Nathan Frederick Spielvogel (10 May 1874 – 10 September 1956) 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 Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Australian census, 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australi ...

, 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 Kolomyia (, ), formerly known as Kolomea, is a city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is lim ...

, Galizia, Austria (now in western

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) and his mother in Chodsiesen, Prussia (now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). They married at Ballarat Synagogue on 25 December 1867. Spielvogel was educated at Dana Street State School, Ballarat, and had his

Bar Mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

at Ballarat Synagogue on 21 May 1887.

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,

Orbost Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside town of Marlo on the coast of Ba ...

Longwood, where a

whispering campaign A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while they are spread. For example, a political camp ...

accused him of being German,

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

, and back to his old school at Dana Street, Ballarat, retiring in 1939. His Jewish identity was also part of his writing. In 1903, six years after the

First Zionist Congress The First Zionist Congress () was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization (ZO) held in the Stadtcasino Basel in the city of Basel on August 29–31, 1897. Two hundred and eight delegates from 17 countries and 2 ...

and the stirrings of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, he published his ballad, ''The Wandering Jew'' in '' The Bulletin'':THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BALLARAT SYNAGOGUE
Australian Jewish Historical Society. 2011 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''. He contributed to '' The Lone Hand'', '' The Bulletin'', and '' Dimboola Banner'' as "Genung", "Eko", "Ato", "Ahaswar".

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. On Thursdays he dined at Fasoli's restaurant with the writers and artists, E.J. Brady, Hal Gye, Louis Esson,

C. J. Dennis Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis (7 September 1876 – 22 June 1938), better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet and journalist known for his best-selling verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' (1915). Alongside ...

and

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxing, boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of hi ...

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. *Lassalle Harris Spielvogel (12 June 1914 – ) known as William? *Frederick Phillip Spielvogel (28 March 1916 – ) known as Phillip. All three married outside the Jewish faith and away from Ballarat. 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.

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 The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia, during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, wh ...

*''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'', no doubt the source of his pseudonym "Ahaswar". *From around 1920 he wrote a monthly piece for the Victorian ''Teachers' Journal'' *A history of the Ballarat Hebrew congregation 1855–1928

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spielvogel, Nathan 1874 births 1956 deaths Australian writers Australian headmasters Australian Jews People from Ballarat