Our Australian
GROSSER Family

© Leslie M. Grosser 2001

A Personal Recollection

1  Origins

The story starts way back in the eighth century when Karl der Grosser
(Charlemagne 742 - 814 A.D.) married according to the Catholic
tradition and two sons were born.  He was the first of the Grosser "Family".

Karl originally King of the FRANKS was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire in 800 A.D. but died in 814 A.D.

The history of the family is lost at this stage, up to 1700 A.D. where it is
known that several families of Grosser were established in the area of
Eastern Europe called "Silesia" and were highly regarded by the Hapsburg
dynasty.  One of our family serving in the Royal Guard in Vienna and noted
for his height, being over 7 feet high.

From the early 1700s, Silesia became the battle ground for many nations.

Following the accession of Maria Theresa to the Austrian Throne, Frederick II
of Prussia, waged war with Austria seizing Silesia.  With the English as
allies war was waged against France, Austria, and Russia. With the finish of
this war Silesia remained as part of Prussia, whilst England took over all
the possessions that France had in India.

In 1786, Frederick Wilhelm III became King of Prussia and soon after
instituted a restriction on all religious operations being carried on in
Prussia and for those Lutherans who did not comply with his instructions he
refused to acknowledge or register their births.
 

Our KARL ALBERT HERMANN GROSSER was born in 1799, nine years after Captain Cook
discovered New South Wales, and when Napoleon was returning to Paris after his
defeat at The Battle of the Nile. A few years later however the French were
again fighting in Silesia and had made great gains in Germany with Austria
having to sign a Peace Treaty in 1801.  In 1804 Napoleon was crowned Emperor of
France and Europe.

Spain then took up arms against England, whilst, Napoleon directed his forces
against all the German princedoms in an effort to unify the whole of Europe.
There was always continual objection to his rule and on August 6, he defeated
the rebellious Prussians at Jena.

With complete control of Europe, Napoleon then declared a Continental
Blockade of England and invaded Portugal so as to ensure the Blockade.  With
the French on two sides of her country Spain was no match for the French who
occupied the whole of Spain in 1808.  The Spanairds rebelled and guerilla war
began with England now assisting the Spaniards and Wellington defeating the
French Forces at Vimeiro, on August 21st.

Continuous rebellion became obvious in several quarters in Germany, Silesia,
Russia and Austria where French troops controlled the populace with very
heavy hands.

The breakdown of French Rule over Europe began during the destruction of
Napoleons Grand Army with the retreat from Moscow in 1812.  A war of Liberation commenced in Germany which was greatly assisted by the defeat of the French Army by Wellington at Vitoria in 1813.

Fighting scourged Silesia as the French Army retreated towards Paris and for
a young 14 year old to be dragged through guerilla warfare, it was horrendous.

Warfare continued throughout Europe until the defeat of Napoleons army at
Toulouse by Wellington and Blucher on April 10th 1814, with Napoleon
abdicating the next day.  The resettlement of Europe with the restoration of
the Kings and Princes throughout Germany then began; with Austria supervising
the re-establishment of King Frederick Wilhelm III on the Prussian throne.
 

2  A More harmonious Country?

Frederick Wilhelm was seized with the power to subjugate his people making
them realise the importance of the Crown; and having no respect for the
Freedom of Conscience, set about making one religious order in 'his country'.

For three hundred years the people of Silesia had been strictly devoted to
the teachings of Martin Luther and 700 Churches had been established whilst
three churches of the Reformed Calvinistic Church were in operation.
Frederick was determined that all would obey his will and that there would be
one Church in Prussia with him as Chief Bishop of his imperial "Church".

It was with this war background that Karl Alberts Family had lived for over a
hundred years and then trying to bring up a young family in the Christian
tradition he was confronted with intensifying persecution from the police and
the Army.

The stories of the atrocities carried out in the name of the "Church of
Prussia" indicate that many of the Lutheran adherents suffered beatings on
the Church steps with some being imprisoned whilst non compliance
from the Pastors of the Lutheran Church were dealt with long Prison terms.

Karl Albert was 40 years of age in 1839 with a growing family of 6 children
when he made the decision to try and give his family a better life than he
had experienced in Silesia.

A carpenter and Master builder he was able to conceive that he could build a
home for his family in a remote part of the world where they would be free of
the constant persecution that he had experienced in the years of the
horrifying war that had happened in his part of the world. The New World of
America was opening up to European migration and it was to this country that
he first applied for exit visas for himself and his family.

And Karl was not alone in his desire to get away from Silesia under the
tyrant Frederick Wilhelm.   Many, many, other families were seeking freedom from
persecution and freedom of their religious convictions. The decision to leave
their homeland, and their kith and kin, and all the things that one considers
dear to one, could not have been taken lightly.

It was in September 1838 that Karl was given approval for emigration to the
newly formed United States of America.  However, through the close relationship
existing between Pastor August Kavel and Pastor Daniel Fritzsche, Kavel
encouraged Fritzsche to consider coming to South Australia instead of going
to USA.  The letter circulated to the congregations of Silesia and Posen was
the factor in making the decision to emigrate to Adelaide.

And so it was,that Karl Albert Grosser arrived with his wife Rosina and
their five Children on October 27th 1841.  His second eldest son was denied a
visa, until he had given his period in military training for the King.

The sea trip lasting 4 months must have been very frightening for the
emigrants since they were quartered in extremely confined quarters, so much
so, that disease and sickness affected most of them.  In all, one person out
of five died on the voyage.  A much higher average of deaths than on the first
fleet coming to Australia.  During the voyage Anna Rosina gave birth to a
daughter, [Maria] Salome.

Upon arrival at Port Adelaide and being brought to the shore, some of the men
braved the distance and walked all the way to Klemzig with their baggage a
distance of 19 miles.
 

3  The Settlement - Bethany

On the fifth day in port several bullock drays arrived to transport the new
arrivals to the villages of Klemzig and Hahndorf. Here our new arrivals
stayed for a period of 5 months getting to evaluate the position in regard to
the building of housing and the growing foodstuffs to maintain existance.

Following the settlement of purchase rights and leasing a party of 28
families,consisting of 115 persons, 80 adults and 35 children set off from
Klemzig to settle in the Barossa.   Karl Albert Grosser was elected Mayor of
the group and with his six children all under the age of 15 years set about
developing a Parish of Bethany situated below the Barossa ranges.

Karl Alberts skill in carpentry and building was extremely valuable since his
house was the first completed and became used also for Church worship.
Bethany was laid out in typical Silesian fashion with the houses built facing
the road with the land strips from 13m up to 200m wide stretching back in two
or three sections. Each section being 577m long.

Vegetable gardens were established behind the house with fields for crops
behind that whilst at the end were the grazing paddocks for the cattle and
horses.

Due to the hard work of the settlers, after some 13 months settling at
Bethany they had 495 acres under cultivation and 381 of these were cropped
with wheat.

However, life at Bethany was never easy.  All members of the family would be
placed on building the home whilst they lived in bark shelters.  The homes
would have been built of mud or clay bricks and stone whilst the roof would
have been built in traditional style with wattle tree branches forming the
rafters and dried rushes and grasses forming the thatched roofing.  Life for
some families even consisted of living in the Hollows of burnt-out trees, but
to keep up the education of the children a school was established in 1842 and
all under 14 years had to attend.

But for the family of [Karl Albert] Grosser with their strong trust in the Lord, they had by the year 1844 built a large home and started building the first Church.
They had acheived a harvest of 20 acres of wheat, 5 of Barley , 1 of Rye, 1 of
Oats, 1+ of Peas,  1+ of Vegetables and had 2 Sheep, 11 Cattle, 4 Pigs,and 16
Goats.  They had also been rewarded with the birth of the first Australian born son,
our Benjamin [Leberecht Dienegott] Grosser,born on April 17th 1844.

One can well imagine the feelings of the family members in their acheivements
and in the development of their new surroundings.  The government of the day
were very pleased with the development of the settlement and rewarded Karl
Albert, with naturalisation papers in 1847.

Imagine now too the grief and the sorrow that the family suffered when Karl
Albert took ill and suddenly died in 1849.  We have no history of the
devastating effect that this had on the whole family but we do know that Anna
Rosina took the youngest of her family and shifted to Light Pass where
later (1851) she married Gottlieb Fielder. Anna Rosina however died in 1856
when Benjamin was just 12 years of age.

Who took charge of Benjamin at this stage we do not know.
 

4  Benjamin

Our history again is lacking in what happened to the young Benjamin but as he
reappears later, he is a Farmer. Reports that he was a Wheelwright and
Blacksmith are doubted since his son Emil August had to leave home to be come
an Apprentice in the trade.

Benjamin worked as a Farm Labourer and married when he was 28 years old Maria
Bartusch who bore him a pair of twins and a son Emil August who has been
written into this history as the "Ophir Grosser".

The Twins born to Benjamin & Maria were Anna Elizabeth and Charles Albert
both born on October 14th , 1872 . Another set of twin girls were born in
1875 but both died very young Emilie being 1 year old and her sister Antonia
3years of age when she too passed away.

The two surviving children were eight years old when their mother gave birth
to their brother Emil August on the 25th November 1880. When their mother
died in 1883 Emil was only 3 years old and Anna 11years of age,and Emil tells
the story of how when Anna had tohelp her father with the ploughing she would
wrap him in a "holster" and support it on the fence sur-rounding the farm
whilst she took a turn at the ploughing.

The early years for Benjamin must have been very hard,demanding considerable
effort for little pay. Sickness and death seemed everywhere with many of the
children dying within the first year of birth and many women dying in
Childbirth or not long after.

Benjamin married for his second marriage Maria Kline in 1885 who bore him a
child named Ernest Friedrich on the 23rd September 1886 , Maria his mother
died a few days later with complications.

Benjamin must have been heartbroken, for now he was left with a very young
family of two children 14 years of age, a son 6 years old and another a few
days old.  Imagine too, how these two 14 year old children would have had to assist in the running of the home, and caring for the baby.

Benjamin would have had to obtain outside assistance in rearing his family,
but by 1894 Emil Auguist had been provided with his horse and was indentured
as an apprentice wheelwright and Body builder.

Benjamin married for the third time in 1895, nine years after his second wife
had died.

He died in 1917,after being cared for in his latter years by his daughter and
son-in-law, Anna and Matthias Lange who had a farm at the junction of the
main Barossa railway and the main road going in towards Angaston.
 

5  The "Ophir" Grossers

Emil August (Gus) was reared in the Tarnma district with his family who owned
a farm there. He was taught at school to become bi-lingual since Deutsch was
spoken at home whilst English was taught at the school. At the age of 14 he
must have been a very able hand to have around the farm however this was the
age of the horse drawn vehicles and a good opening for an apprenticeship was
offered to him which with his fathers encouragement he took. He had his own
horse and remembered the day well when he left home to take up his
apprenticeship which involved riding his horse fromHamilton to the crossing
of the River Murray.This involved services given in return for accommodation
and meals and Gus gave a lot but learnt alot in return.

He remembered well the long ride on horseback up Accommodation Hill to
finally settle in Hamilton where he set up his business of Wheelwright and
[Coach] Body Builder

He attended the Lutheran Church and became attracted to a very beautiful
choirister, Miss Jane Kennedy. It was a real love match and Emil married her in 1901 when he was 21 years of age. A son was born in 1902 of this union and named
Raymond.

Gus business prospered and he employed other men to help build the wheels and
the sulkies (two Wheelers) which had become so popular at that time. His
interest widened to breeding Fancy Pigeons and imported some Blondinetts from
England which arrived in Port Adelaide via the Steamship "Ophir".  He was
intensely proud of the contribution that those birds made to the Australian Breed that he called his cages the "Ophir Lofts"

From the relatively remote town of Hamilton, South Australia he was
exhibiting his show birds in the Sydney Royal Agricultural & Horticultural
Show and winning prizes with them.

Certificates of Merit date back to 1906.

It was a very happy family, until Jane appeared to be weakening and coughing a
lot.

The local doctor indicated that it was a fever but that it could only be
cured by seeking the best medical treatment then available -in Adelaide. Gus
sold his business in Marrabel and Hamilton to his father and shifted all his
family and his birds to a new home at 10 Somerset Avenue Hilton, 3 miles from
the GPO.  Here he called his Home "Ophir".

His immediate concern was for his wifes health and seeking specialist
treatment for her at the Adelaide Hospital was very concerned to learn that
she had developed into a serious case of Tuberculosis and that because she
had breast fed her son Ray he was developing the complaint too.

He immediately had her admitted to the Belair Sanitarium high in the hills
above Adelaide where the climate could be of the greatest value and sought
treatment for Ray, who was only 10 years of age.

To maintain his lifestyle he took a job with the Company of Holdens Body Builders who were in Franklin Street, Adelaide [City] and who had a large verandah on
which a White Horse was proudly displayed overlooking the street.  Gus worked
here for several years making the wheels for the new automobiles that Holdens were importing in sections and assembling in the City.  The wheels were made with Hickory spokes assembled into a steel outer frame which supported the inner tube and the tyre.

New opportunities were opening up with the building of the new railway
coaches which were proposed to go on line very soon and Gus began building
some of the very first at the Islington Workshops.

Whilst working at Islington Railway Workshops, Jane passed away with great
sorrow and was buried in West terrace Cemetary.  With his great concern for his
son Ray, Gus advertised for a housekeeper to look after the home and the
boy.  One person to apply was an attractive widow named Mrs Buttfield.
 

6  The Buttfield Saga: Saved by the Grace of God

Mrs Gladys Buttfield came with impeccable references. She had nursing experience
and had become a widow to a Port Lincoln, Eyres Peninsular notable within the
past six months.

Mrs Buttfield proved very efficient in her duties and was soon winning over
the neighbours and Gus. A close relationship began which after a few months
developed into a very intimate relationship, as she revealed that she had become
pregnant.

Gus ever dutiful, decided they must get married, for the sake of the future child. However the baby did not develop and Gus felt that he had been cheated into marriage.  However, a year later on the 7th November 1912, she gave birth to a son whom she named Maurice Barton Kooringa Grosser.

One of the small benefits that existed at Islington was that the Carriage
shop was close to the Islington Hotel at lunchtime.  As there was no lunchroom
in the Railway Works in those days it was common practice for the Carriage
Builders to eat their brought in lunch on the verandah area of the hotel
before finishing it off, with a glass of ale.

For four days at lunchtime Gus ate his sandwiches and became ill after eating
and drinking.  On the fifth day he was eating his sandwich when he became ill
before he drank his ale.  Feeling that it was his sandwiches that caused the
sickness, he saw fit to take the afternoon off work and went to Adelaide to
the Public Analyst, where he asked for the remaining sandwiches to be examined
for poison.

The result was surprising in that the analyst had found that they were
POISONED with White ARSENIC , commonly used in those days as a weed killer
and vermin killer.

Gus was advised to immediately seek medical advice whilst the analyst a
Government Servant advised the Police. The Police enquiries were very
thorough and they revealed to Gus that Gladys had taken out an insurance
policy on his life without his knowledge and that she was in fact poisoning
him to obtain a very large sum of money from the insurance Company.

Gus immediately instituted divorce proceedings against Gladys and in the
ensuing court battle when the decision of the judge was given and that Gus
had the custody of the child, Gladys threw her young son across the aisle at
Gus who expertly caught the baby and bid her "adieu" before leaving the Court. His sister Annie was present at the trial and took the young Maurice and reared him as her own in the country.

Whilst Gus was undergoing an extraction technique to remove the Arsenic from
his body tissues he was informed that Raymond had worsened with his mothers
complaint and would need much greater attention than before.  He was now eleven
years of age.

A very good friend, Florence Harry who lived in the nearby Atril Avenue came
to help Gus.  They both fell in love with the result that he and Florence were
married in 1913.  A son was born to them both and named Percival Reginald.

Another son was born in 1918, Leslie Maxwell and a daughter Hazel Gwendoline
Irene in 1922.
 

7.  Leslie Maxwell Grosser's Story: The Early Years

I was born on the 7th day of October 1918, a few hours difference between the
birth of a cousin, Desmond Harry. Born at 10 Somerset Avenue, Hilton, my mother was
attended by a midwife named Mrs Holmes who lived at 7 Somerset Avenue.

I was named after my mothers brother, Leslie Harry, who had volunteered at the
age of 17 for war service [WW I] in the Australian Light Horse [Brigade] Unit and was in the battle of Gallipoli [at the Dardenelles, Turkey] where only a few hundred men were able to be withdrawn from a regimental strength of 1000+. He subsequently went on to fight as a machine gunner in the front line troops, in France .

Maxwell was my fathers choice and some how Mrs Holmes when registering me got
my first and second names mixed up on the registration papers.

Whilst I was always called and spoken too by my family as Maxwell Leslie, it
was not until I was seeking marriage and had to produce a copy of my birth
certificate that I learnt that I was registered as Leslie Maxwell GROSSER.

My recollections of my very early years is one of being very much loved by
all around me.  I recall that about the age of two or there abouts the paddock
between the back of our home and the Cowandilla school had been cleared as
for planting a crop. It was so bare.

A few years later it had became covered with prickly Boxthorn.

I learned later that the property was owned by a Miss Skinner who had a
fondness for wearing black dresses and although she looked very much like a
character from a book, yet she was held in high esteem by every school child.
The home she lived in fronted Rowland Road, the main road, through Hilton.

The house was typical of the early 1860's, a single story wooden structure
which had wooden slats on the sides and a wooden chimney lined inside with
iron sheets.  Hard dirt floors and a roof of corrugated iron, with a verandah with woodenfloor and iron roof. It was in this house that Miss Skinner changed every
childs books and comic papers.

It was a free service and she became very much loved for her kindness.

During those early years I learnt that my Father bred special pigeons and
that I must not try and get into the pigeon lofts nor must I go near our
horse which was stabled at the rear of the house in a special stable.  Her name
was Molly and she was part race horse and my Father enjoyed taking his family
"Out" at the week ends in a sulky which he had made when he lived in the
country.   He built many different types of vehicles all of them horse powered
or possibly bullock drays and even to the stage coaches which plied
between Port Augusta and Adelaide.

The road in Somerset Avenue where my family lived was 'macadamised'. That is to
say the road was built from the edges, on the bottom large stones then smaller
until the top layer was thin sand spread between stones about 50mm in size.
Good for the horse to grip the surface, yet terrible hard for the passengers
in the sulkies and other vehicles.

I was very fond of my elder brothers and looked for assistance from them on
every possible occasion.  Ray appeared to go to the mountains very often and
did not appear, for long periods. It was when I was five years of age my
mother told me that Ray had gone to see his mother in Heaven, but that he had
left me his Loquat Tree, the fruit of which I enjoyed immensely.

In 1924, I commenced my schooling at the Cowandilla Primary School which was
just across Skinners paddock and for me and a whole lot of children, like me
who had always been by the mothers side it was a horrifying experience for
the first few weeks.  Reg my elder brother had been going to school for 5
years and he was in grade 5, and in those early days I used to look for him
at recess and lunch time.  We always took our lunches to school and ate them
sitting on the seats which circled the huge gum trees that were growing in a
straight line, across the width of the school property.
 

8.  Leslie Maxwell Grosser's Story: New Technology & The Depression

My first teacher was "Little Miss Smith" the "Little" to distinguish between
her and the "Big" Miss Smith who later taught me in grade 4.

When I was 4 years old Mother presented to me a sister who was born on the
20th January 1922 and who became a very great favourite with me.

As a youngster I became a very fast learner and by the age of 11, I had
completed the 7 grades and was due to go on to High school in 1929.

The past 6 years had seen tremendous changes going on in our area as well as
in South Australia generally.  Electricity was fast overtaking the Kerosene
lamp lighting that we all had to use and I can remember what a great
disturbance it was initially having the electric power put into our house
with men crawling over the interior of the roof sections laying their cables
with a lot of hammering.

Roads were improving with the first of the bitumen surfaces being laid down
on the main roads after the electric trams rails were laid.  I can well
remember being in the sulky with the family when Molly, first had to pass an
electric tram which was stationery at the Hilton Terminus.  Father was unable
to control her until she had reached the Marion Road, about a half a mile
away.  It was this moment that made him realise that with alternative
transport and the fact that he was unable to give Molly the exercise she
needed that he must sell her and the sulky. That was a traumatic day for
everybody, when we had to say goodbye to Molly, for the last time.

At that time, Hilton, although only a couple of miles from the GPO, did not have
any other alternative power source than Kerosene.  So one can imagine the
wonder of it all when the electric light was first turned on down our street
and we not only had light and heating inside the homes but we had lights in
anotherwise dark street that stayed on until midnight.   Previously, they were turned off.  Imagine too the effect all this had on a young just 11 year old boy who
wanted to go to high school in the City?  "Well...", Father said, "No you are too
young to go there yet."  So back I went to Grade 7 for another year and
entered into the examination for the Adelaide Technical High School, which I
passed with flying colours and was given a Scholarship.

At this time too saw the emergence of Radio.  I can well remember how my
brother Reg had made a crystal set.  Not having an aerial we walked all the
way down to the site of the new 5CL radio station that had been built on
grounds just off Marion Road and near the Henly Beach Road. There we tied a
flexible aerial wire to the fencing wire surrounding the station whilst
another we just pushed into the soil to make an earth.  The earphone was an
old earphone from a derelict telephone but after playing with the Cats
Whisker for a few minutes too find a really sensitive spot on the Galena
crystal we had, it worked beautifully.

Radio made great strides at this time and it wasnt long after this
episode, that friends of my fathers by the name of Foch, at the suburb of St. Peters asked us to come up for dinner and admire their NEW RADIO with 4 BRIGHT BLUE Valves on which they were able to bring in stations around the world on Long Waves.

But so it became that Reg was a pupil of the Thebarton Technical High School
and I was a student at the Adelaide Technical High school.

My school days were affected by the fact that this was the time of the Great
Depression and whilst father had been able to overcome most of the employment
problems by working Contract work at places like George Gitsham & Sons, Car &
Truck factory in Thebarton.

Nevertheless, there were times when he was officially without employment and
money was scarce.  During the school holidays Dad would give me work
experience by taking me with him to Gitshams where I would do odd jobs and
learn Sign Writing from one of the other employees.  However, my interest was in
Chemistry and in 1932 during the holidays I got a Job at F. H. Faulding & Co.
starting washing bottles, which even in those days were being recycled.
 

9.  Leslie Maxwell Grosser's Story: A New Understanding

Working at Fauldings was very interesting and it wasnt very long before I
was assisting in manufacturing Faudings Epsom Salts, working with a Milton
Cousins, someone who later trained with me in Applied Chemistry and who
became Head Brewer at the West End Brewery.  The interest in Medicine gave me
the incentive to try for a cadetship at the Adelaide University in Medicine.
I was successful and began my work there in the Anatomy Laboratory, whilst I
prepared for studies in first year Medicine.

For six months I prepared the cadavers for dissection.  Draining the preserving
fluids from the bodies and drying them before transferring them to the
dissecting tables.  The very close contact that I had with these bodies made
me realise that this was not to be the method that I should learn to be come
a Doctor of Medicine.

Because of my close assosciation with Chemistry and my fathers close working
with the Group in Thebarton he spoke to the Manager of Thomas Hardy & Sons,
Vintners, as to whether they had opportunities for a young boy studying Chemistry. The result was that I was employed initially to work in the cellars and to assist the Chemical Laboratory which at that time was supervised by Colin Hazelgrove,
Roger Warren and Dick Heath.  The grounding work in Hardys was extremely
valuable since I was shown the production and blending of the wines, brandy
and licquers made at Tintara Wines, Thebarton.

Working with the Laboratory as a junior, brought me in contact with THE Mr
Thomas Hardy who had young children, of his own, and thus took a fatherly interest in my work.  It was Mr Tom who gave me his copy of the translation of Muldners
"Wine Production" which had been used by Dr. T.R. Penfold in making his wines
back in the 1840-1850 era.  It was he, that also gave me his fathers Chemical
Balance which had been used for gold weighing and still had the Grains
weights included with the metric grams.  This balance has had a lot of use
since. The assosciation with the company of Thos Hardy & Sons was very very
enjoyable and I became aquainted with the Engineering Manager.  One Sunday I
was asked to accompany them on a testing of Mr Toms Yacht, the "Nerida".

We spent about 4 hours cruising around the waters of Spencer Gulf whilst the
single vertical diesel engine, ticked over as quietly, as could be.  This yacht
later was owned by Colin Hazelgrove and later still by Jim Hardy who used it
extensively in NSW.

It was at Thebarton that I learnt the fundamentals of Boiler Care and
Distillation of Brandy.

During this time at Hardys, I obtained a Night scholarship at the School of
Mines & Industries and began a course in Industrial Chemistry, which meant that
two nights a week I attended North Terrace Laboratories for 6 hours the week.

This assosciation came to a sudden shock when after bidding Mr Tom farewell on a
visit he was making to Canberra with other Wine makers we learnt that the
aeroplane which they had left Parafield Aerodrome, had not arrived in Canberra.
The remains of the 'plane were not found for another 14 years later in the
Snowy Mountains during the massive building of the Snowy Mountains Hydro
Electric Scheme.

Mr Tom Hardys demise was the reason that the management called in Mr Ron
Hardy from Sydney, a cousin to manage the company and it was his style of
management that made me think of looking elsewhere for a more satisfactory
style of employment.

An opportunity offered at the Bighton Cement Works which though some distance
away from home could be reached by tram or bicycle, to Thebarton and then
train from Mile End Station to Seacliff with a walk up the hill to the
laboratory.  So I took it.

The position offered Shift Control, Analytical Experience and Research
Opportunities and was supervised by a very good Chemist, Mr Gordon Dick.
Brighton Cement were hard pressed at making the cement to carry out the
concrete work assosciated with building of the Goolwa Barrage and I had the
initial work of Physical Testing the concrete mixes and ensuring the strength
was correct.  This work involved mixing set weights of cement and Paringa sand
with specific volumes of water and mixing thoroughly by hand before filling
quantities into cubic containers which underwent mechanical hammering
screeing off the block and the curing in a 100% humid room for 24 hours, then
parting and storage in water or air for 7 to 28 days, before Compression Testing
 

10.  Leslie Maxwell Grosser's Story: Research & Development

Working with the Shift group in the Chemical Laboratory taught me so many
different phases of the industry.  The need for a continuing supply of calcium carbonate, which was of concern to me as well as to others.  My concerns were conveyed toMr Reg Sprigg who was the assistant Government Geologist and who was a good friend of mine at the ATHS.

Reg said he would examine the future of the quarry we were working at Tapleys
Hill.

The men who I worked with there included some very good friends including
David Penn,David Lucas, Ken Fleming, Geoff Pywell. Amongst these men were some very good golfing players and we used to have competitions on the adjoining Marino golf
links.

My work had materially changed as the time passed and whilst periodically
called upon to do shift work on the cement production I was also being used
for research and development of new types of cements.  One of these was a
special waterproof cement in which I was able to incorporate finely powdered
Lithium Stearate which when incorporated properly was able to enter into a
chemical reduction process which resulted in Calcium Stearate separating
during the mixing process and floating to the top of the curing cement
surface.  That which did not reach the surface remained suspended within the
mass and contributed to a general resistance to "wet" after it had dried.

Early in 1939 it had become obvious to a lot of people that war with Germany
was evident.

David Penn applied for admittance to the Royal Airforce and was accepted and
left the works.  Desmond Harry and myself were thrilled with the idea of
joining an Australian Airforce should war eventuate and early in October,following our 21st birthday we both applied as war had been declared several
weeks before hand on September 3rd 1939.

But it seems we were too early, there was still no definitive scheme for
training pilots and so we were asked to await our callup for the future
"Empire Training Scheme" and we went back to our jobs.  Brighton Cement were
then making cement for the formation of Explosives factories around Adelaide.

In 1941,I received a callup for the 27th Battalion at Hindmarsh, and whilst
at the swearing-in ceremony I was asked to step out and follow the sergeant
to the Office. There the Officer in Charge asked me about my Chemical and
Metallurgical knowledge and after providing the same he said "Mr Grosser you
will not be joining the Army yet, we need you urgently at Islington works
where our rifles are blowing up because of faulty bullets."

So without further ado, a car was sent for and two officers and I proceeded
to Islington Railway Workshops which was being converted into an armament
manufacturing factory.

I was not able to say goodbye to my old workmates at Brighton Cement Works,
except by phone.  After this it was head down and little sleep.

Analysis of the problem presented to me and analysed by me showed that the
brass ribbon used to make the bullet cases had not been annealed after
rolling and so I had to build a annealing oven for all the metal and see that
it was operated correctly so that no more faulty bullets were produced.

After that there was the problem of making 4-inch gun shell cases, with another
oven having to be built for bringing the shell casings to a red heat after
which they were delivered by a conveyor to a Drop Hammer Press which allowed
a heavy hammer to form the cavity for the explosive of the shell.  The raw
shell cases were then cooled and stacked and then machined to correct size
and forwarded to Port Adelaide Munitions for loading and assembly.  Whilst I
was doing this work Desmond Harry was sent with our Uncle Perce Harry and
their battalions to Darwin, to repel any Japanese, that might land there.

He was issued with a dozen bullets and a .303 rifle and told not to waste the
bullets on any aeroplanes that came over.  Shortly after I became involved in
all forms of manufacture at Islington and became very friendly with the Cheif
Mechanical Engineer, Mr Frank Harrison who was second in Charge of Munition
manufacture to Essington Lewis, Managing Director of our B H P Works.  I was
asked to take some photographs of developments that were occuring because of
my assosciation with the Adelaide Camera Club and subsequently I was made the
official Railway Works Photographer as well as having a whole range of
technical analyses, supervision of incoming raw materials and some production
of munitions.
 
 

11.  Leslie Maxwell Grosser's Story: A New Family & Career

The production of munitions and the machines to produce them at Islington
were being encouraged in the early stages of the war because of the openness of
the eastern states to aerial bombing. Our production of Scout Cars, and Bren
Gun Carriers became assosciated with the development of Beaufort Bomber and
Fighter Wings and Tail planes, as well as the production of all the same parts
for the Lancaster and Lancastrian Bombers.

During this early period in 1942 I asked for the hand in marriage of a very
beautiful girl who I had had a long courtship with since about 1936.  Her name was Gwenda Wright who lived at 10 Holland Street, Southwark,later Hindmarsh.  She was a
very bright girl who also studied at the Adelaide Technical High School,
doing a Commercial Course.

My assosciation with Gwenda went back to our working together at the Holder
Memorial Methodist Church where we were married on the 3rd of April,
1943.

After the marriage we lived with Gwenda's parents at their home at 10 Holland
Street, Southwark,for approximately two years (1943 - 1944).  Our first son David had his early upbringing at this home before we shifted to Botting Street, Albert
Park where Aunty Lucy had left her home vacant whilst she spent her time as
close to her husband Keith who as an Army Officer was posted tothe Prisoners
of War Compound at Cowra, on the River Murray.

It was at 47 Botting Street that we built our First home.

The work with the Railways, Dept of Munitions, and the Dept. of Aircraft
production was very demanding but most satisfying giving me experience in
using every technology, that I had aquired before joining them.

From the design and building of complete Paint, Lacquer and Varnish
production centres to the design and building of Electroplating Plants, Case
Hardening Furnaces and the production of used Oil Treatment Plants all these
made the work so very interesting.

With World War II completed, with the surrender of Japan, the work
concentrated on developing the Railways equipment and this continued for me
until 1956 when I was asked by my former CME Frank Harrison to join him at
the Austral Sheet metal Works at Thebarton.

Franks proposals were very good and with some reluctance, I resigned from SAR.

I joined Austral Sheet Metal Works early in October and Frank outlined what
he wanted me to accomplish was the going to England and discussing
representation with several Companies and then at the end of November to
proced to Cologne in West Germany where I would be taught the details of
production of new fermenting technology for Wine production and the
manufacture of equipment for this to proceed in Australia.

The Company I was to work with was Munk& Schmitz KG who were manufacturing
very large plastic lined Pressure Tanks which would be used for the control
of fermentation and the production of Sparkling wines.

Having only been riding a bicycle and using the railways in Adelaide, the
thought of having to take a long air flight to Europe in 1957 was exciting.

The work took far longer than we had expected primarily because I had to
aquire information and technology not only for the production of Controlled
Fermentation Tanks but for the whole production and the equipment to be used
for the production of Sterile Handling and forming of Wines both Still and
Sparkling as well as the heat extraction of colour for red wines all of which
was so far advanced when compared with the Australian methods of Wine
Manufac-ture that our production was considered Archaic.

To obtain all the agencies that I needed and to gain the 'technical knowhow'
meant a lot of travelling around Europe to spend time in the wineries using
the equipment, as well as the Universities and laboratories of the Wine Industry.
This took me 11 months to acquire what we originally anticipated would be 3
months, although it was worth it.

I returned to Sydney in late August 57 and meeting Frank Harrison and Gwenda
who had been patiently awaiting the return of my flight which was 7 days late
due to engine malfunctioning necessitating stops in Rome, Athens, Karachi &
Singapore to repair defects and damage caused by lightning strikes.
 
 

12.  Leslie Maxwell Grosser's Story: A Change of Perspective

The first winery to be interviewed in Sydney was Penfolds Wines who had a
lady as Managing Director [MD], a Mrs who was supervising a convention of their winemakers at the time.  I was asked to give a lecture to the group which i did indicating that the technique was very advanced compared with their current production methods and that it would involve controlling Picking of the grapes, the
Destalking and Crushing under controlled conditions and the fermentation at
controlled temperatures and pressures with the wines then being handled in
sterile condition before final bottling with sterile filtration and sterile
bottling.

I was asked to return the next day and they would give me an answer on their
purchase of equipment.  The answer was "Sorry Mr. Grosser but our wine makers
have said that they have lived through a number of different methods of wine
making but prefer not to change."  Penfolds were to regret that lack of
foresight, since the next group that I saw was Colin Gramps Orlando Winery.
They were very pleased to know of the opportunity for change and asked
immediately for bottle washing and sterile bottling equipment.

Sterile filters, high-pressure bottling tanks and medium-pressure storage and
fermentation tanks.  Gramps controlled fermentation wines took gold medals at
the various wine shows here and overseas, whilst his "Barossa Pearl" took the
country by surprise becoming the most sought after wine of the time.
Lindemans, Mc Williams led the field to change their style of production and
with many requests for equipment, so that my time was fully booked.

During this hectic time Mr. Frank Harrison died of a heart problem leaving
everything for development in my hands.  The board elected the Secretary
to take over the administration of the company, whilst I continued to
develop the many agencies, that I had arranged.

So redesigning the whole works for the production of the plastic lined
pressure tanks and stainless steel tanks and the equipment being completed we
went into production with the first stainless steel tanks manufactured for
the Brewing industry in Australia.  Additionally, the first stainless steel tanks
for the wine industry, were manufactured here.  The development of the wine industry was moving ahead quite fast over the next 4 years with highly developed presses being used for the temperature heating of the extracted red grape juice to 65C and being recycled through the press for 2 to 4 hours whilst sparkling wines really set
high standards for quality and price.  Electropolishing of stainless steel and
alloys was introduced by me together with the use of super pure aluminium for
car bodies as well as colouring of anodised equipment. About this time,
August 1957, we encouraged the MD, to go overseas and meet the
people for whom we had become agents for in Australia & NZ.

Whilst he was overseas our bank manager warned me that I should employ an
internal auditor to go through our companies books as he felt that all was
not correct. He was correct and I had to await our MD's return at the end of September, for confirmation.

Meanwhile Dr. Fornachon of the the Wine and Brandy Assosciation had asked me
to give a lecture to the Australian Wine industry on Controlled Fermentation
and the use of Pressure Tanks inthe Wine Industry.  This was a" new feature"
being introduced to the Wine Industry generally. This was scheduled for early
October.

Our MD returned on time and as SA had advanced Commercial Laws
appertainiing to the misuse or stealing of a private company's funds by a
Director, I advised him that a audit had uncovered the thousands of Pounds
which he had extracted from our bank funds. I thereupon gave him seven days
to return the money, or I should resign.  The other directors had already been
informed of what I would do, in the case of him, rejecting my demands.

Meanwhile, I gave the lecture to the Wine industry and met a Prof. Dr.
Cornelius Ough, of the University of California, who was so impressed that he
asked me, if I would give a lecture to the American Society of Enologists.  I
agreed, if it was possible for me to spend some of that time in USA.

However, came the 7th of October and I resigned and by the 10th of October was
employed by Mauri Brothers & Thomson in Adelaide.  After 14 days, I was
asked to go to the Head Office, in Sydney.
 

13.  Leslie Maxwell Grosser's Story: A New World

In Sydney, I was escorted to the Managing Directors Office where I met Donald
Junor who asked whether I would consider moving to Sydney and accepting the
title of Vice-President, Engineering.  This section of the company required a lot of administration and technology skills, to get it back into the black.  I accepted and the future was in the hands of my chioldren who now would group
in a different world, to what they had experienced in Adelaide.

It is worthy of recording that a month after I resigned from ASM. the
Secretary resigned, as well as the Chief Draughtsman.  My former MD did not replace the money taken, but sold the company off, to our largest Kitchenware competitor
within a year and so destroyed all evidence of his wrongdoing.

- To be Continued -