Joachim Matthias Wendt (1830-1917)

Joachim Matthias Wendt, born in the Duchy of Holstein, was was an important jeweller, goldsmith and watchmaker in South Australia.

Joachim Matthias Wendt
Joachim Matthias Wendt
Born	Joachim Matthias Wendt 26 June 1830 Dägeling, Duchy of Holstein
Died	30 January 1882 Adelaide, South Australia
Resting place	West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide, South Australia
Nationality	Holsteiner (1830-1864 British(1864-1917
Occupation	Jeweller, watchmaker, silversmith, goldsmith
Spouse(s)	Johanna Marie Caroline Koeppen née Ohlmeyer (married 1869 Adelaide, South Australia

Biography

Author: Rita Bogna (edited and adapted by Benjamin Hollister)

(A version was originally published in 2018 at Burial and Cremation in South Australia. Used by permission of the author. All text and images are copyright unless otherwise indicated)

Joachim Matthias Wendt was born in 1830 at Dägeling, near Itzehoe, in the Duchy of Holstein. His father was a smith and his mother died when Wendt was 9 years old. Following his mother's death, Wendt was raised by his two sisters and his father and was apprenticed as a silversmith and watchmaker.

In South Australia

Excited by the news of the Australian gold rushes, and unhappy with the political upheaval in his homeland, he migrated to Adelaide in 1854, and soon opened his first jewelers shop in Pirie Street, although the Adelaide Council Assessment Books do not record him there . He was ambitious and skillful, and soon moved his premises to a more prominent position in Rundle Street in 1856, first at number 68, then 84 in 1861 and finally number 70 in 1874, a site that the firm would occupy for over a century.

Wendt produced not only jewelry, but ornate table centerpieces and desk accessories. His intricate silverwork included many natural Australian scenes, which often incorporated emu eggs in their design. He produced silver presentation caskets for Prince Alfred and the Duke of York (later King George V), and was appointed “Jeweler to His Royal Highness”. His work was first shown overseas in London in 1862, and was exhibited world-wide by the end of the century, earning him many awards. For a period of time his chief designer was Julius Schomburgk.

His business expanded steadily, until it became one of the largest and best known in Australia. In 1869 he opened a branch in Mount Gambier, and with the rise of the Broken Hill silver fields, another branch was opened there. An astute businessman, he was part of the syndicate which developed the Adelaide Arcade (which he eventually owned), and the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street.

Wendt retired in 1903, and management of the business was taken over by his son Julius Wendt, and stepson Hermann Koeppen-Wendt. He often claimed that he was Danish rather than German as, until 1848, Holstein had been directly ruled by the King of Denmark who was also the Duke of Holstein. In fact the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1471 – 1806, and the German Confederation from 1815 – 1864. Holsteiners were ethnically German, speaking a dialect of Plattdeutsch or Low German.

Joachim Matthias Wendt died on 7 September 1917 at the age of 87, and was buried in Plot 2187, Path 7 North. Under the care of his family, his business thrived for almost 80 years after his death.

Nationality

As noted in his obituaries below, Wendt often claimed, particularly during the First World War, that he was not German but Danish. This claim was made on the basis that at the time of his birth the Duke of Holstein was also the King of Denmark and the two countries were in personal union. In 1848 the duchy of Holstein was passed to Prussia as part of the settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein Wars and the King of Prussia became duke of Holstein

Family

Wendt married married the widow Johanna Maria Caroline Koeppen, née Ohlmeyer in 1869. They had the following children:

• Julius Matthias (1 March 1871 – 2 March 1939) married Ellen Jane Chapple
• Alice Louise Emilie (25 May 1873 – 17 November 1961) married Anton Erich Haenel
• Margarethe Hermine (28 April 1875 - 28 March 1951 NSW) married Moritz Ernest Heuzenroeder

In addition Wendt adopted the 4 children of his wife's first marriage:

• Anna Wilhelmine (c. 1853 - 19 July 1933) married Thomas Drage Porter
• Louise Johanne (1856 - 4 February 1894) married Herbert Hay James
• Clara Emilie (15 April 1858 - 24 June 1940) married William Hall Henderson
• Carl Hermann (known as Hermann or Hermann Carl KOEPPEN-WENDT)(24 July 1860 - 13 February 1938) married Jane Shannon

Residences in the City

Dates	Place	Current Address	Co-ordinates

Work in the City

Dates	Place	Current Address	Co-ordinates

Published Obituary

From Barrier Miner Friday 7 September 1917:

DEATH OF MR. J.M. WENDT

The death occurred to-day of Mr. J. M. Wendt, founder of the well-known jewellery firm, at the age of 87 years. He was born in Holstein, and left when the Germans conquered the province, as he objected to German rule. Two grandsons are fighting with the Australian army, and one has been killed.

From Express and Telegraph Friday 7 September 1917 (repeated in the Border Watch, Advertiser, Chronicle, and Critic):

THE LATE MR. J. M. WENDT

The death occurred on Friday of Mr. J. M. Wendt, founder of the well-known jewellery business in Rundle-street, Adelaide, and one of the 12 notable citizens whose group picture appeared in "The Chronicle" recently, and whose combined ages totalled over 1,000 years. He was a Dane by birth, and his native place was Itzehoe, a small town in Holstein, then a Danish province, in the.year 1830. His ancestors, all of whom were Danes, lived there before him. In 1848 Holstein was conquered by Prussia, and taken from Denmark. Mr. Wendt found the German rule was so distasteful to him that he left the country and came to South Australia in 1854. In the first year of his stay here he became a naturalised British subject, and he remarked shortly after the outbreak of the present war:—"Although I never was—strictly speaking—a German, I gladly express my loyalty to the King, and my admiration of Great Britain and the British Empire. I can truthfully say, after living in comfort and happiness under British rule for more than 60 years, that I am filled with gratitude for all the blessings I have enjoyed. The terrible atrocities practised by the Germans fill me with horror and loathing, and must be punished; and I am proud to say that two of my grandsons are now with the Australian troops to help to inflict the punishment, and to maintain the British Empire. The German say, 'God punish England!' but I say, 'God bless England, and grant her the victory over her enemies!' "On his arrival in South Australia Mr. Wendt began business as watchmaker and jeweller, and shortly afterwards opened premises in Rundle-street. The business founded by him has been steadily expanding ever since, until now it is one of the largest and best known of its kind in Australia. He was one of the citizens responsible for the building of the Adelaide Arcade in Rundle-street, which subsequently passed entirely into his possession. He was at one time part owner of the Theatre Royal, and he built the Freemason's Hall in Flinders-street. Mr. Wendt was a member of the Tintinara Land Sydnicate, which is credited with the discovery that the so-called 90-mile desert is not a barren waste, but is valuable arable land. He always took a keen interest in mining in South Australia, and strove hard to make gold mining in this State a success. The principal mines in which he was interested were the Bird-in-Hand and Mount Torrens. In later years Mr. Wendt made a study of the use of the Count Mattei homoeopathic remedies, and treated many people. Mr. Wendt, privately and through his business, was widely known throughout the State, and everywhere his name was a synonym for uprightness and good citizenship.

From Journal Saturday 7 September 1917 (repeated in the Register):

DEATH OF MR. J. M. WENDT.

Mr. J. M. Wendt, the well-known jeweller, died on Friday, at the age of 87. He was one of South Australia's oldest colonists. He arrived from Holstein, Denmark, in 1854. Mr. Wendt showed characteristic energy, by at once starting in his calling as watchmaker and jeweller. He first carried on in a small way in Pirie street. Success was assured from the beginning, and a little later he opened in Rundle street on the site which the large modern establishment now occupies. The business grew much in course of years, and at one time branch establishments were opened at Mount Gambier and Broken Hill. For many years latterly, however, the transactions of the firm had been altogether concentrated in Adelaide. Mr. Wendt had always combined business with great public spirit, but he never sought official or public positions. Other instances of his enterprise were his building of the Theatre Royal in Hindley street, and the Freemasons' Hall, Flinders street. Mr. Wendt was one of the old-time type of colonists whom the community honoured—a man who was thoroughly upright and honest in every sense of the words. Last year when in his eighty-sixth year of age and his sixty-second year as a South Australian colonist he wrote to The Register as follows:—"I understand that it is thought by many that the Germans living here should give some proof of their "loyalty to Great Britain. I think this is quite proper and, although I never was—strictly speaking—a German, I gladly take this opportunity to express my loyalty to the King and my admiration of Great- Britain and the British Empire. I was born a Dane, in Itzchoe, a small town in Holstein, then a Danish province, in the year 1830; and my ancestors, all of whom were Danes, lived here before me. In 1818 Holstein was conquered by Prussia from Denmark; and the German rule was so distasteful to me that I left the country and came to South Australia in 1854. I immediately found that I liked South Australia and its people, and decided to make it my home, and within the first year of my stay I took out my naturalization papers and became a naturalized subject of Queen Victoria. I can truthfully say, after living in comfort and happiness under British rule for 61 years, that I am filled with gratitude for all the blessings I have enjoyed. The terrible atrocities practised by the Germans fill me •with horror and loathing, and must be punished; and I am proud to say that two of my grandsons are now with the Australian troops to help to inflict the punishment, and to maintain the British Empire. The Germans say, 'God punish England!' but I say, 'God bless England, and grant her lie victory over her enemies.'"

External links

1. Wendt, Joachim Matthias (1830–1917), Australian Dictionary of Biography