Carl Frederick Winkler

Story

Carl Frederick Winkler and Frederica Gabert (b.c1831) arrived in Australia as a married couple on 9 November 1858. They were both born in Wurtemburg, Germany and married there in 1857. Their first child Caroline was born ‘at sea’ in July 1858 on their voyage to Australia. Caroline died on 13 January 1859 after only four weeks in the country.

The family arrived on the ship “Armin”. On board were 174 males, 86 females, 12 boys and 18 girls, all immigrants from Germany. It was a ship of 1100 tons commanded by Captain V. Sommer with a crew of 24. They left Bremen in Germany during the first half of 1858 and put into Cape of Good Hope, resuming the voyage to Sydney on 24 September and arriving in Sydney on 9 November 1858 with one case of smallpox on board. After release from quarantine, 20 of the families on board left for the Clarence River on 24 November in the schooner “Petrel”.

Carl and Frederica stayed on in Sydney and their place of residence taken from the birth certificates of their next 4 children was given as either Hunters Hill or Tarban Creek, Ryde. The area at that time was divided into farms and market gardens and as late as 1841 it was stated, “the district of Hunters Hill is infested with bushrangers”. So it is hard to imagine how life might have been for the newcomers. Carl’s occupation varied from that of a builder on the death certificate of their first born Caroline, to stonemason and farmer on later certificates.

After spending around seven years in Sydney they travelled to the Clarence River where they lived in Queen Street, Grafton. It is not known when they moved to Ramornie but Carl and Frederica are buried in the Ramornie Pioneer Cemetery having died in 1903 and 1914.

Their 2 daughters married Schumacher sons, three of their four sons married Marsh sisters, daughters of John Marsh and his wife Jane (nee Partridge). Their other son William married Mary Ann Coles.

Carl and Frederica’s son Charles Winkler, born 1863 was my great grandfather who married Jane Marsh in 1889.

Charles and Jane’s 1st of 9 children, Charles, born 1890 was killed in action on 8 August 1916 in France in the battle of Pozieres. His name, Charles Richard Winkler appears as one name amongst 11,000 names of Australian soldiers on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in the Somme, France. His mother Jane drew back the flags on the day the Roll of Honour was unveiled in Ramornie, Charles being the first of 45 from Ramornie to fall.

Their other children were John Henry, Elizabeth Rebecca, Vera Jane, Clarice Ray, Florence May, James Louis, Stanley Edward and Elsie Gladys

Charles and Jane’s 5th child Florence May Winkler was my maternal grandmother born 1901 at Ramornie. Florence’s 2nd child was Thelma May, my mother.

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