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German Club, Sydney

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The German Club
Der Deutsche Verein
Formation1853
Dissolved1915
Location
Coordinates33°51′58″S 151°12′41″E / 33.866134°S 151.211343°E / -33.866134; 151.211343

The German Club (German: Der Deutsche Verein) was a private club founded in 1853 and located in Sydney, New South Wales, at 89 Phillip Street. Its membership was men-only and was the oldest gentlemen's club in Australia catering specifically to the German-Australian community prior to the First World War, upon which by 1915 it had closed amid a tide of Anti-German sentiment in Australia.

History

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Early years

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With the growing German community in the Colony of New South Wales in the second half of the 19th century, the club was established on 26 September 1853 as a result of the "want of a place of resort having been generally felt by the daily increasing number of educated people of different classes". It was established with the expressed purpose of being "a place of social resort open to the members for the purposes of reading, conversation, singing, etc."[1]

Established prior to the unification of German in 1871, the club catered to Germans of all nationalities in the colony. In November 1858, the club, located on its new premises on Wynyard Square, hosted the crew of the Austro-Hungarian naval ship, SMS Novara, commanded by Bernhard von Wüllerstorf-Urbair, which was visiting Sydney as part of its round-the-world scientific expedition.[2] In September 1857, a committee was set up at the club with the expressed purpose for sending another expedition to look for the missing explorer Ludwig Leichhardt, who was last heard of in 1848. The 1858 expedition was to be led by fellow explorer Augustus Gregory.[3]

The club moved from Wynyard Square in 1862 in favour of new premises on O'Connell Street. By the 1880s, the club had moved to 55 Castlereagh Street. On 2 October 1890, a fire broke out in buildings adjacent to the club, resulting in significant damage as a result of the flames and falling masonry.[4] As a consequence, the club was forced to move to new temporary premises at 29 Hosking Place until its new club house at 89 Phillip Street was completed.[5] In August 1893, the new club house was completed at a cost of £10, 600 and membership that year stood at 150.[6] The grand new club house was designed by Melbourne architect Richard Loweish, built by Eaton Brothers, and consisted of three floors with an additional basement level, bar, billiard room, dining hall, concert hall, reading and committee rooms and 13 rooms for accommodation on the top floor.[7][8]

Closure

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With the outbreak of the First World War, the future of the German Club was uncertain, with many members leaving or being interned. In November 1914, the club was thoroughly searched by Police who noted that "In no instance, was anything discovered to cause it to be thought that these clubs were being used for purposes inimical to national interests." With the Australian German community facing great strain with the outbreak of war and rising anti-German sentiment, the club resolved to establish a small fund "for the use of distressed Germans in New South Wales."[9] Meanwhile, in Parliament the Premier, William Holman, was asked on 13 November 1914 whether it was his government's intention to revoke the licenses of the various German clubs in Sydney. Holman replied it was not and, in any case, he "was not in favor or an attitude of unnecessary hostility being adopted to German residents."[10]

On 13 May 1915, the Secretary of the German Club notified the Inspector-General of Police, James Mitchell, that it was the club's intention to voluntarily close given the heightened threat of damage and violence with Anti-German sentiment rising in Sydney following the sinking of the RMS Lusitania on 7 May.[11] This did not deter attention from the club, however, because as the war developed so did anti-German hatred continue to grow within the city. Thus attention continued to be given by the public and the press to anything remotely German within the city. The Mirror of Australia on 10 October 1915, in a similar vein, reported that the German club premises were being used to house Germans who had been rejected from other hotels within the city: "Why should the members of these institutions be permitted the slightest consideration whilst their countrymen are committing outrages in the highways and byways of Europe?".[12]

On 1 December 1915, the closed club premises were attacked by a mob of soldiers who threw stones, breaking every facade window of the club. The mob was shortly after broken up by police, assigned to protect the property from damage.[13] One soldier, Private Gordon Robertson, was apprehended by police and charged with malicious damage and riotous behaviour. Robertson appeared before Special Magistrate Clarke and was fined £5 for each offence, and ordered to pay £1, 2 shillings, in damages. Clarke noted to Robertson that "There is too much of this kind of thing. You are a disgrace to the military uniform and a disgrace to Australia."[14][15][16] Later that month, the club made an application to renew its license, intending to eventually reopen. However the Licensing Court refused to entertain such a renewal until after the war.[17]

Club premises

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By December 1916, the club had entirely closed and the premises were put up for sale. After a protracted sale process, in April 1917 the club became the home of the Highland Society of New South Wales, which undertook some minor alteration in 1921.[18][19][20] The Highland Society remained there until December 1932 when the former club premises were again sold to the Commonwealth Wool and Produce Company Ltd, which undertook substantial alterations to the interior in 1933 to accommodate their offices.[21][22] The former club house was eventually demolished in 1947 when it was resumed by the City of Sydney in a road expansion scheme in the CBD.[23] Many of the traditions of the German Club were continued by its sister club since 1883, the Concordia Club, which today also goes by the secondary name of Deutscher Verein (DV; "German Club").[24]

Notable members

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Rules of the German Club in Sydney". State Library of Victoria. Sydney: The German Club, Sydney. 1853. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  2. ^ "NOVARA DINNER[?] AT THE GERMAN CLUB, WYNYARD-SQUARE". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 29 November 1858. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  3. ^ "EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF DR. LEICHARDT". The Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser. NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 September 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  4. ^ "REPORT OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE FIRE BRIGADES". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 3 October 1890. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  5. ^ "CASTLEREAGH-STREET". Illustrated Sydney News. NSW: National Library of Australia. 11 October 1890. p. 16. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  6. ^ "STRANGERS WITHIN OUR GATES". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 26 August 1893. p. 4. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Valuable City Property Fronting Phillip Street". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 December 1916. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  8. ^ "THE NEW GERMAN CLUB". The Daily Telegraph. New South Wales, Australia. 14 August 1893. p. 5. Retrieved 10 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "GERMAN CLUB IN SYDNEY". The Sydney Stock and Station Journal. NSW: National Library of Australia. 27 November 1914. p. 6. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  10. ^ "GERMAN CLUBS IN SYDNEY". The Farmer & Settler. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 14 November 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  11. ^ "GERMAN CLUBS". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 14 May 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  12. ^ "THE GERMAN CLUBS". The Mirror of Australia. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 10 October 1915. p. 2. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  13. ^ "BOISTEROUS SOLDIERS. CITY SCENES". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 2 December 1915. p. 10. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  14. ^ "SMASHING GERMAN CLUB WINDOWS". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. NSW: National Library of Australia. 17 February 1916. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  15. ^ ""DISGRACE TO AUSTRALIA."". Evening News. Sydney, NSW: National Library of Australia. 16 February 1916. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  16. ^ Robertson went absent without leave on 21 January 1916; was later discharged by the army for his conviction and his misconduct on 13 March 1916. NAA: B2455, ROBERTSON GORDON.
  17. ^ "GERMAN CLUB LICENSES". Daily Examiner. Grafton, NSW: National Library of Australia. 8 December 1915. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  18. ^ "THE GERMAN CLUB". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 27 July 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  19. ^ "SCOTSMEN PURCHASE THE GERMAN CLUB". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 12 April 1917. p. 8. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  20. ^ "Building Application (BA) Plans - Phillip St (89) (A-00573170)". City of Sydney Archives. 1921. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  21. ^ "PROPERTY SALE". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 21 December 1932. p. 12. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  22. ^ "Building Application (BA) Plans - Phillip St (89) (A-00583149)". City of Sydney Archives. 1933. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Elizabeth Street Extension May Begin Soon". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 7 January 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  24. ^ "Concordia Club, Sydney". www.concordiaclub.org.au. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  25. ^ Terri McCormack, 'Betche, Ernst (1851–1913)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/betche-ernst-2988/text4365, published first in hardcopy 1969, accessed online 16 December 2015.
  26. ^ "MR. H. H. GROTH". Evening News. No. 11, 158. New South Wales, Australia. 17 March 1903. p. 3. Retrieved 23 October 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^ "Wilhelm von der Heyde". Strathfield Heritage. Strathfield Council. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  28. ^ "BANQUET AT THE GERMAN CLUB". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 18 April 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
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