Nathan Spielvogel Explained
Nathan Spielvogel |
Birth Name: | Nathan Frederick Spielvogel |
Birth Date: | 10 May 1874 |
Birth Place: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia |
Death Place: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia |
Language: | English |
Nathan Frederick Spielvogel (10 May 1874 – 10 September 1956)[1] was an Australian author of Jewish origin, whose work has been compared to that of Judah Waten.
Early life
Spielvogel was born in Ballarat, Victoria, a son of Neuman Frederik (c. 1830 – 29 October 1891) and Hannah Spielvogel née Cohen (c. 1844 – 21 January 1901). His father, generally called "Newman", was a tailor and pawnbroker, born in Kolomea, Galizia, Austria (now in western Ukraine) and his mother in Chodsiesen, Prussia (now in Poland). They married at Ballarat Synagogue on 25 December 1867.[2]
Spielvogel was educated at Dana Street State School, Ballarat, and had his Bar Mitzvah at Ballarat Synagogue on 21 May 1887.[3]
Career
His first published poem, "Mike Hardy's Fate" was published in the Ballarat Courier of 1894, and in 1898 The Bulletin began publishing his verses and stories under several noms de plume.
He taught in various Victorian rural schools, including Dimboola,[4] Orbost[5] Longwood,[6] where a whispering campaign accused him of being German,[7] Mitcham,[8] [9] Wangaratta,[10] and back to his old school at Dana Street, Ballarat, retiring in 1939.[11]
His Jewish identity was also part of his writing. In 1903, six years after the First Zionist Congress and the stirrings of Zionism, he published his ballad, The Wandering Jew in The Bulletin:[12]
In 1904, he visited Egypt, England, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland, writing of his experiences in A Gumsucker on the Tramp, "gumsucker" being a colloquialism for a country Victorian. The book sold 10,000 copies and encouraged him to write another book, The Cocky Farmer.[13]
He contributed to The Lone Hand, The Bulletin, and Dimboola Banner as "Genung", "Eko", "Ato", "Ahaswar".[14]
Personal life
He fell in love with a non-Jewish woman, but following his mother's wishes married Jessie Muriel Harris, daughter of Henry Harris (publisher of the Hebrew Standard) at the Great Synagogue, Sydney on 6 September 1911.[15]
On Thursdays he dined at Fasoli's restaurant with the writers and artists, E.J. Brady, Hal Gye, Louis Esson, C. J. Dennis and Norman Lindsay.[16]
Family
Spielvogel had two brothers: Frederick Isaac Spielvogel (27 December 1868 – 1947) and Solomon "Sol" Spielvogel (14 November 1875 – 6 September 1958)
He had three sons with Harris, Laurie, Bill and Phil:
- Newman Laurence Spielvogel (4 March 1913 –) known as Laurie, passed his qualifying examination at age nine, a record.[17]
- Lassalle Harris Spielvogel (12 June 1914 –) known as William?[18]
- Frederick Phillip Spielvogel (28 March 1916 –) known as Phillip.[18]
All three married outside the Jewish faith and away from Ballarat.[15]
His grandson Dennis Spielvogel (1953-2020), the youngest of three brothers, was a member of the Ballarat & District Genealogical Society and founding president of the Bungaree Historical Society.[19]
Writings
Published works
- A Gumsucker on the Tramp (1905), on his travels through Europe and Egypt
- The Cocky Farmer (1907)
- The Gumsucker at Home (1913)
- Our Gum Trees (verse, 1913)
- The Affair at Eureka (1928), a popular history of the Eureka Stockade
- Old Eko's Notebook (1930), reflections on his life as a country teacher
- The Call of the Wandering Jew (1940)
- Selected Stories of Nathan Spielvogel (1956)
- The Spielvogel Papers, vol I (articles and radio talks 1974)
- The Spielvogel Papers, vol II (articles and radio talks 1981)
Miscellaneous
- The Wandering Jew,[20] [21] no doubt the source of his pseudonym "Ahaswar".
- From around 1920 he wrote a monthly piece for the Victorian Teachers' Journal[15]
- A history of the Ballarat Hebrew congregation 1855–1928[22]
Other interests
- He was a keen chess player
- He was intensely interested in the history of the Ballarat area, and longtime president of the Ballarat Historical Society.
- After his retirement, he was heavily involved with the local museum.
- He was both an intensely patriotic Australian and a committed Jew.[15]
Notes and References
- https://collections.ajhs.com.au/MultiSearch/Index?search=Nathan+Spielvogel&universalSearch=1 Burial records
- News: Family Notices . . Victoria, Australia . 3 February 1868 . 8 February 2020 . 2 . Trove .
- https://www.eurekacentreballarat.com.au/blog/nathan-spielvogel-1874-1956 Nathan Spielvogel (1874-1956)
- News: Literature. . . South Australia . 2 May 1906 . 8 February 2020 . 21 . Trove .
- News: Orbost State School . . Victoria, Australia . 25 July 1908 . 8 February 2020 . 3 . Trove .
- News: Longwood News . . Victoria, Australia . 25 September 1914 . 8 February 2020 . 7 . Trove .
- News: Longwood News. . . Victoria, Australia . 25 September 1914 . 8 February 2020 . 7 . Trove .
- News: Mitcham State School . . Victoria, Australia . 8 October 1915 . 8 February 2020 . 4 . Trove .
- News: Trees Planted as Gallipoli Tribute . . Victoria, Australia . 2 November 1936 . 8 February 2020 . 21 . Trove .
- News: Wangaratta . . Victoria, Australia . 6 March 1924 . 8 February 2020 . 7 . Trove .
- News: Public Service Recognised . . New South Wales, Australia . 27 April 1939 . 8 February 2020 . 6 . Trove .
- https://collections.ajhs.com.au/media/collectiveaccess/images/9/20317_ca_object_representations_media_942_original.pdf THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BALLARAT SYNAGOGUE
- News: Australasian Jewry . . New South Wales, Australia . 20 November 1908 . 7 February 2020 . 10 . Trove.
- Book: The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature . William H. Wilde . Joy Hooton . Barry Andrews . Oxford University Press . 1994 . 019553381 X.
- Book: Weston Bate. Australian Dictionary of Biography: Spielvogel, Nathan Frederick (1874–1956) . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. 1990. 8 February 2020.
- https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/spielvogel-nathan-frederick-8607/text15033 Nathan Frederick Spielvogel (1874–1956)
- News: Australasia . . New South Wales, Australia . 15 December 1922 . 8 February 2020 . 12 . Trove .
- News: Collision at Werribee . . Victoria, Australia . 17 February 1936 . 8 February 2020 . 9 . Trove .
- Web site: Dennis Charles Spielvogel (1953 - 2020). 6. Ballarat Link. February 2020. 204. Ballarat & District Genealogical Society Inc..
- News: The Wandering Jew (I) . . New South Wales, Australia . 15 September 1916 . 8 February 2020 . 14 . Trove .
- News: The Wandering Jew (II) . . New South Wales, Australia . 22 September 1916 . 8 February 2020 . 6 . Trove .
- News: An Historic Volume . . New South Wales, Australia . 13 April 1928 . 8 February 2020 . 6 . Trove .