Bernhard Amsberg (1827-1902)
Bernhard Amsberg (c. 1827 - 19 October 1902) was a merchant from Hamburg who ran a successful import/export business in Adelaide and was the Consul in South Australia for both the Free City of Hamburg and the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg.
Bernhard Amsberg | |
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| Born | c. 1827 Malchin, Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg |
| Died | 19 October 1902 Adelaide, South Australia |
| Resting place | Jewish Section, West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia |
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Biography
Created by Benjamin Hollister and made available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0.
Bernhard was one of five members of the Amsbergs to migrate to South Australia. During his time in South Australia he created the successful B. Amsberg and Co company, acting as freight and passage agents as well as importing and exporting directly, and was appointed the firstly the consul for Hamburg and the for the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, positions he held until German unification in 1871.
In Germany
Little is know of the the Amsbergs in Hamburg or Mecklenburg. Bernhard, or more likely Benjamin, was born in about 1827 to a Jewish family in Malchin in Mecklenburg, and had at least one brother living and working in Hamburg, Julius, who acted as an agent for B. Amsberg and Co, as well as at least three sisters in Hamburg.[1][2][3] A Julius is listed in the Hamburg address-books for during the 1840s as are an H.S., J.P.J and K.J. Amsberg.[4] In 1848, Benjamin travelled with his sisters Rose and Frederica to South Australia aboard the Victoria, leaving Hamburg on 15th June 1848. [5]
In Australia
The siblings landed at Port Adelaide on 6 November 1848, after a voyage of almost 5 months, and by mid December Benjamin had established the business B. Amsberg and Co, opening a millinery and haberdashery shop in Rundle Street, indicating he had migrated with significant resources, and probably in partnership with his families businesses in Hamburg. [6] The trio of siblings soon found their family in Australia and Hamburg being discussed in public in relation to a civil suit brought by a a fellow Hamburg merchant and passenger on the Victoria by the name of Abraham in February 1849.[1] Involving a convoluted transaction between Benjamin's brother Julius acting as a guarantor for goods being sent by Abraham to Adelaide, and the apparent refusal of the three Amsberg siblings to release the goods to Abraham's stepfather in Adelaide, the case cost Benjamin £35. Further pressure was placed on the new business in July 1849 when the absconding of James Newbery, insolvent grocer of Rundle Street, left Benjamin as a creditor to the sum of £45/7/7, followed by . Neither of these financial setbacks appear to have significantly affected Benjamin's business, and advertisements for his establishment, known as Hamburg House, on the northern side of Rundle Street between Stephens Place and King William Street, offered a larger and larger array of goods imported from Germany, England, France and elsewhere. [7][8]
Benjamin continued his drapery business at Hamburg House until 1851 when his sister Frederica married Julius Michael Amsberg, a fellow Hamburger and probable cousin, in April and Benjamin and Rose returned to Europe in May, resulting in a whole new civil case regarding seaworthiness of ships and recovery of fees paid. Hamburg House was formally passed to L. Roach in September 1851and Benjamin, now known as Bernhard or Bernard, returned to South Australia aboard the Alfred in October 1852.[9]
B. Amsberg & Co
Honorary Consul
During his time in Europe when accompanying his sister Rose home, Bernhard appears to have approached the government of Hamburg to act act as their Consul in South Australia. This was formalised by the acceptance of the appointment by the British Government in March 1853, with the appointment documented in South Australia in August of the same year.[10] In August 1855, it was further published that Bernard had been appointed the Consul for the Garnd Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, his country of birth.
Timeline
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Family
Residences in the City
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Work in the City
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Published Obituary
Photo gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "SUPREME COURT—CIVIL SIDE". South Australian Gazette And Mining Journal. Vol. IV, , no. 202. South Australia. 10 March 1849. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ "Tuesday, May 15, 1850". South Australian Gazette And Mining Journal. Vol. V, , no. 324. South Australia. 16 May 1850. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ "Advertising". South Australian Register. Vol. XVII, , no. 2052. South Australia. 13 April 1853. p. 1. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ Hamburgisches Adress-Buch für 1848. Hamburg: Hermann. 1848. p. Personen- und Firmenverzeichnis Alphabetteil Alexander, pg. 4. Archived from the original on 2015.
- ↑ "Advertising". South Australian Register. Vol. XII, , no. 889. South Australia. 22 November 1848. p. 1. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ "Advertising". South Australian Register. Vol. XII, , no. 894. South Australia. 9 December 1848. p. 2. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ "Advertising". South Australian Gazette And Mining Journal. Vol. V, , no. 272. South Australia. 15 November 1849. p. 2. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ "Advertising". South Australian. Vol. XII, , no. 1096. South Australia. 9 November 1849. p. 3. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ "Advertising". South Australian Register. Vol. XV, , no. 1534. South Australia. 16 September 1851. p. 1. Retrieved 11 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ↑ "CONSUL FOR HAMBURG". Adelaide Observer. Vol. XI, , no. 528. South Australia. 6 August 1853. p. 8. Retrieved 12 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)