William Charles Vahland

Bendigo Victoria

Article Courtesy of Author : David Beagley (Gold and Blue: freemasonry and community in Bendigo 1854-2004)

Every community has a history of Founders: people who worked hard to enable future generations to enjoy what they hoped would be a better life.  William Charles Vahland was a founder of Bendigo, and he probably contributed as much to the establishment and structure of the city as any other of his time, or after.

William Charles Vahland was born in the town of Nienburg an der Weser in Hanover, Germany on October 2nd 1828.  At that time, the Elector of Hanover was George IV of England; indeed throughout his life Vahland would vehemently deny he was German.  Rather, he was born a Hanoverian!  When only a few days old, he was baptised Carl Wilhelm in the Lutheran Church in Nienburg.  Though we know him as William Charles, this Anglicisation of his name only took place after his arrival in Australia.

He was the son of Johann Ernst Otto and Augusta Sophia Caroline (nee Scheele) Vahland and was the youngest of 6 sons and several daughters.  Johann was a master builder, joiner and cabinet-maker, so it is not surprising that the young Carl Wilhelm would follow his father's line of work.

He finished his general schooling in 1844, seems to have worked with his father for several years, before entering the Baugewerkschule (School of Building) at Holzminden in Braunschweig.  This institution was a most prestigious tertiary college, in level somewhat between the current Australian TAFE College and a university, providing very specific training in building and architecture at an advanced academic as well as practical level.  It was the only one of its type in North Germany and accepted students from several different countries.

It had been founded in the 1820s after a State Commission identified that many of the traditional skills of building and architecture had been lost, and many apprentices could not follow the simplest instructions.  Plans of instruction and a Master's examination were developed because of the Commission's findings, and were written by Friedrich Ludwig Haarmann, the founder of the Holzminden Baugewerkschule.

It was a residential college, with students boarding in large dormitories.  The students only attended their courses in winter, spending the summer months working in the trade.  They attended 75 classes a week, 6 days a week, from 6 in the morning until 9.30 at night, though they did finish early on Saturdays, at 7 pm!  The course ran for 3 years in this format, though it is interesting to note that when Vahland enrolled, he was placed in the second class after an initial examination, which excused him the whole first year of study.

Haarmann placed great importance on solid geometry, building construction, working drawings and estimation so his course was clearly intended for practical application.  Indeed, it can be argued that Vahland was not strictly an architect, but more of a construction engineer.  Haarmann favoured classical styles of architecture and this preference can be seen in Vahland's work - simple Greek-style lines of roof, columns, and other features creating a whole impression (unlike the hugely ornate Victorian and Baroque decoration favoured by many other architects).  Haarmann also emphasised the need for harmony between domestic and rustic buildings, and between commercial and public buildings.

Vahland's final "Testimonial" or report card from the Baugewerkschule lists a large number of categories such as spelling, mathematics, physics, geometry, drawing plans, design, structure of buildings, law, surveying and book-keeping as well as conduct and effort.  In all of them, he was ranked "Good" or "Very Good".

After completing his studies in March 1852, Vahland travelled for a while (a recommended practice for architects to help place their studies in a real world context).  He then practised his vocation in Hamburg and Bremen before acting as engineer for the building of a rail line between Hamburg and Kassel.  He had not long set up private practice in Diepholz, near Hanover, when a combination of concern about the local political situation, a wish to avoid military service in that situation, and the lure of the Australian goldfields took hold of him.

Therefore, he arrived in Melbourne on board the sailing ship "San Francisco" in September 1854.  Within a few days, he was on his way to the Bendigo diggings with three companions from the ship, among them Jacob Cohn, who was to be a lifelong friend.  One of the stories of the companions' trip to Bendigo was related in Vahland's obituary in the Bendigo Advertiser.  They had been told gruesome stories of the ferocity of the natives and the depredations of bushrangers and outlaws, so the group left Melbourne armed to the teeth with pistols and cutlasses.  They mounted guard every night and kept a tense and earnest watch all the way.  After a completely uneventful journey, they arrived in Bendigo, creating an hilarious impression amongst the locals.  Seeing the joke, they threw their weapons into a disused mineshaft and settled down to prospecting.

Vahland's gold prospecting was not very successful, so he very soon began work as a carpenter, fitting out the Crown Hotel in Hargreaves Street.  The Advertiser also reported that this occasioned his one and only effort at bricklaying.  He was instructed to build a kitchen chimney.  He pointed out that the ground was honeycombed with mining shafts, but the owner was prepared to take the risk.  The chimney went up satisfactorily, but a few days later it rained.  Next morning, the chimney was nowhere to be seen, having completely sunk underground!

He may also, at this time, have worked as a mounted constable, guarding the road between Melbourne and Bendigo, as some reports have him encountering Jacob Cohn who encouraged him to return to his architectural and building vocation in Bendigo.

Soon after, he set up his own carpenter's shop in Bridge Street, making miners' cradles and other accessories that were in major demand, until the year 1857.  The period of the next few years from 1857 was to be a watershed for Vahland, because of several events and decisions that would guide his life ever after.

On the 20th of July 1857, he took out Australian (or actually British) citizenship.  He took his oath of allegiance before Redmond Barry (pictured), who was later to preside over the trial of the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly.  One limitation of this citizenship, which we might find strange, is that he (and any other naturalised citizen) was not permitted to sit in Parliament.  So, he could, and did, become a Justice of the Peace and administer laws, be a local councillor and apply by-laws, be a peaceable citizen and pay all his taxes, but he could not make the laws.  To do that, one had to be born a British citizen.  Remember, though, that his monarch at birth was the King of England!  It was anomalies like these that fuelled the dissatisfaction that led to demonstrations such as the Eureka Stockade and finally Australian Federation and independence.

It was in 1857 that Vahland began practising as an architect and builder in the rapidly growing Bendigo township.  He opened chambers at 2 Pall Mall with another German architect, Robert Getzschmann, with whom he was to work until Getzschmann's death in 1875.  There is some debate over the roles of the two early in their partnership, with Vahland at this stage probably undertaking more of what would today be described as construction engineering, while Getzschmann handled the design work.  Over time, these roles would blend.

Over the next 40 years Vahland, and his firm, was to have a greater influence on the appearance of the city than any other person or body.  He designed and directed the building of major public architecture including the Town Hall, the Shamrock Hotel, the Hospital, the School of Mines, the Mechanics Institute, the Princess Theatre, the Masonic Hall (now the Regional Arts Centre), the recently re-opened Cascades and the Alexandra Fountain, the Sandhurst Club and the Grandstand at Canterbury Park, Eaglehawk.  He was responsible for many private homes, from mansions such as Fortuna to simple miners' cottages.  The places of worship on which he worked covered the wide range of the Bendigo community of the time: the Eaglehawk Wesleyan Church, the Lutheran Church, St Liborius Catholic Church at Eaglehawk, St Killian's Catholic Church, still the largest wooden building in Australia, the Jewish Synagogue (now demolished), the Anglican, Methodist and Congregational churches in Forest Street and so on.  Commercial premises, from small shops to large hotels and emporiums, were all undertaken.  The firm practised far afield as well, in Hay, Deniliquin, Lorne, Lancefield, Rochester, Rushworth, Swan Hill, Yarrawonga and Benalla among others.  They had an office in Echuca as they constructed the Echuca Town Hall, the Court House and the Church of England.  Vahland even spent some time in Napier, New Zealand fulfilling contracts. 

         
In 1857, too, he designed and built his own residence at 58 Barkly Terrace, which still stands.  It was to this home that he brought his bride, Miss Jane Barrow of Runnymede, in July 1859.  She had emigrated from England with her parents in 1844 when she was 2 years old, which meant she was 17 when she married the 30 year old Vahland.  They were to enjoy a long and fruitful marriage, with a large family - seven children surviving infancy.  For his new wife, Vahland converted from Lutheranism (in which he had been a lay preacher and Church Committee member) to the Church of England, and the family was brought up in typical English/Australian style.  Vahland certainly, however, kept his friendships and links with the German community of Bendigo - people such as the Cohn brothers, Father Backhaus and Ludwig Becker, the artist who was to perish on the Burke and Wills expedition

In 1858, Vahland was one of the founding members of the Bendigo Land & Building Society, the institution that was eventually to grow into the current Bendigo Bank.  For some 38 years he would serve as its Chairman and Managing Director.  While modern economic practices have given many banks and financial institutions a less-than-benevolent public image, the intentions of the founders of the Bendigo Land & Building Society were really quite radical: to provide the thousands of simple miners and families of Bendigo with the chance to live in their own permanent house.  Remember that Bendigo was still an active gold rush area.  Many, many people still lived in tents or makeshift shanties.

The Society, and Vahland, were not looking for quick profits from housing loans.  Their interest was to establish the town of Bendigo and its community on a firm and safe basis.  They operated to the needs and financial capacities of their clients.  For instance, during the 1870's Vahland designed a simple symmetrically planned cottage for miners with a four-posted verandah.  It could be mass-produced and simply erected, and many examples can still be seen around Bendigo today.

There was one more change of note for Vahland in 1857.  In the foyer of the Bendigo Masonic Centre there is a small, manual pump organ which, for nearly 40 years, was used to provide music for Lodge meetings in Bendigo.  It was presented to Golden Lodge on the night of the 5th of May 1857, less than 3 years after the lodge had been founded.

It was an auspicious night because Golden Lodge also had a candidate for initiation.  William Charles Vahland was initiated into Freemasonry in the Golden Lodge on that night, the 5th of May 1857.  He already had many friends among the Craft, including Jacob Cohn and his partner Robert Getzschmann so, with his vocation in building and the natural civic-mindedness, which would manifest itself in so many ways, it was a natural step to take.

On 27th of December 1861, he was installed as Worshipful Master of Golden Lodge.  He was not able to serve his full year as he sought leave of absence in March to go to New Zealand for work reasons.  Indeed, he only sat in the Chair for 2 meetings.

However, soon after his return, he was given another opportunity to serve Golden Lodge.  Many lodges, in those days, also operated as benevolent societies, arranging loans and finance for struggling brethren and looking after widows and orphans. There was no public or government-sponsored system of social security for the unemployed, the orphans, the widowed and so on.  So, for some years it had been the practice to pay the Golden Lodge Secretary a salary of £50 a year, which was quite a good annual wage.  He then took on the great responsibility of distributing the charity raised by the lodge and to look after those unfortunate brethren or their families, who had reached the lowest ebb of poverty and distress.  With the change in mining in the 1860s from surface work by individuals to deep mining by companies, there was an economic downturn and the Lodge had to lower the salary to £30 before cutting it out altogether.  In August 1863, Vahland took on the position for no salary and served for the next 10 years, through the amalgamation of Golden and Corinthian Lodges and the building of the View Street Masonic Temple.  In 1874, the Lodge presented him with a special PM's jewel and an illuminated address as an expression of its thanks.

This was not just a formality, because the Bendigo lodges had experienced great turbulence during that period.  Both Corinthian Lodge and Zenith Lodge broke away from Golden through bitter disputes over the Mastership.  The purchase of the View Street site for the Bendigo Masonic Temple saw Golden and Corinthian side against Zenith in a rigged auction, and then Golden and Corinthian amalgamated to build to Temple.  These were described in his newspaper obituary as "events provocative of much feeling being displayed, and perhaps little 'brotherly love'".  We will never know the full details of Vahland's role in them, but the respect in which he was held by all sides and the rapid healing of the wounds would suggest that it was major and positive.

He had little time to rest after his testimonial though because, seven years later in 1881, he was appointed Secretary of Golden & Corinthian again, a position he was to hold until 1910, a total of 39 years service in that role.  He also served as a Trustee of the Masonic Hall and was able to steer it, and Golden & Corinthian Lodge, through the financially difficult times of the 1890s, enabling both to enter the new century sound and secure.

In 1871, WBro Vahland was appointed Provincial Deputy Grand Superintendent of Workings and, in that capacity, he was the Director of Ceremonies of the Grand Masonic Procession that laid the Foundation stone of the View Street Temple on the 24th of June 1873.  It must have been a moment of great pride to him as he and Getzschmann had the plans for the building well underway, a creation to be hailed as the "grandest Masonic temple in the colony".

He was to act as the PGM's representative in the Bendigo area on many occasions over the years, including the delicate and difficult consultations on the formation of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria in 1888.  He was, for many years, a member of the Board of General Purposes.  In 1897, as a recognition of his work the GM, Lord Brassey, conferred on him the rank of Past Deputy Grand Master.  In the Conference room of the Bendigo Masonic Centre there hangs a magnificent portrait of Right Worshipful Brother Vahland in that capacity.

He was also an active member of the Royal Arch, serving as First Principal of Royal Golden Chapter (now Royal Eaglehawk) in 1867 and later being honoured with the rank of Past Grand Haggai.

In 1901, during a trip back to his native land, Vahland attended the installation in London of HRH the Duke of Connaught as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England.  The Duke was installed because the previous long serving Grand Master was about to become King Edward VII.  Vahland was also feted by his relatives in Germany, with over 200 attending a huge banquet in his honour.  Apparently it took several hours, with breaks between courses for everyone to walk around and make room for the next course!  While in Germany, he also had to pay a fine for not being available for military service in the 1850s.

So, what sort of man was William Charles Vahland?  His many achievements can easily be listed, but what sort of person, friend, father was he?

According to family members, he was a typical Victorian husband and father.  The youngest children always referred to him as "the Pater", but always with affection.  He was fond of animals, kept silky terriers and cats.  He enjoyed music and reading, and a good pipe or cigar; when smoking he always wore a smoking jacket and cap.  Good food and wine were features of his home, undoubtedly with a major contribution from his property, Charterhouse Estate, at Elmore.  Much of this was planted with vines, with wine and spirits of the highest quality being produced and exported through his brother's wine merchant business in Melbourne.  He even exported back to Germany.

He purchased Charterhouse from his father-in-law, Henry Barrow, possibly as a means of tactfully helping him out of some financial difficulties.  It flourished as a farm and vineyard over the next few decades.

He was certainly a pioneer, and a typical figure of the early Australian wine industry.  With considerable foresight, he was a staunch opponent of labelling Australian wines with traditional European names such as "Burgundy" or "Claret" or Hock", feeling that they should be called by their grape type and region.  It has only been the last 10 years or so that this practice has been accepted fully.

Vahland loved trains, too.  Whenever practicable, he would travel around Victoria by train.  He became well known by conductors, who would often reserve a compartment for him, as he disliked travelling in company.  One story that was told of him concerned a warm day when he was returning from Melbourne.  The train was crowded and he had to share his compartment.  Unfortunately for the other travellers, Vahland was taking home a very large and very ripe Limburger cheese.  It was a very warm day and, not long out of Spencer Street Station, he found himself quite alone in the compartment.

But what of the public man?  To say he served his community would be an understatement.  We have already noted his long connection with the Building Society.  From 1869 to 1872, he was a member of the Sandhurst Council and saw it proclaimed a city in 1871.  He resigned at the end of his term because he did not want to give the impression of a conflict of interest with his commercial business.

In 1859 he was the manager of the Sandhurst Fire Brigade.  He was a Director of the Gas Company for 20 years.  He was treasurer of the School of Mines and examiner in mechanical drawing, architectural drawing, practical geometry and design, as well as judge of their annual exhibition.  He served on the boards of the Cognac Distillery, the Hospital, the Benevolent Asylum, the School of Mines, the Mechanics Institute, and was a member of the Victorian Institute of Architects.

He had been a lay preacher with the Lutheran Church before his marriage, and contributed greatly to establishing that church community, and to public fairs and festivals.

William Charles Vahland was a man who served.  He served his family by providing a loving, stable and secure home and business; he served his community in many, many roles that helped establish social structures and lasting facilities; he served his lodge with dignity, compassion, enthusiasm and hard work.

His newspaper obituary puts it all into well-chosen words:

A marked characteristic of the late Bro Vahland which made itself felt with all who knew him, was his absolute sincerity in life and character, rugged honesty of purpose, sterling integrity, and loyalty in his friendships.  He never seemed to be, or tried to be, other than he really was!  No one ever doubted him.  No kind of temptation, no seeming advantage, could induce him to forsake the path of integrity, or to prove false to his own convictions - hence, he enjoyed the confidence and respect of all who knew him.

A great man, undoubtedly, and recognized as such by his friends, his peers and his brethren.  A man who helped, as much as any, and more than most, to make Bendigo a city and a community to treasure.  The Golden & Corinthian Lodge and Freemasonry in Victoria all grew so much from his efforts.  Indeed, here was a brother of whom we can say without question that he "lived respected and died regretted".

But there is a little more to his story that must be told.

In 1904, for the Golden anniversary of Freemasonry in Bendigo, William Charles Vahland wrote an excellent book covering those fifty years, A History of Freemasonry in the Bendigo District  recently reprinted in the volume Gold and Blue.  It is well worth reading as he drew directly on the memories of people from the first days of the lodges.  It seemed a fitting conclusion for Vahland to a great public life.

He settled down to enjoy his retirement.  He had left active practice as an architect some years before in 1901, letting his son, Henry, carry on the business.  But Henry died suddenly in 1902 and Vahland had to return to work until 1910 when the firm was eventually sold.  His hopes of building on the grape and wine successes of Charterhouse Estate were dashed by the great Phylloxhera outbreak at the turn of the century.  Only 60 acres had been recovered 10 years later.

But in 1914, with the outbreak of war, came a final disappointment and a public humiliation that is painful to consider, even today.  William Charles Vahland, citizen of the country for nearly 60 years, respected community member and family man, Past Deputy Grand Master, William Charles Vahland was required to report to the police station each week and to surrender his passport and his assets.  Why?  Because he had been born in Germany.  Little matter that the nation of Germany did not exist when he was born there or left his birthplace, or that at his birth his monarch in Hanover was King George IV of England, or that he had been a citizen of Australia since 1857.  Of no account was his immense contribution to Bendigo, all the buildings, all the business, all the trade, all the employment, or his work for decades with the Building Society, the School of Mines, and the churches, or that he had been a City Councillor, and a Justice of the Peace.

In the hysteria of the time, he was an enemy alien.

There was even a move, I am ashamed to say, to force him to resign from his lodge.  While that came to nothing, it is clear that this whole humiliation was a blow to the now frail old man.  He died at home on July 21st 1915, his 56th wedding anniversary.

His community, his friends, his brethren and his family knew what they had lost.  Long obituaries were published in the local papers.  His funeral was a major public event, with an attendance described by the newspaper report as "unusually large".  At Bendigo Cemetery, the Masonic service was led by WBro O.D. Watson, Worshipful Master of Golden & Corinthian, and the G&C choir sang "Holy Night".  The Masonic mourners were headed by Past Deputy Grand Master, Sir John Quick, and included Worshipful Masters of all the area's lodges with many, many brethren.

One obituary wrote: "Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.  We will miss his familiar face, and the well known voice can no longer respond to our fraternal greeting".

And that closes the curtain on the life of an outstanding man - Carl Wilhelm Vahland, William Charles Vahland, architect, citizen, freemason.  A man to whom the city of Bendigo is deeply indebted for what he has left in a magnificent heritage of fine buildings and public places. A man to whom the community is deeply indebted for his compassion and hard work for them, and his legacy of institutions still operating and evolving, like the Building Society (now the Bendigo Bank), and the School of Mines (now the University campus and the TAFE college).  A man to whom Freemasonry is deeply indebted for his untiring commitment to laying a firm foundation for the Craft in Bendigo and to raising a superstructure pleasing in all its parts and honourable to the builders.
 

Source: http://users.impulse.net.au/bendigofreemasonry/Early%20History/Vahland.htm