HEINRICH FAMILY

Hazel Heinrich, the youngest child of Walter and Freda Heinrich was born in Laidley on February 8th 1941 following Neville and Keith. In 1943 Walter and Freda had the opportunity to move to Ormiston in the Redlands on to a market garden where they worked growing strawberries, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers and other veggies as demanded by the marketplace. Most of the work was done by “horsepower” and hand work, no mechanism in those days until early tractors came into the area. The carriers came into the area to pick up the crops late in the day for Rocklea markets of the train in Cleveland to be carried to Sydney.

We attended the one teacher school at Ormiston which I loved every aspect of education there. Not sure about brother Keith, he saw it more as a “get up to some nonsense” sort of place. Scholarship was high as you could go locally and the need to travel to Brisbane or Wynnum was the only way to continue. This was a bit out of the family budget back then. Our family were actively involved in the Redland Bay Baptist Fellowship. We went to Sunday School and church every Sunday, travelling ten miles each way. We enjoyed lovely friendship plus excellent teaching from God’s word. As we got a bit older Christian Endeavour and youth group became a great teacher of Christian principles which have stayed with us all our lives.

In the years from finishing school I worked locally to fill in time when I believed God called me to undergo General Nursing Training at 17 in the “old” Brisbane General from Feb 1958. In those days nursing was a hands on with study for four years. During my first year the “new” PA was opening so I transferred to the southside of Brisbane. Again I loved those years of learning, caring and friendship. Those years also saw Lloyd Muller (a farmer Redland Bay) and I develop a lovely friendship and in 1962 we were married on August 25th in the Cleveland Baptist Church.

Life took on a new journey for us. Our family began to arrive in 1963 when daughter Kerrie Anne arrived in May to be followed by 5 sons, Donald Lloyd 4th August 1965, Peter Lindsay September 1965, Jeffrey Dean 1969, Steven John 29 September 1972 and Anthony Phillip January 29 1977 (we lost the “recipe” for girls). They are all close to us giving us now 11 grandchildren including 4 grandsons and 5 grand daughters. They are all in good jobs, 4 live close to us in Redland Bay, our daughter in Buderim and eldest son Donald a pilot based in Townsville for the next year or so. God has been so good to us.

We lost Dad in July 1996 and Mum in 2001, both in their late 80’s.

Lloyd worked on the farm at Redland Bay with his father Howard who will be 93 on Boxing Day and then Anthony came to help Lloyd as in his 80’s father was “winding down”. The family farm was sold and settled some 3 years ago (2005) for residential development. Being one of the last holdings in Redland Bay to be taken, the roads, blocks, parks are now ready for sale. What changes we have seen in our lifetime, not so sure for the better though, but they call it “progress”.

Our future is in God’s hands, we thank him for the Christian heritage from our grandparents and parents so as this generation, we need to pass on and preserve as much as possible to our children and grandies.

God Bless the future of our family. Love, Hazel.

Brief History of Walter and Freda Heinrich By Nev Heinrich August 2008

After their arrival at Blenheim and settling into ministry with Tent Hill Baptist in 1908, their third child and first Australian born son Walter arrived on December 7 1909. Daughter Ruth was born Feb 1906 and Carl 1908 were born in America. All the children attended Blenheim State School. Their birth dates are recorded elsewhere.

During Walter’s childhood he studied music and violin and also attended Gatton College and learned manual training, ie, basic carpentry and plumbing. He left school at 14, He took odd jobs with local farmers and soon was driving a truck for Cliff Moon carting produce to the railway at Laidley. Also during his youth, Walther would sometimes accompany his father to Tent Hill for his fortnightly preaching visits. Travel by horse and sulky over the rough roads of Ripley and Rockside took some hours so the return journey would be perhaps Tuesday after spending Monday visiting church families.

Walter got to know a lot of families in that district as he and his dad would be billeted by different families. He also got to know a lot of Blenheim families not just Baptists during his work with Cliff Moon carting produce. He reckoned the Hauser farm was always the place to be for a midday meal. His music saw him playing and singing in the Church choir and orchestra.

As he grew older with some financial help from his mother and perhaps some labout from his younger siblings, they bought a small 50 acre farm in Blenheim. Perhaps some of the food produced helped sustain the family through hard times? Eventually Walter had repaid his mother and the farm was his. During this period, the Beutel family who farmed on the Blenheim-Laidley Road sent their sons and daughters to Sunday School at Blenheim. Soon Walter began paying older daughter Freda some attention as did brother Dan to younger daughter Alvena who was still at school.

Walter and Freda were married March 1st 1933 coinciding with the moving of the senior Heinrich’s to Kalbar. So the little farm became home, building a new 4 room cottage to replace the old slab and corrugated iron shack. They daried, grew pigs, corm, beans, broom millet. It was into this house they brough Neville in Feb 1936, Keith in March 1939 and Hazel in 1941. By 1943 and at the height of WW2 they made a momentous decision to sell up and move to the Redlands. Dad had been exempted from Army service due to his food production being considered an essential service. Mum’s brother Pat had moved to Cleveland earlier.

Nev has started school at Blenheim SS in 1942 and enrolled at Ormiston SS in 1943. Keith started school in 1944 and Hazel in 1946. This farm was in full production with strawberries, tomatoes and beans and with irrigation at the flick of a switch soon yielded a profitable income. By 1950 my primary school days over, I joined Walter and Freda and began my real education - the combination of the science and practice of agriculture as applied to small crop farming.

As petrol rationing eased after the war ceased we were able to join with Baptists at Redland Bay for Sunday School and Church. This pattern continued with Keith joining us on the farm in 1953. Dad acquired a small Chev truck for farm use which Keith and I soon learned to drive. A new Ferguson tractor came in 1954. The irrigation was completely upgraded too completely installed by ourselves.

A new steel framed shed was built in late 1956 just in time for Nev’s 21st birthday party. Packing was done previously under the house. By 1960 Nov 26, Nev married Marge Rieck and the following year Sept 61, Keith Married Ailsa Rieck. In 1962, Hazel married Lloyd Muller from Redland Bay and ceased nursing to begin work on a farm too.

We were finding a 14 acre farm becoming a bit small to support 3 families. Keith and Nev began to look at other sources of income to supplement the farm. In 1964 we bought some pigs and housed them in some temporary sheds on some land we had bought nearby some years earlier. In 1965 an unexpected offer to buy the farm came and seemed to suit us all. Dad and Mum bought a block at Cleveland and built a new house and retired.

Dad worked at a poultry farm at Thornlands for a few years and helped Keith and I mix concrete on our expanding piggery on a new property at Thornlands. Eventually his back gave in and he retired to his garden. They enjoyed more years retired than they farmed at Ormiston, 1943-1965. They had 2 Holdens, a 1955 FJ and 1963 EH and then a 1973 Toyota MK2.

After some serios foot and leg problems, Dad gave up driving and on July 1996 he died suddenly at home. Mum lived on at their house until she could not cope alone and after a short stay at Wyrunia Retirement Village Carbrook, she was hospitalized at Cleveland until 15 Feb 2001. On 16 Feb we held her funeral service at Carbrook. Dad was aged 86, Mum 89. All their lives they faithfully attended Baptist Churches in Blenheim, Redland Bay and Cleveland and Redland Bay after the two churches separated due to Cleveland Baptist being constituted a church in it’s own right in 1975.