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.
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| Jacob Scheef - personal collection |
John Elder Adelaide
the 17 May 1885
My dear wife and children
I wrote to you from Melbourne and also I received a letter from you
of the same same content as the one I got in Sydney when I wrote last I was
not yet in the city so could tell you nothing of it since I have
seen a good deal of it Directly we were on the wharf I went and
posted my letter and had one or two hours in the city the Sydney
is a fine city but is not a patch to Melbourne because the
street are all two chains wide and are all straight the next
day I went again and seen the Exhibition Building as well
as the aquarium with all the fishes also the Museum and the
Botanical Gardens and the Town in general the country
around the city is nice and green something Spring
the 16 at morning 7 o’clock we left the wharf and outside
again about twelve the same head wind again as from
Sydney now arrived went to work again because we had
same weather as from Sydney. We are about 100 now in the
steerage amongst are 4 Germans, 2 Wurttemberg one
Saxe one Holstein which comes from the Murray River
has land there and comes back here again our steaming is
the same there is always to be seen on the right land
last night at dusk we passed Cape Ottway about 100
miles from Melbourne we expect to reach Adelaide this
evening where I will post this my health remains good
and I don’t think you will receive another letter before
3 weeks as they have coal that will bring us through the
red sea so my next letter probably will be from Naples
So I wish Good bye for the present and trust that you
are all well and remain so.
Your loving Husband
and Father
Jacob F Scheef
it is very bad writing on board ship
The Melbourne Exhibition Building 1880 the south-west aspect of the main hall - Joseph Reed
In February 1885, Australia's first aquarium opened in the Royal Exhibition buildings. It was reported in the Melbourne Punch on 14th May 1885 that the Aquarium is making very rapid strides in public favour judging by the number of visitors.
If Jacob's wife Christina and his children had access to a newspaper reporting about the aquarium they would have had a better idea about what Jacob had experienced.
A charming bit of rock bound coast was first seen -mwith a strip of sandy, pebbly beach, all so real that the sea-lions disporting themselves in their little bay might readily believethat the great ocean lay before them to explore, if the chose. ... The water... is kept always in motion by the currents of air passed through it, to preserve the health of the fish. There are many varietis of them, from the silvery mullet, or whiting to the spotted flathead or flounder and the reddish gurnard. The schnapper and the sharks, which are kept in the larger tanks, are especially noticeable, and such 'novelties' as the grey skate, the stingray, the porcupine fish, and the toad fish, the zebra fish and the pig fish, are not wanting. The water is beautifully clear, and every fibre of the seaweed and particle of the rockwork - which is arranged with taste and fidelty - can be minutely examined. The spear-like fin of the blennies, the queer mouth of the sand-eel under the snout of the fish, the toothless condition of the dog fish, and the beautiful bird-llike plumage of the of the parrot fish are all clearly defined. The stone litter indefutigably keeps up his calling of trying to hit boulders to find food, and has not yet found out that the rocks are fixtures. The octopus is an uncanny looking object, and the 10 footed squid in its quiet retirement, finds it no longer necessary to eject ink to cover its retreat from an enemy. The Argus, 25 Feb 1885
Unfortunately, the octopus did not have a stimulating environment to thrive and Jacob did not have the opportunity to see it or the seals as they died before he visited the aquarium.
On 8 May 1885, The Geelong Advertiser reported their deaths.
One of the curious and most interesting tenants of the Aquarium was undoubtedly the octopus, but I regret to say that it is no more. The death first of the seals, and then of the octopus, seems to indicate that there is something wanting in the in the method of treating some of the inhabitants of the deep which have been taken captive.
The Hamilton Spectator on 16 May 1885 reported that the octopus at the Exhibition Aquarium has resisted its condemnation to imprisonment and celibacy, and spited its its guardians by dying.
I wonder if this author opposed the captivity and confinement of the octopus?
While at the Botanic Gardens, Jacob may have visited the Palm House. this artwork dates from 1881.
References
Melbourne Punch (14 May 1885) 'Amusements', Melbourne Punch (Vic. : 1855-1900).
Solomons, W.D., n.d., Jacob Frederick Scheef [photograph]. Armidale, N.S.W.
Scheef, J. (1885) Letter from Jacob Scheef to his wife Christina, 17 May. Located at the Heritage Centre, University of New England and Regional Archives, Armidale.
The Argus (25 Feb 1885) 'The Aquarium at the Exhibition' , The Argus (Melbourne, Vic, : 1848 0 1957)
The Exhibition building, Melbourne, the south-west aspect of the main hall, (1880) [illustration], Museum Victoria, accessed 3 June 2023.
The Geelong Advertiser (8 May 1885), 'Melbourne From our own Correspondent', The Geelong Advertiser, (Vic, : 1859 - 1929)
The Hamilton Spectator (16 May 1885) 'Echoes from Melbourne', The Hamilton Spectator, (Vic, : 1870 - 1918), 16 May 1885
The Herald (12 May 1885) 'The Aquarium', The Herald (Melbounre, Vic. : 1861 - 1954).
The Palm House, Melbourne Botanic Gardens. (1881) [wood engraving], State Library Victoria, accessed 3 June 2023.
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