This page is ordered as far as possible by generation, where:
Samuel Johann and Anna Thiele and some of their family immigrated to South Australia in 1837. One of his son’s daughters (Johanne Louise Thiele) was the mother of Herbert Thiele’s mother.
They arrived in South Australia with Pastor August Kavel’s people aboard the ship Prince George in December 1837. The family consisted of Samuel Thiele, his wife Anna Rosina Schulz, and their sons Johann Christian and his wife Anna Dorothea nee Klenke, Johann Friedrich, Johann Wilhelm and Johann August. A sister of Samuel’s, Johanne Christiane and her husband Johann Friedrich Suss, also travelled with them.
The story of the arrival of the 54 Lutheran families on the Prince George and their establishment of the town of Handorf in the Adelaide Hills is told in the book “Early Handorf and the Pioneer Women’s Trail’.
Johann Friedrich Hanfried Thiele arrived in Australia aged 26 with his parents Samuel Johann and Anna Thiele (see above). One of his daughters (Johanne Louise Thiele) was the mother of Herbert Thiele’s mother.
Johann and Johanne (and possibly her aunt Anna Elisabeth Schulz) were alloted lot 16, next to Johann’s parents her were allocated Lot 17.
Johann Gottlob Thiele and his family arrived in Melbourne Australia aboard the Wilhelmsburg on 24 August 1853 aged 40 or 41.
Johann is the paternal great-great-grandfather of Herbert Heinrich Thiele.
Friedrich Charles Thiele was the father of Neville Thiele’s mother (Amanda Thiele) – one of the four daughters mentioned in this newspaper death notice.
Friedrich Wilhelm Thiele (born 1873) was the paternal grandfather of Neville Thiele. John Frederick Thiele (the subject of this snippet) was the youngest brother of Frederich Wilhelm Thiele) – that is, Neville Thiele’s uncle.
As children we (Neville’s children) were told by Amanda Thiele (Neville’s mother) that a horrible thing had happened in the family, but she would never say anything more about it. Sleuthing by Wendy uncovered this newspaper article about the murder trial of John Frederick Thiele in 1928.
The newspaper is available at: Adelaide Chronicle July 28, 1928.
Tabacco tin found by Ted Wettern on the farm he purchased in Wangaratta East. The property was given the name ‘Lucky Hit’ after the name on the tin.. Photograph courtesy of Greg Wettern. The tin was donated to a cafe in Pialba, Qld.
In 1999 I (Glenn) visited by grandmother – with my sister Dianne. We video recorded this conversation we had with her.
The second clip is actually an earlier (1991) audio recording of Glenn and Jenny chatting with my grandmother.
When she mentions the current owners of the farm – they were John and Judy Russell from Yarra Glen. I met them in 2025, and they were planning on selling the property at the end if 2025.
Handwritten letter from Rhoda Kubenk to her sister Amanda Thiele, probably written in early 1961.
It reads:
Western Flat
March 1st
Dear Sister Amanda,
I’ll write a little + put it in with the invite card. Oss is away at Synod at Lyndoch he is delegate. I had Basil here Sat. afternoon till Sunday afternoon, a friend of his was with him. He had a weeks holiday, stayed at Mt Gambier, went to Portland on his way back, he called in at Ruebins Popke[?] he has a different house keeper, he seemed quite happy Basil said. Dawn has another son (Richard Mervin). Vic bought some more land, Garry[?] Franhs farm, only 450 acres, but a lovely new house, & the land is close to [???], so they are really lucky to get land so close, so now they won’t have to build. Basil didn’t know whether he would marry this year yet. They had a wonderful harvest, the best ever he’s had. Garry Frahn has gone to W. Aust, his wife runs around with other men, so she can’t’ be much, has
(page 2)
Spent all Garry’s money, he is too kind hearted. Perhaps Gert has written you these news already. Well my shrubs look as if they are all dead, the ones from you, the grasshoppers use to eat the leaves, & some were getting green & now the heat scorched them again so I can’t see any green, hope they do come out again, its been a very hot summer. We have plenty of rock melons also watermelons. How are Owens melons, his birthday is too, wish him many happy returns from me.
So our boys spoke to Neville at the camp, they were very tired when they came home, but they enjoyed it though, they even went in a plane. The wedding is getting close only 5 weeks from Sat, we are going to do the catering ourselves, with the help of a few ladies, & having the League members as waitresses & waiters. Will be around 100 guests, but I think a lot may not come of Wasleys relatives. Hope you can come & Herb. I’m asking all but I know
(page 3)
you can’t all come, I suppose Neville won’t be coming, you wrote his wedding would be the 22nd April, has he altered it, as Colin said it would be in May, so Neville told him. I haven’t bought my turn out yet, want to get winter frock. Wilma bought her bridal frock, its still in town. I haven’t seen it, she says its plain, the cheapest she could get & that was quite expensive too yet.
Manda if you come over, the day before or so don’t stay at a hotel come here as we will have room (beds) for you.
I have made tomato sauce, preserved tomatoes and also made tomato jam, have plenty tomatoes, ?alen picked two cases in a little over a week, we also have a lot of fresh marrows.
Well I must close it is 10 oclock, so hoping to see some of you over for the 8th April.
Hope you are well. Lots of love
Sis Rhoda xxx
Handwritten note by Nancy Thiele (Wettern), probably written in the 2010s, before her dementia took hold.
It reads:
My mother became completely deaf after the birth of Joyce my younger sister, so in our younger years, communication was hard. Joyce & I were like the second family as Pearl & Lyell were 10 years older. My parents lived through the great depression & moved from N.S.W. to Wangaratta, Vic. This was a time of great hardship for them.
Mum grew all her own vegies, a big fruit orchard, made her own soap, had bees, sheep, pigs, cows to milk & grew wheat & oats. They had to farm using horses to pull the scarifiers etc.
Dad used to rise in the dark to yoke the horses & get ready for the day’s work. I recall our first tractor & some new machinery – e.g. hay baler. We had no electricity so no lights, refrig, TV — only kerosene lamps & candles to go to bed.
Mum soaked the washing Sun nights, then she would rub the clothes on the scrubbing board, then boil it in the copper, then a blue rinse by hand & that all began at about 6 A.M.
We milked cows, separated the milk, made butter from cream. Had to chop and cart wood.
Below is a compilation of Nancy’s thoughts about her brother. Neville recorded them, and then Lyell’s son Greg reviewed and added to them, resulting in the following:
Nancy has mentioned a few items about her close and loved brother.
In early days –
“Lucky Hit” farming property at East Wangaratta. Nancy used to sneak into his room & tried to strum his guitar and used to look around to see any evidence if he had a girl friend.
On a Saturday night he used to have a bath and a shave, coming out smelling pretty good. Lyell would have been in his 20s Nancy 10 yrs younger. Nancy & Joyce used to follow him & used to get told to go home.
Lyell’s room may have been accessed from outside?
The farm got it’s name from a tobacco tin laying on the ground, that Ted (Grandpa) picked up off the ground, when the family arrived at the new home.
It was either before or after the bee’s frame wire incident, that Lyell was playing with a model steam engine (a donkey engine) which caught on fire or exploded in his face, it may have been Nancy or Joyce that helped with dressing his wounds?
The electricity wires may have been high tension wires crossing the property to power the dredge working it’s way up the creek towards Eldorado. It was lucky the bee’s frame wire was light and didn’t carry much electricity, explaining why it was thrown off the high tension line. Where the electricity ran to ground through Lyell, he had burn marks on his feet from the nails in his shoes.
That roll of wire layed around for years, like the tobbacco tin.
One instance was when he had a roll of thin wire and threw it over the power line and there were sparks and he was thrown to the ground but thankfully recovered.
Around 1940 a large bush fire went through the district burning most the farm. Lyell & a couple of his mates, were on a fire truck and two were killed. Maybe Lyell was not on that truck. The accident happened in what is known as “The “Arcade” where the gum trees grow over the road, the truck was trying to get back to Wangaratta, and 2 of Lyell’s mates hitched a ride on the back of the truck they perished in the process. There is a monument erected on the site.
Stan, who was courting Perl at this stage, went back to his farm and got a water cart, Lyell, Stan and someone else went around and around the perimeter of the house paddock putting out spot fires as they crossed the fence line. They may have saved the house?
This may have been stage 2 of the fire, as had been extinguished the day before, but some smouldering roots down at the creek reignited it.
Lyell attended the Technical school doing a plumbing course. Lyell was pretty good at this, but was needed at elsewhere so he never completed it, Perhaps he used to ride his pushbike to school in Wang, and later Grandpa (Ted) let him use the car sometimes.
Lyell saved money from selling rabbits for his first car, but it’s not clear how this fits together. Used to work baling hay around the district.
Ted was into new technology and was among the first in the area to adopt/purchase new farming equipment, maybe this was an idea he brought with him from Henty.
Along with other farmers they all helped in the creation/perfection of the Sunshine Harvester and the square bale machine. One of Teds brothers Percy, held a patent on one of the bits for the harvester. Once when Ted bought a new tractor fitted with a new idea of rubber tyres, he didn’t trust them so he got the dealer to throw in the steel wheels with the deal, as it turned out a good decision, as the diamond pattern tyres were pretty rubbish.
Ted had a crew (that included Lyell) doing contract harvesting/baling all around the area.
Around about 1947 the farm property was put on sale for a good price but before settlement the Soldier Settlement Commission claimed it for a much lower price. Lyell spoke of this often, and sound like a typical government rip-off. Other farms in the area were similarly acquired.
Though devastated, the Wetterns set up in Wangaratta, building a house in Meldrum Street. Then operating a cement brick making machine in partnership with another local for several years. The brick making business was operated in conjunction with Bill Hill, Lyell and Bill made the Bricks for the church, and possibly both houses Meldrum and Dixon Streets.
The Meldrum St block was attached to another block out the back, house on the corner, and a house on the other side, Ted bought most of this except for maybe the house on the corner (The Ridd Sisters).
Ted also bought a couple of houses over the road (highway) from old caravan yard. That later Joyce and Nancy(?) set up business in.
The following is a rough approximation to what I can remember being told.
The next event in Lyell’s life would have been with his father in renting the then vacant block next to the Post Office in partnership with Allan Capp selling second hand cars. This seemed to have commenced by Lyell repairing and spray painting s/hand cars in a work shop behind the Meldrum Street house. This proved very successful and resulted to even driving to Melbourne on Saturday mornings buying large American cars which were eagerly sought by the tobacco growers in the Myrtleford area.
The business was successful and resulted in “Wettern & Capp” moving to larger site along the highway. This could have been when in part Holdens first came on to the market.
Ted was bored with being retired so he started travelling around with Alan Capp, a rabbit buyer purchasing rabbits, and on some of the properties they saw old cars that were being discarded, they started buying them and bringing them back to the property/shed behind Meldrum street. Here they repaired/painted these cars and resold them. The business was very successful, eventually a few if them would pile into a car with a big bunch of cash. drive to Melbourne, and drive the newly aquired cars home.
They outgrew the block behind Meldrum St, and Moved the Sales yard up to near the post office. I(Greg) have a vague memory of this but think at one stage they were also around near the Police Station?
Lyell.s father (Ted) was not happy with the business transactions and sought $5,000.00 for his share in the business from Allan Capp. Lyell was disappointed but ventured to set up a Caravan business, with a Millard agency also hiring out caravans. The business was a big cash business and the accountant had them paying little/no tax, Ted had cash stuffed in mattresses and was worried about dying and leaving Gertie (Grandma) with a big problem. He decided to come clean with the Tax office.
Alan Capp was not so keen, the partnership fractured and Ted wound up with a big tax bill.
Lyell was still working out the back repairing/spray painting cars, but was not happy with the conditions/wages so later he left the car business also. In the sheds that were previously the workshop for car repairs Lyell and Ted purchased some woodworking equipment, and Lyell started building bondwood caravans, (he built 3 or 5?). This became the caravan repair workshop with open access to the Meldrum Street house and sheds.
Later they rented the corner block nearby on the highway (from the Ridd sisters). Acquired a Carapark dealership and started selling new and used caravans. Later they adding Millard, Jayco and some other dealerships. Hume Highway Caravans would have been one of the oldest dealerships in Australia. After a time when a larger site was required , he purchased a vacant block of an acre in area. This was in a low area and Lyell was able to get filling when substantial sewerage works were required in the township. Lyell’s ingenuity in fitting a blade to a Ferguson tractor to level out thousands of cubic metres of soil to a depth of 3 ft. over most of the block.
Tone Road was leased from the government, with the conditions of sale involved improving the block and paying rent for several years.
Lyell had earler built a Tractor for towing the vans around from a wrecked Austin A30, with a grader blade fitted, later he purchased a grey Fergy and made a blade from 2 steering boxes and a cutting edge from a grader blade. They were installing the natural gas pipe line so the Tone road site was a convenient dumping ground for them.
I (Greg) can remember getting trailer loads of gravel from Eldorado (6 x 12 trailer) filled and emptied many times by hand.
An office and a large workshop building was erected on the block when levelled enabled more vans to be displayed. Betty, his wife played an important part in the business, looking after all the book keeping.
Lyell”s part in the erection of the church in Wangaratta, working bees and maintenance over many years was substantial.
His faith and belief in his Lord and Saviour Christ stood out by his regular attendance in worship without fail. That aspect continued in his time over the 30 years in Hervey Bay. The loss of his wife Betty some 25 years ago was deep.. He followed in the footsteps of his father, who had little education but trusted sincerely in his Saviour through many years and difficulties along his life.
