Caroline Schmidt Is Dead,

But Her Memory Lives On

By Romola McSwain

Officially, she was known as Caroline Schmidt, but the natives ind the old-timers of the district ailed her Carlina. She died in

Tadang on May 25, 1968, and

he flowers massed on her coffin is it lay in the Catholic Church

—exotic hibiscus, frangipani and

trchids in a riot of colour — eemed to symbolise her own umultuous career in New juinea.

Of the six pall bearers, one was Australian, one German, three of fixed blood and one Chinese.

The dainty little children who stood n either side of the coffin during Lequiem Mass displayed as much thnic variation again, and the con regation represented one of the -uest cross-sections of territory aciety ever likely to be seen.

The people who stood in the rizzling rain, watching as the in mse young men of her family sent le coronous rattling into the narrow rave, were there out of genuine ffection for that tiny old lady. New iuineans, Dutch, German, Australian, Chinese, English—they all knew that lis was the closing of a flamboyant ra that began with the German ccupation of the territory.

Just as there are various reports f Caroline’s age, ranging from 80 a 90, so there are many stories of er life, embellished with the years, onfused by the upheavals of two 'ars, and distorted by the faulty lemories of old-timers.

This is the story she herself told le in her house on Modillon Road, ear Matupit, Madang, early this ear. It is as much a story of the arly days of the territory—and of )ueen Emma—as of Caroline herself.

She was born near Rabaul, of a lavieng mother and a German father, lax Thiele, who worked with the amous Hernsheim Company.

When she was a small girl, her ather went to Batavia, leaving her t school in Singapore on his way. .ater, she returned to New Britain a be brought up at Ralum by Mrs.

Parkinson, sister of the famous Samoan-American, Queen Emma.

She remembered being sent by Queen Emma, in an open canoe with eight other children, and three natives, to Nuguria Island where Queen Emma’s brother, John Coe, was killed by natives, to find his head and bring it back.

When they reached the beach cemetery, they found that it was the custom simply to sit the dead bodies up under the trees.

“Some were fresh and still had the pipe between their lips and didn’t stink,” Caroline recalled. “Some were rotten.”

Retrieved his head

The children screamed and ran away, but eventually retrieved a head, put it in a box and returned it in a company boat to Queen Emma. She buried it and erected a tall statue above it in memory of her brother.

Much of Caroline’s childhood was spent running wild on an island in the Fead (Nuguria) group in the company of some of Queen Emma’s other half-caste proteges. “We were very happy then—Emma loved us children.”

At 13, Caroline married a German called Schmidt, a man much older than herself, who had been among a group of settlers brought out by the Administrator, Dr. Hahl, and given a piece of land at Baining to develop.

Caroline disliked the idea of the marriage, but Mrs. Parkinson, for whom she seems to have had little affection, told her; “An old man will look after you well.”

Divorced

Two children, a boy and a girl, were born to Schmidt and Caroline.

Later the family went to Madang, where Schmidt divorced his wife who was then only 19.

Heinrich Rudolph Wahlen, the trader, who bought much of Queen Emma’s property in the islands, looked after Caroline.

Meanwhile, Schmidt had put the children in the Catholic Mission in Alexishafen, but Caroline did not like this arrangement and, with the help of the District Officer, sent them to

Hard, pioneer days

their father, now working on Yap,, in the Carolines.

He accepted the children andl offered to remarry Caroline, but that spirited lady could not forgive him his treatment of her and refused. In stead, she went to work on a planta tion at Serang, where, she claimed,, she did some of the planting.

At Serang, Caroline met Karli Moeder and they planned to marry.

But before they could do so, he died! of blackwater fever at the age of 21„ leaving Caroline with a baby son, Moeder was buried in the old Madang cemetery where his tomb stone can be seen today.

'Stole' her away

Deeply grieved, Caroline returned to Serang to work. While she was there a planter named Schwarz came and “stole” her away. She went with him to Karkar Island, off the Madang coast, early in 1915, and lived on Marangis plantation, which Schwarz planted with the help of another German, Eidelback.

Paul Schmidt, better known as “Karkar” Schmidt, lived on the neighbouring plantation of Kulkul. (For “Karkar’s” story, see PIM, Feb.. 1958.) The planters had bought theii properties with the profits from bird of-paradise hunting in the Highlands.

Before long Schwarz and Eidelback had an argument over land at Marangis, and Schwarz bought out his partner’s share. At this time Caroline began to take over much of the work, getting up at five each morning to milk cows, lining the labour and following them on horse back to the coconut lines to check their work, and even disciplining therm herself when necessary. Schwarz spent much time in Madang andl made frequent visits to the Sepik re cruiting labour.

During one of these absences, neighbour “Karkar” Schmidt was at tacked and severely injured by the people of Kurumlang village. The result was a punitive expedition from Madang, in September, 1915, in which a number of natives were killed.

Caroline recalls that the Karkars were rather war-like when she wenti there, but neither Schwarz, Eidelback nor she herself ever had trouble with them. Against Schwarz’s wishes, she; would go into the villages to make; friends with them, and today some; old Karkars still remember her with affection.

During this time Caroline bore; three sons, including twins. These

ins later married women from New ritain and New Ireland.

In the 1920’5, confiscated German •operties on Karkar were finally •Id to Australians. Schwarz (who, wording to Caroline, never really dieved he would lose his land) ■ought her and the children to the invent in Alexishafen, and later left e territory.

Independent spirit

But Caroline’s independent spirit belled at the convent restrictions id she went to live on Sek Island, here the people gave her some land, le caught fish with both line and r namite to keep her children “in :gs and butter”.

In the late 30’s, no longer young, id living alone on Sek, she was fered a home and companionship r the late Bill Tupling. “You’ve jrked too hard for other people all •ur life,” he told her. “Now you n rest.”

They went to the Western Islands, Ninigo, but her happiness was ort-lived. War broke out and she .d to return to Madang. Tupling i a splendid job as a coastwatcher i Ninigo but was shot by pro panese natives at Arawe. “The icst man I have known,” com snted Caroline.

She continued to live on Sek with r son Franz, and his wife and ildren, until the Japanese took sm off the island to Dugumor, be nd Bogia, where they lived with lives. By the time of the Japanese treat from the area, the food short e was acute and they were suffering ite severely.

There was tremendous excitement xen Bill Macgregor sent them in sir first supplies. It brought forth is response from Caroline: “Now ; are safe to go back! He is our m kiap!” Macgregor sent them rice, lly beef, biscuits and sausages.

Ian!” exclaimed Caroline, “We ate erything and ate all night. Man! dn’t we enjoy it! We sang!”

They were brought out, Caroline a stretcher, to Madang. Soon she is cooking for American officers— -3 was famous throughout the dis ci for her superb cooking. Perhaps was in gratitude for this, that the nericans and Australians helped r rebuild her bombed house on Sek.

The war ended and Caroline set out gathering her scattered family, e went to Rabaul to get her ungest son’s two daughters. Fritz d been killed while dynamiting h. and his wife had died in child -Ih. Caroline reared the two girls her house in Modillon Road, and v them happily married, and )thers themselves. This house,

Gay, indomitable

built on land given her by the people of Mis village, was a haven for many a child over the years.

Now her heart was set on finding her two eldest children, the offspring of Schmidt. She discovered that Schmidt had left Yap many years before, when it had been handed over to the Japanese after the Treaty of Versailles, and had returned to Dusseldorf.

In a convent She wrote to Catholic missions, and to the Red Cross, and eventually she traced her daughter to a convent in America and her son to a uni versity in America.

She corresponded with her daughter, “She wanted to come out to see me, but I told her not to. My son doesn’t write to me. He’s a big professional man—a doctor in philosophy. He wrote to his sister saying, ‘Write to her and if she wants anything, she can ask me for it.’ ” Caroline’s eyes flashed in anger at the thought of this message. “I got mad! I said: Tell him 1 want a taxi!’ ”

Caroline told me she was 89. Once a buxom figure, she was now fragile and stooped. She bitterly resented her failing eyesight, but she was still spry and her memory and her tongue were sharp.

She knew all the old identities in the Madang District —people like Roy Macgregor, Bill Macgregor (both re cently dead); Jock McKay, Mo John son.

She showed me a large picture sent from Dusseldorf of her husband, Schmidt, lying in state in his coffin, a small picture of her daughter, the nun, in America —whom she loved dearly—and pictures of her many grandchildren.

Caroline’s English was good and her pidgin can only be described as wonderful! But it was in German that she excelled. Until her death she gathered about her German residents of Madang, so that she could indulge her great love of this language. Germans have told me she spoke it perfectly and remained excellent company to the end.

Australians talked about her flair for cooking and her gay indomitable spirit in the face of many hardships; the people of Kauris village (near Madang) said: “Carlina was a good woman. She always helped us villagers.”

She stood on her doorstep as I left, a fragile link with the heyday of German colonial life and the flamboyance of Queen Emma’s em pire. “Aufwiedersehen!” she said.