Ludwig Hugo ‘Louis’ Beyers, is a name that is not immediately recognised in Western Australia but in NSW he is known as the unassuming partner of Bernard Otto Holtermann and together they were the major partners in the Star of Hope GM at Hill End in the Central Goldfields of NSW. This mine produced the famous Haltermann Nuggett, the photo below will be readily recognised and shows Bernard with the Beyers and Haltermann Nuggett. When it was found in 1872, it was know as the worlds largest single mass of gold and it was estimated to contain 3000oz of gold.
Holtermann and the gold specimen discovered at Star of Hope Mine in 1872
Hugo was born in Posen, Poland in 1840 and arrived as a orphan in Sydney in about 1856. Starting work as a drapers assistant he was soon bitten by the gold fever bug and spent the next 12 years travelling around the Goldfields of the Eastern States of Australia and New Zealand. He returned to Hill End with £10,000. He then began his partnership with Holtermann.
Hugo Louis Beyers
He took an active part in local affairs and after holding several positions he eventually became mayor for eight terms and from 1877 to 1885 he was elected to the legislative assembly serving as MLA for the Western Goldfields. He came to be know as ‘The Miners Friend’ for his generosity to those less fortunate. He set us a charity to deliver food to destitute diggers. In one gesture he had hundreds of trees shipped out from Germany and had them planted in a avenue from Hill End to Tambaroora.
However, his generous and trusting nature was to be his downfall. In 1894 he declared himself bankrupt. A lawyer, who he had entrusted his affairs to, dissapeared with his fortune leaving him with just £100. It was said he was so ashamed of his situation he would walk miles out of his way to avoid his neighbors.
Following the decline of mining in Hill End, Beyers decided to join the exodus to Western Australia to try to regain his fortune. His wife Mary,nee Emmett, had passed away in 1883 so, after paying all his debts, he moved to Kalgoorlie with his son Theodore and his two daughters Sylvia and Clara. He always hoped to return to Hill End one day, but this was not to be.
He was to work in many of the mining areas between Kalgoorlie, Leonora and Laverton. He was however never to recover his previous losses. In 1910 he was at Linden east of Menzies with his son Theodore when he was struck with paralysis. His other son, Oswald was at Yarri 72 kms to the south. Hugo was taken 103km to the Mt Morgans Hospital where he was unconscious on arrival. On the 28th May 1910 he was to suffer a second stroke which caused his death. He was buried in the Mount Morgans Cemetery.
Kalgoorlie Miner 10 June 1910, page 4
Death Certificate – BEYERS Ludwig Hugo (Louis), at Mt Morgans Hospital, Buried 29 May 1910, Section A 77, Age 70, Prospector from Linden, Cause, Apoplexy, Born, Posen Poland, West Prussia in 1835. In NSW abt 50yrs, In WA abt 10yrs, Married to Mary EMMETT in Bathurst NSW in 1868, Children: Sylvia Helena 40yrs, Gertrude Harriet Adelaine 40yrs, Donald Oswald Arthur 38yrs, Theodore Greville 34yrs, Clara 32 yrs, Bellvenah 30yrs, deceased 1 female, Registered by Oswald A BEYERS (Son), Reg 25/1910 Mt Margaret.
A View of Mt Morgans Cemetery
A plaque has been erected on his grave by the combined work of Dennis Lynch, Lorraine Purcell, the Beyers family, The Hill End and Tamboora Gathering Group, and Hill End Gold. The plaque was placed on the grave on the 30th November 2010.
The following book by Lorraine Pursell is sadly out of print but copies are still available from The Leonora Visitors Centre – http://www.leonora.wa.gov.au/tourism
There are also two copies in the State library which unfortunately are ‘not for loan’ but you may be able to request it through your local library and they may bale to get it for you to read in the library only.
Lorraine Purcell has kindly sent me the following photographs of the grave plaque and the group of four generations of Beyer descents who were present at the placing of the plaque.
References:
The Kalgoorlie Miner – 16 Nov 2010 pg 10.
Wikipedia – wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Louis_Beyers
Parliment of NSW – http://bit.ly/2RNiN3S
Kalgoorlie Miner Friday 10 June 1910, page 8
Further Reading
Moya Sharp
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