the NATZKE on the tree

* Alma Emma 'Daisy' Natzke (1893-1963)
born in Halcombe, a daughter of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek
married Alfred Ernest Harold WATERSON in 1924
buried Hamilton Park cemetery

* Anna Emma Natzke (1880-1944)
born in Halcombe, a daughter of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek
married Alfred Anderson (1877-1944) in 1906
died in Wanganui 19 June 1944, 2 months before Alfred
both buried at Manunui cemetery

* August Albert Natzke (1849-1916)
married Poline TIMRIEK (1853-1897) of Prussia & had 10 children. After their arrival in Wellington on the "Fritz Reuter" August, Poline and their 1st child Carl, proceeded to the Manchester Settlement, Feilding (see notes at end).
August next married Frances 'Emma' CARTER (1874-1957) in 1899 & had 4 children. Daughter of Robert Henry & Sarah Carter. Mother of famous opera singer Oscar Natzka (see below). She herself was an accomplished pianist and organist and soon became aware of Oscar's unusual vocal gifts. With with no other tuition available she coached the boy herself.

* Carl Friedrich Natzke (1875-1928)
born in Germany, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek. Immigrated to New Zealand in 1876 on the Fritz Reuter
married Emma Augusta WISCHNOWSKY (1887-1973) in 1905
* A daughter of Otto Heinrich Emil Wishnowsky (1859-1933), born Poland, died Palmerston North and of Auguste Amelia Wapp (1867-1954), born Poland, died Halcombe. Sister of Lewis Hermann Otto Wishnowsky who married Hilda Pauline Natzke, a sister of her husband

* Emmel August Natzke (1878-1935)
born in Halcombe, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek
married Eva Rosina SIEGEL in 1906
buried at Waikumete

* Franz Oscar Natzke (1912-1951)
* born in Wharepuhunga, Te Awamutu, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 2nd wife, Frances Emma Carter
He was a New Zealand operatic singer his bio at Te Ara.
As a boy he worked on his father`s farm. He was encouraged and trained as a singer by his mother. The family was displaced by the recession of the 1920s to Waiheke Island, where Oscar sang as a boy soprano in concerts
When his voice broke he became a basso profundo and soon became well-known. He was aided early in his career by
* Homer Samuels, husband of Amelita Galli-Curci
* John Brownlee, the Australian baritone
* Anderson Tyrer, conductor of the New Zealand National Orchestra.
Around this time he changed his name to Oscar Natzka
In 1935 he went to London, England to study under Albert Garcia.
In 1938 he made his debut with the Royal Covent Garden Opera and went on to enjoy a career on the operatic circuit
* He married Winifred Jean CLEMENTS (1918-2017), also a singer, from Auckland, in 1941. Her parents were Eimelech Alfred Clements (1879-1960) & Mabel Ida Elaine Keay
Their 3 sons
1942 - 1948 Nicholas Franz Natzka (born & died London)
1946 - Antony Jon 'Tony' Natzka (born Somerset, still living Tonga 2010)
1951 - 2015 Robert Edward Natzka (born Manhattan, died Tauranga)
He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy in March 1943 and was posted to the entertainment division.
Franz appeared as a Fisherman in the 1946 British musical, motion picture, 'Meet the Navy' (full B & W film at that link, 1:17:48)
Following his discharge from the navy in March 1946, Oscar took concert work in London and from 20 March 1947 sang the role of Sarastro in Mozart's The Magic Flute at Covent Garden's postwar reopening season. It was at this time that he altered the spelling of his name, believing that by replacing the final 'e' with an 'a' it was more likely to be pronounced correctly.
* he became a Canadian citizen in 1948
After collapsing a week earlier on stage during a performance of Die Meistersinger at the New York City Opera, Franz died on 4 Nov 1951 in Manhattan, New York City aged 39. He was survived by his wife and two sons. Their first child Nicholas, was accidentally killed in London in 1948.
photo Franz Oscar Natzka

* His widow, Winifred, later married the Oscar-winning American actor, Charles COBURN (see photo below). Winifred died 1 Oct 2017 in Tauranga aged 99

* Harold Zulu/Lulu Natzke (1900-1980)
born in Wharepuhunga, Te Awamutu, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 2nd wife, Frances Emma Carter
buried Hamilton Park Cemetery

* Helena Amelia Natzke (1885-1951)
born in Halcombe, a daughter of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek
married John O'DEA in Halcombe, 16 Aug 1905
buried Mount View cemetery, Marton

* Herbert William Natzke (1905-1968)
born Wharepuhunga, Te Awaumutu, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 2nd wife, Frances Emma Carter
buried Mangakino

* Hilda Pauline Natzke (1887-1938)
born in Halcombe, a daughter of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek
married Lewis Hermann Otto WISCHNOWSKY in 1911
* A son of Otto Heinrich Emil Wishnowsky (1859-1933), born Poland, died Palmerston North and of Auguste Amelia Wapp (1867-1954), born Poland, died Halcombe. Brother of Emma Amelia Augusta Wishnowsky who married Carl Frederick Natzke, a brother of his wife
* buried at Halcombe

* Leo Max Natzke (1890-1915)
Leo served in WWI at the age of 24
* SERIAL NUMBER - 11/544
* RANK LAST HELD - Lance Corporal
* FIRST KNOWN RANK - Trooper
* OCCUPATION - Farmer
* NEXT OF KIN - August Natzke, Matapara, Te Awamutu
* ENLISTMENT ADDRESS - Whangamomona
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
* Height: 5 feet 6 inches
* Weight: 159 pounds
* Eye colour: Blue
* Hair colour: Brown
* Distinctive marks: tattoo marks on both forearms
ENLISTMENT DATE - 15 August 1914
AGE ON ENLISTMENT - 24
MILITARY DISTRICT - Wellington
BODY ON EMBARKATION - Main Body
EMBARKATION UNIT - Wellington Mounted Rifles
EMBARKATION DATE - 16 October 1914
PLACE OF EMBARKATION - Wellington, New Zealand
TRANSPORT - HMNZT 6 OR 10
VESSEL - Orari or Arawa
DESTINATION - Suez, Egypt (3 December 1914)
MILITARY AWARDS:
* 1914-15 Star
* British War Medal
* Victory Medal
WOUNDS & DISEASES:
Illness (dysentery): Transferred from Mudros on 1 July 1915, to Seang Bee, Malta. Discharged on 4 August 1915, and returned to Gallipoli. Was fatally wounded on 27 August 1915, and died the next day at 16 Casualty Clearing Station, No. 2 Post, Anzac Cove, on 28 August.
LAST UNIT SERVED - Wellington Mounted Rifles, 2 Squadron
PLACE OF DEATH - Gallipoli, Turkey
MEMORIAL NAME - Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial, Chunuk Bair Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey
New Zealand Herald, 6 Oct 1915 NATZKE, Died of wounds at Anzac, Dardanelles, on August 28, 1915, Leo Max Natzke, fifth son of August Natzke, Matapara, Te Awamutu; aged 26 years
photo Leo Max Natzke

* Louis Albert Natzke (1882-1964)
born in Halcombe, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek
married Maude Catherine JACKSON in 1906
their known children
1908 - 1986 Frederick Louis Natzke (+ Blair)
1910 - 2006 Pauline Maude Natzke (adopted + Sills)
1920 - 1996 Richard Leo Natzke
* They are buried Plot 624, Row 4, Block at Te Awamutu

* Olga Alma Natzke (1891-1892)
born in Halcombe, a daughter of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek
Olga died aged 6 months & is buried at Halcombe

* Otto Heinrich Natzke (1876-1942)
born in Halcombe, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 1st wife, Poline Caroline Timriek

* William Albert Natzke (1888-1931)
son of Albert August (1849-1916) & Caroline Charlotte (1847-1928) Natske
married Elsie Anna GOEBEL (1894-1974) in 1915
died in Ohakea, buried Rongotea

* Zola Merwyn Natzke (1902-1927)
born in Wharepuhunga, Te Awamutu, a son of August Heinrich Natzke & his 2nd wife, Frances Emma Carter
married Rose Darling MURPHY in 1927
Zola was working as a labourer in Auckland when he died later that year at the age of 25.
Auckland Star, 11 Aug 1927
NATZKE - On August 10, 1927 at the Auckland Hospital; Zola Merwyn, dearly beloved husband of Rose Natzke of 18 Peel Street Grey Lynn and dearly beloved son of Mrs F. E. and the late A H. Natzke of Waiheke; aged 25 years. Private interment 11 a.m., to-morrow (Friday).
* He is buried in the same plot as his father at Waikumete


NOTE on August & Poline Natzke
August & Poline married in 1875. They, along with their 1st child, Carl Friedrich Natzke, emigrated from Hamburg, Germany and were among the 69 immigrants from the Fritz Reuter recruited in New Zealand by Arthur Halcombe for settlement within the Manchester Block, Manawatu. The Fritz Reuter sailed from Hamburg 11 April 1876, arriving in Wellington 4 August 1876 with nearly 420 'souls' (as opposed to immigrants) on board, equal to 420 statue adults. More than 260 'Poles' made up half of the 'souls', the largest number of Poles who had arrived in the colony at any one time. Scandinavians, Germans and Italians made up the balance. Immigration officials would typically have counted the Fritz Reuter passengers as 'statute adults' but immigration officials did not count them this time. These 'foreigners' had arrived apparently against the express order of the colonial government, a government that had bluntly stopped 'foreign' immigration..
The day after they arrived in Wellington the local paper, the Evening Post, missing (or chose to ignore) the fact that all settlers in NZ were foreign immigrants, bluntly wrote ..
. . She brings no Government immigrants but nearly 500 souls on board, equal to 420 statute adults, who were ready to come out when orders were given to discontinue the shipment of foreign immigrants. They were therefore forwarded independently of the Government and probably will be landed on Monday next. Their general health has been excellent during the voyage. Eleven deaths occurred, viz., 1 adult, 4 children, and 6 infants under 12 months old. She is consigned to Messrs Krull and Co.

Links
* A must read if you are researching the early Polish settlers from the Fritz Reuter. It has been very difficult to find anything on a passenger list, apparently because it was not considered an 'immigrant ship'.

* A Passenger List 1876

* Poles Down South 1875 leaving Hamburg, Germany 16 Dec 1874 arriving Napier 13 March 1875

* Newspaper Article written in the Taranaki Daily News 1 Jan 2016

Also Read: The FRITZ REUTER

August and Poline settled in Halcombe, Manawatu and had 9 further children.
The 10 children of August & Poline
* 1875 - 1933 Carl Friedrich Natzke (+ Wischnowsky)
* 1876 - 1942 Otto Heinrich Natzke
* 1878 - 1935 Emmel August Natzke (+ Siegel)
* 1880 - 1944 Anna Emma Natzke (+ Anderson)
* 1882 - 1964 Louis Albert Natzke (+ Jackson)
* 1885 - 1951 Helena Amelia Natzke (+ O'Dea)
* 1887 - 1938 Hilda Pauline Natzke (+ Wischnowsky)
* 1890 - 1915 Leo Max Natzke (died Gallipoli)
* 1891 - 1892 Olga Alma (aged 6 months)
* 1893 - 1963 Alma Emma 'Daisy' Natzke (+ Waterson)

* August & Poline had a farm, 'Fernlea,' at Matapara, Te Awamutu.
After Poline died August next married Frances Emma Carter and had 4 sons born in Wharepuhunga (18km NW of Te Awamutu)
* The Wharepuhunga Block comprised 133,720 acres of tribal lands belonging to the Ngati Raukawa tribe. This block came before the Native Land Court on 7 April 1892 and was presided over by Judge Gudgeon.
The 4 children of August & Frances
* 1900 - 1980 Harold Zulu Natzke
* 1902 - 1927 Zola Merwyn Natzke (+ Murphy)
* 1905 - 1968 Herbert William Natzke
* 1912 - 1951 Franz Oscar Natzke Natske (+ Clements)
.. Franz became a NZ operatic singer. He sang as a boy soprano in concerts on Waiheke Island. He became a Canadian citizen and changed his name to Natzka (see his notes above)

They were living in Halcombe when August was naturalized on 23 Oct 1890
* They moved into Hamilton, Waikato/ Clevedon, Auckland.
* he family was displaced by the recession of the 1920s to Waiheke Island, Haurakai Gulf and ran a private boarding house at Onetangi.

Poline died 5 Aug 1897 aged 44 and is buried Halcombe
August died 13 Aug 1922 on Waiheke Island aged 73. His son Zola died, nearly 5 years to the day, 10 Aug 1927 aged 25 and was buried with him.
photo Ferry at the wharf, Cowes Bay, Waiheke Island 1920s (zoom in)
Frances died 27 Nov 1957 aged 83 and is buried Waikumete


PHOTO
Charles Douville COBURN (1877-1961) American film and theatre actor
2nd husband of Winifred Jean Natzke (nee Clements) (see above)