Jacob Scheef letters (1) 7 May 1885

My husband's family are very fortunate as his great grandfather, Jacob Scheef travelled on holiday to Germany from Armidale, NSW from May to September 1885. While visiting remaining members of his family he sent many letters back to Australia and kept a diary of his time away from home.

Jacob Scheef, date unknown, personal collection

 I have previously posted Jacob Scheef's letters. However, this time I intend to add a copy of the original letter and more information about what he has written.

 (1)

European Hotel
90 Castlereagh Street
Sydney
the 7 May 1885


My Dear Wife and Children
I am glad that I feel in good health and believe far better than in New England. My knees do not trouble me at all since I left home and neither do I feel anything in my inside since I left but my new boots give me a good deal of trouble so I bought a pair of shoes as well as my other clothes. My passage I paid for yesterday and have seen the vessel I am going in it is a grand ship when I was in it I found scarce my way out of it again. Yesterday there came two German warships into the Harbour so is also the English warship Nelson and they are anchored side by side there is very little difference between the English and the German ships. I have seen today William the Mekleburger you must remember him when we were yet on the Rocky he had his right arm taken off since so have I also seen Ferdinand who was once living with Shuman and was working with us on Mount Welsh Gully and a few more Germans besides but they did not know me until I told them who I was I believe Sydney has almost doubled the population as it had two years ago they people are almost in every street as thick as they were in George street at the time I was here before and the noise from 4 o'clock in the morning until twelve o'clock at night is impossible to describe.
If you cannot get your letter to me posted before 9 o'clock on Monday morning at Armidale you may send it to Melbourne and write the address as follows


J. F. Scheef
on board the John Elder
Orient Line Main Steamer
Melbourne

We are going to start on the 12 of May so you must send the letter away from Armidale at least on Thursday morning with the Railway. You may send the letter to Adelaide if you come too late for Melbourne. Hoping you are in good health the same as it leaves me and keep so till we meet again


Your affectionate Husband and Father
Jacob F Scheef

The key points that could be investigated further:
1. Jacob stayed at the European Hotel in Castlereagh Street
2. There were 2 German war ships in the Harbour
3. The English warship Nelson was also in the Harbour
4. Jacob is sailing on the John Elder (Orient Line) and its next port was to be Melbourne
5. He saw his friends William the Mekleburger and Ferdinand who once lived with Schuman on the Rocky
7. Jacob worked on Mount Welsh Gully
8. Jacob has previously been to Sydney
Jacob stayed at the European Hotel in Castlereagh Street in Sydney. This photograph was taken a few years later in 1888.

European Hotel, 90 Castlereagh Street, Sydney (2)

The European Hotel is on the right had side of the 2 storey building. David Jones currently occupies 86-108 Castlereagh Street. 

The two German ships were the Stosch and the Marie. The Stosch was a German man-of-war ship under the command of Commodore Paschen. 

I’m sure that Jacob would have been very interested in the two German war ships which dropped anchor initially at Farm Cove. The Marie a German corvette, under command of Captain Krokisins arrived in tow with the Stosch a German man-of-war ship under the command of Commodore Paschen. 
Their arrival in Sydney was not without incident. On 27th December 1884 while sailing between Niga and Nusa the Marie lost her rudder, rudder-post, propeller and keel. It took two months to make a new rudder. The Stosch took Marie under tow on 26 April, but had to let her go in heavy seas  a few days later. For eight days the Stosch stayed close to the Marie before continuing on with the tow. 
“The Marie is armed with 10 of Krujpp’s latest thype of breech-loading rifled guns, and carry a sbot of abbout 80 German pounds. These are on the upper deck, as are also tow 87 inch guns, which are beautifully finished and equally well kept weapons of destruction. The rifles used by the seamen are the same as those on the Stosch, viz., the improved Mauser, of which there is a full supply. Then there are four Hotchkiss guns, and last, but certainly not least, torpedoes. these formidable weapons, of which three are carried, are manufactured by Schwatskoff, of Berlin, and are an improvement on the Whitehead.” (3)
It would be difficult to find out who William the Mekleberger, Ferdinand and Schuman were. However, Mount Welsh was part of the Rocky River diggings just out of Uralla.  

Jacob had arrived in Australia in September 1855 and was mining on the Rocky well before May 1859 as his family sent him a letter to the Rocky River Diggings which was postmarked during that month. 

References
1. University of New England and Regional Archives, Heritage Centre  https://www.nswera.net.au/archives/UNE0658a.htm
 2. 1888.  [84 to 90 Castlereagh Street, Sydney (NSW)  Commercial buildings, and European Hotel]
3. The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW:1842-1954), Thursday 7 May 1885, p. 6