Welcome to the 'NEWS' page of our website.
Here we will bring you new snippets of information of our great family history as they become available . To start the ball rolling we have some exciting news about several donations of books which have been made by a number of family members. It's important that our history is widely distributed and we would like to see copies of An Eye to the Sky in as many schools, universities, colleges, local museums and libraries as possible. If you would like to purchase an additional copy or copies for donation to your local library etc then please contact us. We still have a lot of books available for sale and we need to get them out there where the public can appreciate them.
If you have a short piece of news you would like to add (as long as it's not too long), then please send it to us and we will have it added to this page.
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Here we will bring you new snippets of information of our great family history as they become available . To start the ball rolling we have some exciting news about several donations of books which have been made by a number of family members. It's important that our history is widely distributed and we would like to see copies of An Eye to the Sky in as many schools, universities, colleges, local museums and libraries as possible. If you would like to purchase an additional copy or copies for donation to your local library etc then please contact us. We still have a lot of books available for sale and we need to get them out there where the public can appreciate them.
If you have a short piece of news you would like to add (as long as it's not too long), then please send it to us and we will have it added to this page.
~~~~~~~~
A generous donation of a copy of our wonderful history has been made to The Southport School by Euan and Doral Law and Garry and Jenny Webster.
The Law and Webster families have long been associated with TSS, several generations having attended the school.
The twin-volume history of An Eye to the Sky was donated to the school in appreciation of the contribution TSS has made to enriching the lives of family members.
For more information please see: The Old Southportonians’ Review, No 142 Summer 2013 edition.
(Contributed by Euan & Doral Law).
The Law and Webster families have long been associated with TSS, several generations having attended the school.
The twin-volume history of An Eye to the Sky was donated to the school in appreciation of the contribution TSS has made to enriching the lives of family members.
For more information please see: The Old Southportonians’ Review, No 142 Summer 2013 edition.
(Contributed by Euan & Doral Law).
Left to right: Doral Law; Euan Law (McKinley House, 1949); Mr Alan Parsons (deputy headmaster);
Garry Webster (Thorold House, 1963) and Jenny Webster.
Presentation made to The Southport School during the Old Boys' reunion on 27 July, 2013.
Photograph courtesy of The Southport School
Garry Webster (Thorold House, 1963) and Jenny Webster.
Presentation made to The Southport School during the Old Boys' reunion on 27 July, 2013.
Photograph courtesy of The Southport School
Here's more great news!!!!!
Our wonderful family history, An Eye to the Sky has been 'Highly Commended' during the 2012 T.T. Reed Award for family history. We are so proud that the work of all the family in publishing this book has been recognised in this way.
Above is a photograph of Copland and Paul Schmidt with David McGowan (centre) during the presentation of the certificate. Congratulations to all concerned.
We knew we had a great book and this just proves it!
Above is a photograph of Copland and Paul Schmidt with David McGowan (centre) during the presentation of the certificate. Congratulations to all concerned.
We knew we had a great book and this just proves it!
Graham Savage and Judith Spring present Vicki Hutchinson, acting manager of the Mt Gambier Library, with a copy of
An Eye to the Sky.
28 November, 2012.
Photograph courtesy of the Border Watch
Graham and Margaret Savage, and Eric and Judith Spring all of Mount Gambier, SA, have generously donated a copy of
our family history, An Eye to the Sky to the Mt Gambier Library.
Graham and Judith are descended from one of the earliest settlers of Mt. Gambier, Hans Johann Jochim ‘Joachim’
Schmidt and his wife Hanna (née Klowss) who came to ‘the Mount’ in about 1860. Joachim and Hanna had eleven children, two dying as infants, a son at birth and a daughter at three months. Their second child, Henry was the
patriarch of the long line of Schmidts in Queensland.
Joachim and Hanna’s daughters were Julia Anna Augusta Schmidt, Anna Bertha Schmidt, Maria Helena Schmidt,
Wilhelmina Louisa ‘Minna’ Schmidt, Amalia Dorothea ‘Dora’ Schmidt, Julia Augusta Schmidt, Sophia Matilda Schmidt, Ida Matilda Schmidt, Auguste Emilie Schmidt.
Of these, seven would marry into many of the long-standing families of Mt Gambier.
(Anna Bertha) Boehnke; (Maria Helena) Dunkel; (Wilhelmina Louisa) Patzel; (Amalia Dorothea) Milton; (Julia Augusta)
Hoelsken: (Ida Matilda) Cameron: and (Auguste Emilie) Bodey families.
Graham Savage is a descendant of Amalia Milton (née Schmidt) and Judith Spring is a daughter of
Auguste Bodey (née Schmidt).
Judith Spring is a grand-daughter of Hans Johann Jochim ‘Joachim’Schmidt who was one of the ten Schmidt family
immigrants who came to Australia in the 1840s and 1850s. She is one of the few surviving third generation descendants.
Contributed by Paul & Copland Schmidt
Rear (L to R) Brian Schmidt, Audrey Schmidt, Trish Lear, Fran Shute.
Front (L-R) Eric Finck and Florence Finck.
Presentation of An Eye to the Sky
to Genealogy SA, 12 December, 2012
A copy of An Eye to the Sky has been donated to Genealogy SA, (formerly the Genealogy & Heraldry Society of SA.) by the Schmidt and Finck families of South Australia. Genealogy SA holds a large library of family history publications which are often of great help to researchers.
The Finck family descended from Dorothea FINCK (née Schmidt) & her husband Christian FINCK.
The Schmidt family descended from Christian SCHMIDT & Margaretha SCHMIDT (née Severin). These families all
settled in the area of Moppa near the Barossa Valley, South Australia. Eric FINCK, aged 97 years, pictured sitting at front is the grandson of Christian & Dorothea FINCK.
Contributed by Brian and Audrey Schmidt
Brian & Audrey Schmidt.
Audrey presented a copy of An Eye to the Sky to the
State Library of S.A. on 1 February, 2013.
A copy of An Eye to the Sky has been donated to the State Library of South Australia by Audrey & the family of the late Keith Schmidt of South Australia.
Keith & Audrey spent many years touring around the country visiting relatives and gathering information. Keith
would have been amazed to see the final compilation of all their work.
This branch of the Schmidt family descended from Christian Schmidt& Margaretha Schmidt (née Severin). Christian and Margaretha arrived in SA in 1854 and settled in the area of Moppa near the Barossa Valley South Australia
Contributed by Brian and Audrey Schmidt
Paul Schmidt, Copland Schmidt, Jonathan Hensman (headmaster) and Peter Schmidt
Presentation made on 28 February, 2013
Photograph courtesy of
Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie)
Members of the Schmidt family have a long association with the Anglican Church Grammar School, East Brisbane, fondly referred to as Churchie by all who have been associated with it.
It is a large private day and boarding school for boys from primary years through to matriculation.
Indeed, four generations of our family beginning with James Carl Schmidt have been privileged to attend this great public school.
Recently, when our family history publication An Eye to the Sky was being bound at Craftsman
Bookbinders in Brisbane, it was seen by David Murray, an old boy of Churchie when visiting his friend, the owner of the business.
David practises as an architect in Brisbane and has maintained a very close association with Churchie since his school days.
David contacted us and said that in his opinion the history An Eye to the Sky was one of the most remarkable publications he had ever seen.
He was most impressed with the extensive research that had gone into the project, the layout and the quality and number of magnificently restored photographs.
He asked if we had given any thought to selling a copy to the school library.
Paul and Copland Schmidt, and Peter Schmidt subsequently decided that they would be delighted to donate this family history set to the school in appreciation of the wonderful education and range
of other benefits gained by the boys of this Schmidt family line during the years they attended Churchie.
Consequently, it was arranged that the history would be handed over to the school on 28 February, 2013
in the presence of the headmaster, Mr. Jonathan Hensman, the archivist, Mr. Peter Collin and
Mr. Warren Sturgess.
Contributed by Paul and Copland Schmidt