Emilie

[Shelley Hansen]

Stephen has been enlightening and delighting us with tidbits of little known tales of the past - including the chequered history of the "shipwreck coast" of Victoria.

There must be so many hidden stories of our early settlers - what they left behind in their countries of origin, what they went through to get here and what they did to make this country what it is today.

This poem is the story of my great-grandmother Emilie Ziebel, who arrived at the Port of Maryborough, Queensland, on the so-called "fever ship" Alardus in 1873. When you think of all the facets of chance that come into play in this true tale, I'm sure you'll understand why I am amazed and grateful just to be alive!

EMILIE
(c) Shelley Hansen 2012

She sailed on the Alardus – at the age of just nineteen –
a young girl orphaned by the plague, unsure what it would mean
to travel to a foreign land, to start a new life there –
her prayers and hopes were resting on a thirty shilling fare.
She thought that she was going to America to find
her relatives who’d emigrated, left their homes behind.
She tried to make arrangements, but she couldn’t read or write
and had no one to call on, to assist her in her plight.

A passage to Australia was paid for by mistake –
the final immigration voyage that this ship would make.
Converted from a cargo vessel, steerage class was poor
and overcrowded – fit for few, but housing many more.
Beset by gales and then becalmed, they journeyed to Brazil,
but sailing east again, so many passengers fell ill.
Their rations were inadequate, their water foul and stale;
soon typhoid fever added death to their distressing tale.

Traversing seas for seven months, they came at last to shore,
at Fort Nepean quarantined, till fever was no more.
The captain drowned, the first mate died – survivors soon set forth
in charge of second mate, to Fraser Island in the north.
Young Emilie survived the horrors of this nightmare trip
and finally her voyage ended on the “Fever Ship”.
In Maryborough, Queensland, she prepared to disembark –
a town on which her German legacy would leave its mark.

While on the ship she’d met the man whose bride she soon would be –
they settled down to farm the land and raise a family.
Her youngest son’s career was forged through timber cutting skill –
to build the homes that stand today, and likely always will.
She lived through two world wars and saw the sorrows that they wrought,
when natural disaster came, she felt the pain it brought.
One house was simply swept away as floods raged, deep and fast;
another home was lost to fire before ten years had passed.

She worked hard with her hands and heart, in house and on the farms,
walked seven hours to doctor with a sick child in her arms.
One son’s wife died in childbirth, so she raised his little girl
with earthy, homespun wisdom – twice as rich as any pearl.
She proved herself a loyal wife for over sixty years –
when widowhood bereaved her, she endured despite the tears.
She died at ninety-five, surrounded by her progeny –
four generations of descendants she had lived to see.

She was a member of that breed who shaped this nation’s face,
who, leaving homelands far away to find a better place,
enriched us with their heritage, their ethics and their pride
as, facing all adversity, they laboured side by side.
Her timber-cutter son was my grandfather … Mother’s dad,
who nearly died at birth, and was a sickly little lad.
But he was tough and won the fight, and grew up tall and strong
and like his parents, lived a life that was fulfilled and long.

It makes me think about the odds that make us all survive –
if she’d gone to America, I wouldn’t be alive!
She would have sailed another ship, become another wife,
had other sons and daughters, and lived out another life.
But she was the progenitor of my ancestral tree,
and in my bones I carry her genetic legacy;
So may I stand with pride as a descendant of her line,
and strive to live so she’d be proud to be a part of mine.

[Stephen Whiteside]

Quite a saga, Shelley! The mistaken destination intrigues me. I read recently that the trip to Australia cost a lot more than the trip to America, so you'd think somebody would have smelt a rat when no change for forthcoming… Then again, maybe it was a simple clerical error.

Interesting, too, to see that the Alardus left from Germany, not England.

http://www.norwayheritage.com/articles/ ... 7&zoneid=6

[thestoryteller]

I researched most of my family lines and recorded the histories Shelley and found it most interesting. The plights of our forebears and how they came to be here is great research.

Nice to know Emilie found someone and was able to establish a home here. Though tough at times, I'd say better than what she came from.

Enjoyed the read.


Merv

[Shelley Hansen]

Thanks Merv and Stephen

Yes, there certainly are so many untold stories out there, just waiting to be found and told.

The story of the Alardus is a real comedy of errors, Stephen (though "tragedy of errors" would be closer to the mark). My great-grandmother Emilie Ziebel was German (Prussian actually) - and you are right, the ship did sail from Germany (Hamburg) in 1872. It was badly overcrowded and conditions were appalling. The name "Alardus" means "strong" - aptly named, as only the strong survived that nightmare voyage!

As for it being the "wrong ship" for Emilie - I really don't know the details of how it all occurred. All I know is that she believed she was going to America. She was an illiterate farm girl, so perhaps she simply booked her passage, not knowing that America and Australia were different places. At all events, it turned out to be the "right ship" - for me and all of her descendants, anyway! Her husband-to-be, Carl Sengstock, was an adult son in a German family consisting of a widowed father, his various children and one grandchild. Carl and Emilie met - and the rest is history!

In the article you hyperlinked it mentions people by the name of "Hansen" from Denmark who were also aboard the Alardus on that fateful voyage. Interestingly enough, these were distant relatives of my husband - though his direct ancestors came on different ships.

Cheers
Shelley

[David Campbell]

It's a remarkable story, Shelley, and yet another reminder of the "sliding doors" aspect of history. So many "if-then" moments had to occur for each of us to be here.

Cheers
David

[Shelley Hansen]

Indeed David - that is so very true.

If Emilie had gone to America ...
If her youngest son (my grandfather) had not survived his precarious birth ...
If my father who fought in New Guinea had not returned ...

... the miracle of life would not be mine.

I'm sure the story could be repeated in many different ways for all of us.

But ... here we are!

Cheers
Shelley

[Catherine Lee]

Wonderful poem Shelley, and I love the last two lines, as well as 'that breed who shaped this nation's face'...I was just talking about this 'Sliding Doors' aspect that David mentions the other day - it really is astounding when you look back on things that happened and realise that if they hadn't, you wouldn't be here today! Anyway Shelley, I really enjoyed this story of Emilie.

[alongtimegone]

What a great poem Shelley and what a truly amazing life your Emilie lived. I'm glad she ended up in Australia. If not we wouldn't have your wonderful poetry to enjoy.
Wazza

[Shelley Hansen]

Thank you so much Catherine and Wazza.

Yes, Wazza - just as well Emilie got on the "right" ship! Then again, if things were different I could be yee-haa-ing out the Cowboy Poetry!

My hubby always says that if Emilie had gone to America he'd be married to an American!

Cheers
Shelley