Early Life in South Australia
Carl Otto Georg ADOLPH, born in 1863, was the seventh child of Friedrich August ADOLPH and Wilhelmine Christiane STEIF, and the first of their children to be born in South Australia. Baptised on June 21, 1863, at Friedrichswalde (formerly Little Plain), South Australia, church records noted that his parents were not congregation members. Later, when confirmed in the Catholic Church, the priest recorded;
“He has been a Lutheran, or at least supposed to be, but was never baptised in any church before.”
dismissing the Lutheran baptism. The priest also recorded his name as Otto James ADOLPH. On June 6, 1888, under the name Otto James ADOLPH, he married Ellen GOODFELLOW, daughter of Edward Goodfellow and Susan Collins, at the Marrabel Catholic Church, SA. At the time, Otto was a farmer in Marrabel.
Ellen ADOLPH, nee GOODFELLOW – Photo Ancestry.com.au
The Call of the Goldfields
In 1895, Otto, along with his brothers Ernst Friedrich Heinrich (known as Fritz or Fred) and Hugo, ventured to the Western Australian goldfields, drawn by the promise of fortune. By 1901, Otto and Ellen lived on Golconda Street, Kanowna, about 13 miles from Kalgoorlie. Otto worked as a miner at the White Feather Main Reef gold mine. Tragically, on November 15, 1904, Otto, aged 51, died after missing his footing and falling 80 feet down a winze—a shaft connecting mine levels—from the 800-foot level. An inquest followed, and he was laid to rest in Kanowna Cemetery.
The Western Argus described Otto as a well-respected, long-time Kanowna resident. His funeral notices reflected his community ties:
- Loyal Orange Institution, Earl of Hopetoun Lodge, No. 3: Members were requested to attend Otto’s funeral, departing from the White Feather Hospital at 3:30 p.m.
- Kanowna Miners Union (A.W.A.): Comrades were invited to join the procession, led by Secretary D.M. Wilson, for interment in the local cemetery.
Ellen returned to South Australia, remarried Henry Lutt in 1907, and passed away on March 1, 1955, in Glen Osmond, South Australia. The couple had no children.
Ernst Friedrich Heinrich (Fred) ADOLPH
Fred, born March 18, 1859, in Sommerfeld, Prussia, married Elizabeth MARSH, daughter of George Henry Marsh and Emma Sheppard, on February 2, 1885, at St. Phillips Church, south of Marrabel, SA. George Marsh worked as a station hand at Anlaby Station. Fred later served as the informant on Otto’s death certificate.
L-R – The three Adolph Brothers & family – Ernst Friedrich – his wife Elizabeth, Frederick William (boy) -Hugo – Mathilda “Tilly” – Carl Otto – c 1898 – Photo Ethel Marr.
Fred and Elizabeth had five children, but only two survived: Frederick William and Mathilda “Tilly” ADOLPH. Their daughter Minnie, born in Kanowna, lived only one day. Elizabeth died in 1929 from a gastric ulcer and postoperative pneumonia in Perth’s public hospital. She was buried in the Anglican section of Karrakatta Cemetery, described as a married woman from Meekatharra.
Her son, Frederick William, also known as Fred or later Mick, was born in 1886 in South Australia and moved to Western Australia as a child. In 1919, he married Louisa Mary MENGHINI in Youanmi, WA. Frederick worked as a miner in Sandstone, Mount Magnet, and Cue, as listed in the Western Australian Post Office directories. By 1922, the couple had settled in Perth, where Louisa ran a greengrocery in Subiaco, and Frederick operated a refreshment room in North Perth.
In the early 1950s, Frederick and Louisa visited South Australia, reconnecting with his aunt Anna Sophia ADOLPH in Port Adelaide and cousin Emily WILSON in Mildura. Frederick shared the above 1898 photograph of the three brothers on the Goldfields—Otto, Fred, and Hugo—with Elizabeth and their children Frederick William and Mathilda, set against a goldfields A-frame shanty made of saplings, hessian, and leafy boughs. Louisa died on October 5, 1951, aged 51, and Frederick passed on February 2, 1967, in Dalkeith, aged 83. They were buried together in Karrakatta Cemetery’s Catholic section, survived by their only child, Patricia Margaret.
Mathilda “Tilly” Williams, née ADOLPH, born in Kapunda, South Australia, died on October 14, 1921, at age 33 from erysipelas caused by a black spider bite at Cue. She was married to George Edward WILLIAMS in 1907. She lived at Jasper Hill near Cue and was the mother of five children. She is buried in Cue Cemetery.
Hugo ADOLPH and the Gold Nugget
Hugo, the eldest brother, born in 1850 in Prussia, arrived in South Australia at age 11. Despite their sister Anna’s pleas, warning of the goldfields’ harsh conditions with no roads, water, or inhabitants, the brothers pursued their dream. They promised Anna the first gold nugget they found, naming their claim “Faith, Hope, and Charity” to reflect their faith in finding gold, hope for success, and the gift of the nugget to Anna. Months later, Anna received the nugget, which Wendt’s Jewellers crafted into a stock pin with a cross, anchor, and heart, symbolising faith, hope, and charity (possibly now in the WA Museum Collection). Anna’s fears proved true; none of the brothers ever returned to South Australia.
Faith, Hope and Charity stock Pin – Image Ethel Marr
Hugo, listed as a farmer in Marrabel, SA in 1897, later ran a market garden in Kanowna, Western Australia, until 1917. Unmarried, he died in 1920 and is buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery.
A Legacy of Adventure
The ADOLPH brothers’ story reflects the enduring adventurous spirit inherited from their German immigrant parents. Leaving behind the comforts of South Australia, they braved the rugged goldfields, seeking new opportunities despite hardships. Their legacy, carried by descendants scattered across Australia, embodies the same bold pursuit of a better life that drove their parents to cross oceans.
Source: Information provided by Ethel Marr, 1994.
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