Marie Sophie SCHULTZ (C6.5)
- Born: 9th March 1902, Caltowie, South Australia
- Parents:
Peter and Wilhelmine Zwar nee Wandke - Lived:
Caltowie, Laura, Barossa Valley, South Australia - Died: 13th July 2001, Tanunda Lutheran Rest Home, South Australia, aged 99 years 4 months
- Buried: Link to Family Tree.
Detailed biography
Fifth Child and second daughter of Peter and Minna Zwar 9.3.1902 – 13.7.2001
Childhood
Marie was born on her parent’s farm [between Caltowie and Stone Hut] on March 9th, 1902, the 2nd daughter and 5th child of six born to Peter Traugott Zwar and his wife Caroline Wilhelmine Wandke. Her grandmother Magdalena Zwar was the midwife, and in future years she would always bake a birthday cake for her grandchildren and take it to Church on the Sunday to pass on to her grandchildren. Marie was welcomed as a child of God through Holy Baptism in the Pine Creek Lutheran Church near Appila, South Australia on March 30th, 1902, where she also made confirmation of her faith in the Lord Jesus on November 28, 1915, under the guidance of Pastor Adolf Ortenburger. In later years Marie remembered how her grandfather Peter Zwar would lift her down off the buggy by her head when she was a little child!
Pine Creek School
Marie attended the Pine Creek Lutheran School. The Zwar children were taken to school by Nellie – an old horse – and the children sitting on a flat dray. From home they took a short cut across Lange’s paddock and then went via the Almond Tree corner, picking up up several Lange and Wurst children on the way. The journey with old Nellie took about two hours.
Marie and younger brother Edgar
Stone Hut School
When the government closed the Lutheran schools in South Australia during the first World War, the Zwar children went to the Stone Hut public school, about eight kilometres, but a shorter journey than it had been to Pine Creek. At first the Zwar children had difficulties at their new school as they couldn’t speak English! Their parents, Peter and Minna, always spoke German at home. Marie completed her education at Stone Hut. Albert Nayda lived on their farm as a farm worker for many years. He never married. The children liked him. He used to help them with their schoolwork.
Confirmation
After completing her schooling Marie took confirmation lessons from Pastor Ortenburger for half a day each week, usually on a Tuesday or a Friday, depending on which day suited him. Marie was confirmed in the Pine Creek Lutheran Church on 28th November 1915.
Teenage Farm Girl
Marie then helped on the family farm.
“We had lots of cows to milk by hand – about 8 to 12. The horses to feed,” recalled her brother Edgar.
At the same time they helped various families in the district as help was required. The girls had to help with farmwork too, like pumping the bellows in the blacksmith, and helping out with the harvest.
“We worked stooking sheaves of hay, loading them, and carting the wheat,” Agnes and Marie told Kevin Zwar. “Father sent me to help the neighbour too because he was loading hay on his own!” (Marie).
Needlework
“Marie loved to crochet. She did it a lot at night by the light of a kerosene lamp or by candlelight. She croched doilies, table centres, cot quilts and double bed quilts that hung almost to the floor. There lots of mantel piece hangers, often done on velvet with needlework flowers and croched ones, and even a fly chaser to attach to her pny’s bridle, mzde of pink macrame twine. In later years she also crocheted baby jackets with pure silk thread and baby bonnets to match, for her own children to wear.” [fond memories of Gladys Schild nee Schultz]
Church
“We went to church by buggy via the Almond Tree Corner. We never missed Church. We’d go home from Church, change the horses and go to Christenlehre [Youth Bible Study] one Sunday and to Choir the next Sunday. There was no Sunday School as tthe congregation ran a Lutheran Day School. The children had to read and do their sums in an examination in front of the congregation.” Edgar Zwar
Dressmaking and Housework
Marie learnt dressmaking at Nuriootpa from Miss Keller. She boarded with Laura Borgas at Ed Zimmermann’s home for about the three month’s the course took. Marie worked for a time at Alf Becker’s. Some days she also went and did housework for her grandfather Peter Zwar in his final years and after he had lost his wife – he lived to 93.
“Often in the evenings we would sit out on the verandah and he would talk about the old days in Germany.”
Marie to Kevin Zwar 2.11.1984
First Car
“Our first car was bought in 1924, a Buick 4, and father drove it, and no one else for quite a while. It was white. We now had to drive to Church via Staker’s Corner as it used to get too wet for the car on the flats over to Langes”.
Edgar Zwar
Picnic
A highlight of the year was the Church Picnic, held in the early days down from the Lutheran Church near the Pine Creek crossing. They did their shopping at Laura, where Agnes and Marie took music lessons on the organ from Mary Dack but soon the teacher moved away and lessons ended.
More information
To read more detail about Marie’s childhood, go to her brother Edgar’s biography (C6,6), listed next after Marie, which can be found on the index page> Index
Marriage
Marie and Herbert on their wedding day, August 3rd, 1927
In time Marie met Herbert Johann Schultz.
Herbert Johann Schultz
was born Feb. 18th 1906 at Wilmington, the third son of seven children of Julius and Anna Schultz (nee Scheibner). He was baptized in his home on Nov. 18th 1906, and confirmed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ on December 5th 1920 in Holy Trinity Church Appila by Pastor Adolf Ortenburger. Herbert grew up on his parent’s farm at Hammond near the town of Wilmington, where he went to school. The farm was a mixed one, combining sheep, cattle, and wheat growing. In 1921 the family moved to the Laura area. His parents Julius and Anna are both buried at Holy Trinity Lutheran Cemetery Appila. … [Verna Fiedler].The couple were married in the Pine Creek Church on August 3rd, 1927. The ceremony was conducted by Pastor Ortenburger.
Wedding Breakfast was held in the barn shown here in the background on the Zwar home farm.
First Homes
“For the first eight years they lived and farmed a property about 5 kilometres south of the Pine Creek Lutheran Church and School. [Later on Albert and Regina Schultz lived here]. Kenneth and Gladys were born during this time. Marie and Herb moved again to a property [known as Cowins] about 8 kilometres south of the Church. Here they again farmed with horses for ten years. They milked 12 to 14 cows and Ken and Gladys would help separate the milk and feed the pigs. Gladys also enjoyed helping her mother gather the eggs and helped set hens on eggs to hatch the chickens. Marie also had about five geese and they would hatch out the goslings. Ken and Gladys were always afraid of the gander as he would often chase them. The cream was churned into butter and sold to Stone Hut and Laura friends. Marie used a lot of butter for her ‘kuchen’ (German yeast cake). She also baked small cakes and honey biscuits. Everything was baked in a wood stove oven, there was no electricity, and just kerosene lamps for light at night.” [Gladys Schild]
Baking for Bridge Builders
Marie supplied lots of cakes and sponges for several months to the men living in tents nearby. They were building a new bridge over the Pine Creek between Laura and Appila after the old one had been washed away in a huge flood in January 1941. Her brother Edgar said that Marie was such a great cook because their mother had worked in the famous Balfours bakery in Rundle street in Adelaide. Marie really enjoyed doing all the baking. Gladys helped with the baking and then took it to the men working on the bridge a few hundred metres away. Kenneth and Gladys went to the Pine Creek Lutheran school for seven years – the same school as their mother had attended – and they went together on a pony called ‘Skipper’. The four younger children were born during these years.“ [Gladys]
Sunday Lunch
“Grandparents Peter and Minna Zwar visited us at Cowins almost every Sunday after Church and stay for lunch. Later on Grandfather would drive his car home to the Laura Blocks.” [Gladys]
Laura Blocks
Vegetables
“In 1945 the family moved to the Laura Blocks. At first they lived with Marie’s father Peter Zwar. During this time Peter would help his neighbours by washing all the root vegetables in a large tub of water. He also helped to bunch the vegies for the neighbour’s vegetable orders to be hawkered in Laura. This job was done every Tuesday and Friday morning and the vegetables were all grown on the neighbour’s property. Peter made a gate through to the neighbours to make it easier for him to make his way over with his walking stick.” [Gladys]
Cows
“When the family moved to Peter Zwar’s place in 1945 they also took their 12 cows along too. Gladys remembers helping to drive the cows about 8 kilometres to the Laura Blocks, following with a horse and a dray load of hay. On arriving at Grandfather’s property Gladys unharnessed trhe horse to leave the drayload of hay at Grandfather’s place. She then led the draft horse close to the fence so she could get on its back and then ride it bareback to their old farm at Cowinns. “During milking Grandfather Peter was often sitting in the in the small sparator room waiting to turn the separator after the cows had all been milked. For a time they sold the milk tothe Golden North Milk Factory in Laura.” [Gladys]
Confirmation
During 1946 Gladys rode a pony for the 15 kilometres from the Laura Blocks to the Pine Creek Lutheran Church for confirmation lessons with Pastor Will Stolz, every Tuesday and Friday, 9 am to 12 noon.“ [Gladys]
Home
In 1948 Herb and Marie were able to buy their own home and land on the Laura Blocks quite close to Grandfather Peter Zwar.“ [Gladys Schild nee Schultz].
Family Home
In 1946 they moved to what would become their family home, on the banks of the picturesque Rocky River on the Laura blocks.
“Herb continued his farming work as well as other sideline activities, like growing vegetables for the local green grocer, operating a dairy and providing milk for Golden North Factory, and serving as a wood merchant. Dad farmed his own land as well as share farming for the Kennedy, Wurst and Hincks families.
During those times Marie was always at his side, helping with the farm work and preparing food for the family, also supplementing the family income by rearing hundreds of turkeys which ended up on the Christmas dinner tables of many folk in the community.“ …Verna Fiedler.
The Schultz family
Children
Marie and Herb Schultz nurtured 6 children – Ken, Gladys, Maurice, twins Glen and Verna, and Myra.
Friday Evening Treat
“Every Friday night after school the kids were given a treat, which was either a halfpenny water ice block or a penny milk iceblock from Mattiskes shop in Laura Main Street.
One day the two youngest girls Verna and Myra thought they would get some shorts on appro from the Eudunda Farmers shop in Laura. And when they paraded with them on in the kitchen, that did not go down well at all, as it was a disgrace to show their legs like that. The shorts went back the very next day.“ … Verna Fiedler.
The evening meal
“Dad would sit at the head of the table with the children seated on a long form on one side and mum on the other side. Dad seemed to take for ever to eat his meal!! us kids would have to sit and wait for him to finish. Then he took the Bible and devotion book out from the draw under the table and he would read Gods word. Dad relaxed in the evening by reading the cartoons in the Advertiser, listening to the wireless for his favourite shows, Dad and Dave, and Bob Dyer pick a Box.” … Verna Fiedler
Church
“Dad involved himself closely with mission activities in his congregation, caring for the church property, as well as serving as treasurer of Men’s Fellowship for many years. He endeavoured to share the word of the Lord by supporting financially many missions. In January 1987 he was awarded a certificate as Life Member of the Bible Society.” … Verna Fiedler.
Mother Marie
“We recall our time in the family home with deep affection. Our mother was blessed with the gracious gift of hospitality and there was always a generous variety and supply of food to nourish family and friends – especially with her noodle soup and cakes. She won various prizes for her baking in the local shows and supplied cakes and butter to local residents. Mum specialised in baking ‘Kuchen’ (German cake) and in 1978, at the age of 76, she won first prize with her ‘Kuchen’ in the Tanunda show. Competing with the Barossa skills was quite an achievement. We also recall that when the foxes, rabbits or crows were around our mother was a good shot with the 12 gauge – at one stage aiming for one crow and dropping two.
Mum was always there for her family, as well as her Lord through her church where she was an active member of the Appila Sisterhood, always available to help with catering where her skills for carving the turkey was appreciated. As we sat around the table with our parents we learned to love Jesus as they read stories and shared the faith. All who came to know our mother, loved her and came to appreciate her care, her generosity, her sense of humour and her friendly warm personality.“
…from Marie’s obituary
Milking the Cows
Kenneth and Mona Schultz have memories of their Dad and Mum.
“Dad & Mum would milk their cows real early in the mornings, We lived close to Dad & Mum, and had several cows to milk. As a young married couple we would occasionally sleep in. Dad would knock on our bedroom window for us to hurry up and milk our cows so they could all go out in the paddock together.”
Final Years
Marie lost her husband in 1987. Herbert died April 7th 1987 at the Booleroo Centre Hospital at the age of 81 years.
Marie spent her last 13 years in the Tanunda Lutheran Rest home until her life came to an end at the grand old age of 99 years and four months on July 13th 2001. All other members of her generation had predeceased her. Like her father Peter Zwar she lived to see four generations. Marie was farewelled in the Pine Creek Lutheran Church near Appila and laid to rest alongside her loving husband in the cemetery next to their Church and the School she had attended.
© Kevin P Zwar