Fr. John making concrete paths in June 1953, led the ceremony on Good Friday 1954, boys’ prefect, called to Riverton October 1955, departed December 1955 (visited August 1957)

Smith, Dora had a baby at Mullewa 27 June 1931 – joined her husband Richard at Wiluna, then Broome, March 1932, returned May 1932

Contempree [14], Br. Stephen 29 October 1931 from Beagle Bay; news from Germany that he is very sick in April 1954; back from hospital, unwell and taken to Geraldton hospital 15 May 1959. Present in September 1962, left for holidays in Germany February 1964

Peritich, Tom March 1932 worker (no other workers at the present)

Ochsenknecht, Br. Valentine August 1932 arrived with Wollseifer, to Kew in 1940, returned for one year in 1947

Halder, Br. Basil November 1935, operated for hernia at Mullewa in December 1950. Invented a way of storing meat by suspending it in a well shaft to keep it dark, cool and free from insects. Also smoked meat, in the process of which he fell from the tank stand and broke his leg February 1954. Celebrated his 25^th anniversary on 25 September 1955. To Germany August 1957, returns June 1958, goes to visit Perth September 1963

Wellems, Fr. Anthony joined Fr. Scherzinger at Tardun in 1936, became rector in April 1937, also covered Clontarf, Morowa and Perenjori by motorbike, resided at Morowa 1942-1944

Omasmeier [15], Fr. Anton (or Anthony) rector, March 1944 - March 1945 (mission staff during this period: Brs. Stephen Contempree, Basil Halder, Anthony Boettcher, Paul Ratjaski and John Graf on holiday). departs 27 July 1956 for Silverwater, Rector succeeding Hennessey mid-1959 - February 1961

Vill, Fr. George rector March 1945 – 25 July 1950 to Kew

Ryan, Sr. Lawrence Presentation Sister, 30 Jan 1948- 15 February 1949, one of the first two Sisters at Tardun, later at Greenough

Mazzuchelli, Sr. de Lourdes Presentation Sister, 30 Jan 1948- 15 February 1949, one of the first two Sisters at Tardun

Lynch, Dean 9 March 1948 arrives with the first pupils from Mallewa for the boarding school. Referred to as a visiting Brother on 20 March 1950, possibly the Dean of the Christian Brothers at Tardun

McQuillan, Mother Mary Teresa Dominican Sister, 15 February 1949, taken by ambulance to hospital for heart trouble November 1950

Galvin, Sr. Dominic Dominican Sister, 15 February 1949 (to 1951?)

Morvey, Br. Terry first mentioned 3 March 1949 as leaving for the Novitiate to make his profession, returns in May 1949, makes his third temporary profession at Tardun 1 May 1951, left for Melbourne 14 September 1951.

Greenland, Joe cook, referred to on 19 March 1949,

Beldermann, Br. Hubert first mentioned on 19 March 1949, left for Rivervale 5 August 1949

Rutherford, Fr. Herbert Australian-born, trained in Melbourne, arrived 29 April 1949, took 16mm colour movies of the mission at the departure of Fr. Vill, was picked up from Geraldton airport April 1953, takes over garden, sang his first High Mass on Holy Thursday, April 1954, conducted school until July 1956

Wollseifer [16], Br. Matthias came for a holiday 29 June 1949 to 22 October, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 8 October 1949 with a mass, festive meal and concert.

Raphael, Sr. M arrives with M. Dominic and Mother Mary Teresa 27 January 1950 from Dongarra to recommence the school after the holidays with 30 children

Stack, Robert arrived 4 July 1950 and again February 1954

Hornung, [17] Fr. Leo rector 4 August 1950, previously rector at Wandering Brook, transferred to White Springs (aborted mission) March 1951

Maher, Basil arrived 2 September 1950

Donhauser, Br. Leonard arrived 7 October 1950, drove the tractor April 1951, seeding in June 1953, measured for a new suit to attend consecration of Bishop Jobst in Sydney, March 1959, brings back the new airconditioned Deutz tractor driving at 12 mph from Perth (which at normal driving speed takes 11 hours)

Kroen, Br. Joseph arrived from Germany October 1950 went north

Brossmann, Br. Robert arrived from Germany October 1950 went north

Schreiber, Br. William arrived from Germany October 1950 went north, drives newly consecrated Bishop Jobst to Tardun April 1959

Huegel [18], Fr. Francis arrived from Germany October 1950

Kelly, Fr. Frank arrived from Perth 13 October 1950, Australian-born, transferred to Kew January 1954

Sullivan, Br. Brian passim teaching in October 1950

Besenfelder, Br. Richard passim March 1951 allocated to White Springs, perfected the art of Sauerkraut making (September 1951), wool classing June 1953, mechanic, left for Geraldton and the north in February 1956.

Birker, Br. John Baptist passim March 1951 allocated to White Springs, arrived from Germany with Fr Johann Jobst and others, resisted fencing of sheep. Br. van Veen annotates the 1954 Tardun chronicle that Baptist ‘had a very European understanding of farming’, and expected to become a shepherd at Tardun ‘who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night, or if an animal was alone in the paddock to put a mirror in the paddock so the animal does not feel so lonely’. Transferred to Sydney March 1956.

Liedel, Lorenz missionary helper from Germany, arrived March 1951

Girke, Fr. Francis rector, arrived from Perth 8 March 1951, farewelled with the ‘best ever’ concert on 16 May 1956 departing for Germany, died suddenly at Kew July 1959 ‘the mark of his personality remains imprinted on the school and farm’

Bonitas, Sr. Mary Superior, Schoenstatt Sister, born Puetschbach 1912, arrived 11 April 1951, fell ill in June 1952, taken to Perth with pneumonia and anaemia, died of lung cancer 31 August 1952, ‘was well liked by the children’.

Annunciata, Sr. Schoenstatt Sister, arrived 11 April 1951, cook, called to Wandering in February 1954 to replace Sr. Aegidis

Magdalen, Sr. Schoenstatt Sister, arrived 11 April 1951, teaching

Aegidis Sr. Schoenstatt Sister, arrived 11 April 1951, allocated to Wandering mission July 1953, lost her voice in early 1954

Timeus, Emilio working at the mission, whole family resides at mission, Mrs. Timeus as cook, passim 31 May 1952, left 6 May 1953 ‘after several years of outstanding service’

Little, Edith working in the kitchen, just out of school May 1953

Reddish, Steve left for England after several years work, May 1953

Martrudis, Sr. one of the Schoenstatt Sisters arriving in July 1953, choir master, took over the sewing room in February 1954

Dann, Maitland & Susan arrive 11 February 1955. In December 1956 Malcolm Dann goes to Beagle Bay

Engel, Br. Wilhelm arrives September 1955, assists with building new convent, transferred to Millgrove March 1963

Murray, Fr. Brian replaces Fr. Luemmen as boys’ prefect December 1955, takes Fr. Herbert’s place in the school July 1956, departs 14 March 1957

Herold [19], Fr. John visits August 1956

Hennessy, Fr. John passim August 1956, appointed rector in November 1956, takes the senior class in early 1957, transfers to Tamworth May 1959

Haerle, Fr. Otto (or Herle) arrives 7 February 1957, goes to Nazareth House for a holiday 24 August 1958, transferred to Sydney and left by train February 1959 ‘has done excellent work here in Tardun. He is gong to be badly missed’.

Costello, Stan builder, arrives with Raible and Huegel to complete the new monastery, February 1957

Parnell, Pauline school teacher arrives 25 May 1957 (delayed by sickness)

Nelson, Keith lay helper arrives unannounced from Melbourne 4 August 1957 with Fr. Luemmen, returns to Melbourne 4 September. Expected Pallottines to meet his monthly commitments to creditors. Cost the society £100.

Simpson, Tony arrives August 1957 with Fr. Hennessy (had two flat tyres on a dual wheel and one blow-out) (there is also reference to Mr Simpson MLC in November)

Mauritia, Sr admitted to Perth hospital for heart trouble, March 1958, stayed in Riverton after Christmas holidays 1959/60, came in February 1960.

Maribert, Sr. arrives from Perth with Fr Hennessey and Basil Halder, July 1958

Marilena, Sr. leaves for Wandering Mission November 1959

Scammel, John spends four months to help with building projects, April 1958, returns to Perth with Fr. Hennessey (Vill funeral) July 1958. Went to Melbourne ‘and took about two thirds of our collection of records with him for our confreres in Sydney’.

Gill, Br. Michael receives two-week instructions in butchering at Morawa, May 1958, transferred to Tamworth with Fr. Hennessy May 1959, returns April 1960

Meaney, Bill arrives with Fr. Hennessy from Perth July 1958, transfers with him to Tamworth May 1959, returns April 1960, lay helper in early 1962

Piele, Fr. Anthony (Peile?) back from Melbourne, February 1959, was appointed to Tardun for teaching

Hall, Br. Francis arrives from Perth to assist the boys, February 1959

Benjamin, Br. Kujur arrives February 1959 to ‘learn various skills for future work back in India’, falls from a windmill tower, hospitalized three days, not seriously injured, April 1959, helps to plaster the school room ceilings October 1959, returns after Christmas holidays in Perth 1960, departs for India March 1960

Rykers, George & Jennifer (or Rakers) lay missionaries from Perth arrive November 1959, depart in their ‘old bomb’ to Derby 26 April 1960.

Kieffer, Fr. Heinrich arrives from Perth December 1959 to replace Fr. Otto Haerle, returns to Perth for Christmas holiday, returns 26 January 1960 with Brs Basil, Benjamin and 3 sisters (Sr. Mauritia follows later)

Crudeli family occupies a new house at Tardun, March 1960

McLean, Sr. Margaret Sr. Marian Sister arrives 22 April 1960 with new female staff from Melbourne to replace the Schoenstatt Sisters

Egan, Norman farmworker, leaves July 1960

Wehrmaker, Fr. Edmund arrives 20 November 1960 as new rector, acts as boys prefect when Finnegan leaves late 1962

Doyle, Bob, arrives 20 November 1960 to help with harvest

Markey, I. Mr. primary school teacher, goes to Perth 26 December 1960, teaching in early 1962

Shea, Barbara of the Mariana Lay Institute trains lay missionaries

Finnegan, Fr. Vincent prefect of boys early 1962, departs for Derby late 1963

Eduards, B. lay helper early 1962

Johnson, M. lay helper early 1962

Wynne, M. lay helper early 1962

Pollard, Clare, lay helper, early 1962 went to LaGrange for a month, 9 January 1964, left at the expiration of her two year term, mid 1964

Jackson, M. lay helper early 1962

Haddleton, M. (Miss) education dept. teacher early 1962

Clark, Br. Kevin 1963 passim

Fitzpatrick, Mr. arrives in a caravan with wife and three children, volunteers to drive the truck during harvest, 1963

Coleman, Mr. arrived mid 1963 to supervise the boys, leaves December ‘finding the climate too harsh’.

Gunter, Br. Ludwig (or Gunther) arrives from Germany mid 1963, visits Perth September 1963

van Soust, Paul lay missionary for a few weeks from Melbourne, 1963

Moore, Vernon lay missionary arrived March 1963

Chapman, P. Miss lay missionary arrived March 1963

Murphy, L. Miss lay missionary arrived March 1963

Ghweski, L. Miss lay missionary arrived March 1963

Wright, Joan lay missionary arrived March 1963, hospitalized after catching her finger in the mincer, 28 September 1963

Tesselaar, G. Miss lay missionary arrived March 1963

Whiteley, Br. Maurice arrived from Melbourne April 1963, maintenance work and caring for the boys

Sharman, Br. Walter arrives as lay helper (not a Brother) 20 November 1960 to help with harvest, arrives (as Brother) from Melbourne April 1963, farmer

Dennis, Bernard arrived from Victoria July 1963 to work for a small wage for six months, injured by farm machinery on 9 October, returns from hospital 16 October, minor injuries, returned to Victoria March 1964

Evans, Fr. John Pat arrived 29 January 1964 as second priest

Barlow, Frances Miss arrived 11 February 1964 as second teacher

Byrne, Mr. ‘headmaster again’ in February 1964

O’Neill, Margaret arrives 18 February 1964 to take over from Miss McLean (Sr. Margaret)

Walsh, Veronic, lay missionary arrived March 1964

Delahunty, Judy lay missionary arrived March 1964

van Veen, Wim lay missionary arrived March 1964. Had booked a trip to South Africa and came to Tardun because it seemed close by to Fremantle, there decided to join the Pallottines for life and entered the Millgrove novitiate.

McGrath, Frank lay missionary arrived March 1964

 

Nailon also refers to Fr. Gerhard Otto Christoph (1969- 2004) and Br. Edwin Louis Wishart (‘Froggy’) (1968-86).

 

The Pallottine Necrology gives the following information on some of these staff:

 

Brother Hubert Beldermann

Brother Hubert was from Herschhorn on the Neckar. He worked on river boats after leaving school, and obtained his masters certificate at 25 years of age, helping his parents and their large family with the money he earned. At 28 he joined our Society. Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War he came to Australia and worked at Kew, Perth, Wandering and Tardun.

Mid 1970 he returned to Germany in poor health including a lung complaint of which he died in 1978. It was the 75th year of his life and his 44th as a Pallottine.

Brother Hubert is mentioned in passing in the Tardun Chronicle on 19 March 1949.

 

 

Fr. Gerhard Otto Christoph

Gerhard was born in Frankenstein, in the Diocese of Breslau, Germany.on 30^th September 1931. He was the eldest son in a family of 6 children.

His early teenage years were turbulent, shaped by the war raging around him. In 1946, following bombing and tank bombardments, during which the family was forced, to hide in their cellar, the Russian army invaded his picturesque village in the mountains of what is now southern Poland. They commandeered his home – a refurbished synagogue which his father had purchased from local Jews to provide funds for their escape – and banished the family on a 6 day rail journey, standing in cattle trucks, to the North West corner of their country near Westerstede. There they lived in great poverty in just two rooms, a shed and a barn. To resume his education Gerhard had to walk daily 7kms each way to school, then on his return support the family, and only after that do his homework. These experiences taught him to be a survivor, not to give in easily, that commitment and perseverance bring their reward – virtues which shaped his character for the rest of his life.

Different people have commented on Gerhard’s qualities as they perceive them – his affinity with aboriginal people, his giftedness in art, particularly woodwork, pottery and photography, his love of music, his creativity in child care – different facets of his life which they always combine with his stubbornness and fierce determination.

At 22 he entered the novitiate, and on 16 July 1959 he was ordained. For another 2 years he remained in Vallendar to continue his theological studies. On 10 November 1961 he arrived in Millgrove, Australia and immediately became lecturer to the Pallottine students in sacred scripture and history of philosophy. His showed great talent working with groups of young people who visited the College and became heavily involved in camps and youth retreats. His energy is also still evident in the wonderful terraced stone retaining walls which grace the building, sited as it is on the slope of a hill.

On 31 Mar 1969 Gerhard became a naturalised Australian. The following September, after his first home holiday, he assumed a new appointment at Tardun, in the Geraldton Diocese of West Australia. After some initial reluctance his engagement there with young aboriginal boarding students would become his main life’s work.

For 35 years Tardun provided the perfect seed bed for so many of Gerhard’s gifts. He saw two generations of aboriginal students grow up, and was responsible for many initiatives in the field of their care. While they were well aware of his discipline and determination they also understood that their interest and their progress was what he had at heart, and they developed a lasting respect for him.

His first concern was the sacramental program and nothing, but nothing, would be allowed to interrupt that. He developed all sorts of teaching aids to help ‘aboriginalise’ his religious instruction in the primary school, and to support his creative liturgies in the Church. He espoused a very holistic approach to child care that was radical in that context. He was intent on converting the dormitory system to a cottage one, to provide a home environment where there was comfort and warmth both in the ambience and in the care.

Gerhard initiated a whole raft of out-of-school activities – traditional cultural instruction for which he introduced older aboriginal adults, sports programs, art classes, and music lessons – the list goes on of ways to develop self esteem and a sense of identity. That expanded into adult education with the creation of Wandalgu Arts Aboriginal Corporation. In every case he was unafraid to demonstrate aboriginal skills – be they student or adult – to the wider world, in competitions, exhibitions, drama presentations. And in the process to gain a heightened respect for them. Many of these developments were facilitated by an uncanny ability to attract funding supported, it needs to be said, by many generous benefactors from Germany.

All that energy and enthusiasm came out of an ingrained sense of aboriginal equality, his personal belief that they were no different to any other citizens. And from a deep sense of social justice in promoting their cause, something which everybody who knew him could sense and felt invited on board. And lastly from an uncompromising conviction of their capacity not just to be equal but even to excel.

Gerhard spent a few years at Tardun when he was also the Rector, however this was a responsibility that he did not enjoy as it constrained him too much. At the age of 71 he suffered what his doctor described as a ‘severe’ stroke from which, even with his resolve [he wrote typically – ‘…this present calamity is only a very temporary episode…<’!], he was never to recover. After several years of wonderful care from the Sisters of Nazareth he finally succumbed on 08 Mar 2008.

May he rest in peace.

 

Br. Wilhelm Engel

Today on the anniversary of the Apparition of Mary at Lourdes the merciful God freed our brother Wilhelm Engel from a long and very painful illness. He died on 11th. February, 1981 at 7.20 am. in our infirmary at the Motherhouse at Limburg. He was 74 years old and nearly 50 years a Pallottine.

Wilhelm Engel was born in Schönholthausen in the Sauerland on 8th.December, 1916. He was the son of the stone mason August Engel and his wife Berta nee Schmidt. He grew up in a child rich family. After Primary School he was engaged in farming. At this time he thought of joining a Religious Society. During a retreat in our house at Olpe he learned about the Pallottines. Encouraged by his Parish Priest he made an application. He was accepted and entered on 21st May, 1935. As postulant he worked in the kitchen and garden of the Student House in Vallendar-Schönstatt. With his clothing on 24th September, 1936 he began his Novitiate in Limburg.

While he was ready for First Temporary Profession in 1938 he was only able to do this at the battle front on 9th. April, being prevented earlier through his Work Service and Military call-up. He renewed his Temporary Profession many times in Russia and finally at Chartres, France on 22nd. April, 1946. On 30th June, 1947 he returned from the French prisoner of war camp. On 30th November, 1948 he pledged himself to God forever and promised to follow Jesus Christ in the Society of the Catholic Apostolate. He was again active in the garden, and then until the middle of May 1950 in the building team. With the first large missionary group after the war he was sent to Australia in 1950.

Here he looked after the cattle in Beagle Bay until 1955. From 1955 till 1968 he worked at Tardun as a mechanic. At his wish and with the agreement of the Australian Regime he returned to the Mother Province in 1968. He undertook the task of housemaster in the Pallottine house in Olpe. In December 1977 he changed to Vallendar, where he worked in the garden and in the house of the Theological College. Severe illness made operations necessary. These brought no relief, On 4^th October, 1990 Brother Engel came to our infirmary at the Motherhouse in Limburg. In spite of constant pain he attended daily Mass.

 

Brother Edwin Louis Wishart

Born in Perth on 10/4/1933, Br Eddie was one of six children and his first contact with the Pallottines was when he worked as a volunteer in Broome in 1961. He entered the novitiate in 1962 and after his first profession in 1964 he spent the next two years on the dairy farm at Wesburn. In 1968 he was posted at Tardun, where he affectionately earned the name of Froggy, always dressed in workman’s green shirt and trousers. As well as his work on the farm on the sheep side, his last 6 years at Tardun envolved him in office management. 1986-1987 saw him at Millgrove in the formation team and assisting Fr Alan Mithen in the retreat apostolate and as Regional Bursar after the death of Fr. Laurie Finnegan. In 1988 he joined the Rossmoyne community from where he continued his work as bursar, whilst becoming the Pallottine Centre’s manager. During this time he started volunteering to help teach English to migrants and for several years the coordinator of Chaplain Services at Murdoch University. He died in 2003 after suffering from cancer for three months.