Johannes Zwar – a detailed life story

Johann Zwar's first marriage to Magdalena Schmaal at Purschwitz in Saxony resulted in the birth of six children. Of these, three daughters, Maria, Anna and Christiana survived and remained with their father Johann following the death of their mother in 1859. In 1863 Johann married Anna Kaiser who had come to live in Melbourne to join her brother Andreas and sister Maria. (She had been present at Johann's first marriage to Magdalena as the families were friends in Drehsa.) After two weeks Johann and Anna returned to Ebenezer by ship, train and horse drawn vehicle. There was much joy in the welcome they received from the children as well as friends.

Anna proved to be a great help for Johann and caring mother to the children. There were seven children born to Anna and Johann of whom Johannes was the oldest, which meant that he had certain responsibilities. In fact Johannes was the only son for some years until Paul was born in 1870.

Helping on the farm imposed a heavy load on account of Johann's Homeopathic service and his church leadership role. Johannes’s father was acclaimed for his homeopathic skills and in particular for his successful treatment of typhoid and was recommended for registration as doctor by a well-known member of Parliament. His work took him as far as Peters Hill and all over the Barossa district. He consulted from the parlor at his home and by mail as far as Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

Johannes learned much about homeopathy by working with his father and later became a homeopathic in his own right. Johannes was always a very serious person and it is often thought that he would like to have studied medicine as his young brothers Hermann and Bernhard had done but money was short and the opportunity did not arise. It remained a suppressed desire.

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Schooling
Johannes probably attended St. Johns Lutheran school at Ebenezer under teacher Andreas Dallwitz who taught there for 46 years from 1863-1908. This school remained open until 1917 when the political climate was volatile and the government closed all Lutheran schools.

First Marriage
Johannes married twice, first to Minna Roennfeldt at Gnadenfrei (now Marananga) near Minna's family home at Greenock. Johannes built a new house of stone containing four rooms with verandahs front and back. It had a parlor, passage, two bed rooms for parents and girls and a large kitchen with a big wood stove on which stood the fountain of boiling water and the cooking pots. Behind this was the bake oven projecting to the outside and used for baking the weekly supply of bread as well as Kuchen (cake) and roast dinners. A nearby cellar was usually full of food needing cool storage.

Sadly Minna died in July 1904 from pleurisy, after nursing their oldest son Gerhard who had died four weeks earlier from whooping cough and pleurisy. After her death the youngest child Marlie was taken in by Minna's sister Lena Luck at Peterborough, where she became a well loved member of the family.

Second Marriage
Back at Ebenezer Johannes engaged several local housekeepers and carers for the young family of four children. These arrangements did not prove practical so a relative of uncle Peter Zwar’s family, Anna Joppich was brought from Wirrabara to care for the family. They married on 29th December 1905 with ten children resulting from this marriage. There is a picture taken on their wedding day including the four stepchildren between the ages of 10 and 4.

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Jobs for children of first marriage
As they reached the age when they could earn a living each left to follow their special bent.

Arthur went to work on the riverboats on the River Murray and later to Queensland on the cotton fields and later again to the beef industry in Gladstone in Queensland.

Laura was a children’s nurse for several private homes while Hetty and Lucy went nursing. Marlie at Peterborough worked in the family shop.

As with all farmers they needed to be self sufficient in all aspects of their work. Grain was grown for income and flour for home use, while the stock provided meat and poultry to supplement the staple diet. When a large animal (bullock) was slaughtered it would be shared amongst the participating relatives who in turn reciprocated thus providing fresh and cured meats for most of the year. This was supplemented by fruit and vegetables from a well tended garden and orchard watered with buckets from the dam.

Throughout the 1930's depression and the two world wars cash was frequently short but that did not affect the food supply that was always ample coming usually from storage in the cellar. Johannes was a strict disciplinarian while Anna (mother) was the main confidante and solace provider when any of the children were called to account. She had the natural ability to dispense love and understanding to smooth over the troubled incident.

Grand daughters Margaret and Betty remember the strap hanging over the back of Grandpas chair as he sat at the head of the big dining table. No frivolity was tolerated and a loud "STILLE" (quiet) stopped that but the strap was not needed. After the meal Grandpa lead in devotion from the Big Book that had been brought out on the ship ‘Helena’, followed by the Lords Prayer and a hymn.

As in most large families companionship amongst the siblings was a decided advantage. Frequently on Sunday afternoons friends came to enjoy various sports or bush walking, and in season mushrooming. Johannes frowned on Sunday sport but for some reason he once decided to join in a game of cricket. He chose to bat but after being struck on the knee by a rather fast ball he condemned the game and confiscated the bat. Consequently he never gained selection for even local bush team after that.

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Children leave home
One by one Johannes and Anna's family left home and became independent. Bert and Eric went to a farm at Forster while Ben and Vic looked after the grazing property at Sandalton. Dorothy, Edna and Regina were employed for their cooking skills. Melva stayed home to help Anna. Ron, Vic and Eric joined the forces in World War 2 but Ben and Berr were required to stay and look after the farms.

Funerals
Johannes died at his home at the age of 76, survived by his wife Anna who died in 1971 just 7 days after her 92nd birthday. Both are buried in the St. John Lutheran Cemetery at Ebenezer. It is recalled that there were 102 cars in the funeral cortege from his home to the cemetery, which gives an indication of the respect and esteem held for him as a humanitarian and lifelong resident of the district. Ben was released from army duties and looked after the farm until it was sold. Anna moved to Barossa Lutheran Homes where she stayed until her death.

Conclusions
Over the years Johannes saw many changes, some maybe not acceptable to him. Horse transport gave way to motorcars, trucks and mechanized farm equipment. Bathrooms replaced the tub in front of the fire. The wireless and education became available to most and after WW2 the world became a smaller place.

Johannes would have been proud of the honors earned by his family after WW2, namely the Order of Australia (O.A.M.) to Lucille (Lucy) for nursing service, to Ron Zwar for his service with Prisoners of War, and to John Zwar son of Ron for service in Horticulture, transforming barren towns and landscapes in northern South Australia to come to life with trees.

In 1922 Johannes had made contact with a Pastor Mrosack in Groditz in Germany who sent out the genealogy of his father Johann and his Mother Anna's forbears. We are indebted to him for details of the early generations of the Zwar family. Contact with the descendants in Germany resumed in 1984 and some strong friendships have developed as a result with visits in both directions.

Compiled by
Margaret Gehling

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