Krushka brothers
The Krushka brothers were a group of pioneering 19th-century Tasmanian settlers of Prussian origin, comprising primarily Christopher, Frederick, Charles, and William Krushka.[1] They rose from humble beginnings as immigrant labourers to become celebrated as the "Kings of Tin" after discovering and developing one of Australia's richest tin fields.[2] Their enterprise, the Brothers' Home mine, transformed the economy of North East Tasmania.[3] The brothers also became major land developers, founders of the township of Krushka (now Ringarooma), and prominent figures in the golden age of Tasmanian horse racing.[1]
Family and immigration
[edit]The Krushka family's journey to Van Diemen's Land was initiated by the patriarch, Christian Krushka. The family hailed from the town of Rädnitz in the Prussian province of Brandenburg (now Radnica, Krosno Odrzańskie County in modern-day Poland),[4] where Christian was a former bargee.[2] Weathered by the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and ongoing political instability in Prussia, Christian and his wife Johanna emigrated to the newly established Colony of Tasmania with their children in 1855, seeking to spare their sons from compulsory military service.[2] The family endured a difficult voyage in steerage and faced hardship upon their arrival in Hobart Town, finding work as labourers in the Coal Valley and experiencing marginalisation as "foreigners."[2]
After more than a decade, the now-widowed Christian moved his family to the rugged and largely unsettled North East of Tasmania, setting the stage for their remarkable change in fortune.[2]
Tin mining and the 'Brothers' Home'
[edit]The Krushka Brothers' legacy was forged in 1875.[2] While employed to build a road, they discovered a vast alluvial tin deposit that would become the famous Cascade lead.[3] One popular account credits Christopher with making the breakthrough when he struck a rich patch of tin ore with a sharpened stake.[5]
The brothers secured a lease on the land and aptly named their new enterprise the Brothers' Home mine.[5] It was an immense success. By the early 1880s, the mine was generating extraordinary wealth, with reports of weekly outputs as high as 40 tons of tin.[5] Official records show that between July 1883 and March 1899 alone, the mine produced 3,791 tons of high-grade ore (averaging 74% metallic tin), with total payouts to the brothers exceeding £250,000.[3] While an official 1907 inquiry named George Renison Bell the first discoverer of tin in the region, it was the Krushkas' industrial-scale operation that truly developed the North East tin fields.[6]
Founding of Krushka (now Ringarooma)
[edit]Using the wealth generated from mining, the Krushka brothers became instrumental in developing the civic infrastructure of the region. In 1882, Christopher Krushka led an initiative to establish a private township on family land to serve the growing population. After commissioning a survey, 50 town allotments were auctioned on 4 March 1882.[7]
Reflecting the family's collective influence, the town plan featured Frederick Street and Charles Street, named for two of the brothers.[7] The settlement, officially known for a time as Krushka, already hosted a church, a school, and a hotel.[7] In 1888, as part of a state-wide standardisation, the town was officially gazetted as Ringarooma, and the nearby mining camp of Brothers' Home became Derby.[2] The brothers also invested heavily in pastoralism, clearing vast tracts of forest and transforming the district into a fertile agricultural area.[8]
Horse-racing dynasty
[edit]In the 1880s and 1890s, the Krushka brothers became a dominant force in Tasmanian horse racing. All four (Christopher, Charles, Frederick, and William) owned and raced a large and successful stable of horses, with their colours becoming a familiar sight on nearly every course in the state.[1]
Their success was remarkable:
- Charles Krushka won the prestigious Hobart Cup twice with his horses Maori Chief and Ballarat.[1]
- Christopher Krushka achieved Tasmanian racing's highest honour in 1894 when his home-bred colt, Amadeus, won both the Hobart Cup and the Launceston Cup in the same year.[1]
Following the Launceston Cup victory, Christopher famously celebrated by showering gold sovereigns from his hotel balcony onto the cheering crowd below—an act that became an enduring part of Tasmanian folklore.[2] Their passion was for the sport itself, and their eventual departure from the turf was considered a major loss for racing in Tasmania.[1]
Legacy
[edit]The Krushka brothers' story is a classic rags-to-riches tale of immigrant success. A romanticised 1883 account claims that one of the brothers, likely Christopher, later returned to marry a farmer's daughter who had shown them kindness when they were poor, itinerant labourers.[5]
The family's wealth was evident in their grand lifestyle, epitomised by Christopher's 17-room mansion, North View, which was renowned for its lavish community picnics.[2][9] Though the place names they established were officially changed, the Krushka brothers left an indelible mark on the economic and cultural history of Tasmania, remembered as pioneers who built a dynasty from the region's rich earth.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "47 Years Ago". The Examiner. Vol. XCIII, no. 212. Tasmania, Australia. 14 November 1934. p. 2 (DAILY). Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rish, Gabrielle (2012-02-20). "Kings of Tin". Tasmanian Times. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ a b c "Obituary". The Mercury. Vol. CXLI, no. 20, 986. Tasmania, Australia. 12 November 1934. p. 6. Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Christopher Christian Krushka". Ancestry®. 2021-08-08. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
- ^ a b c d "What May Happen to a Man in Tasmania". South Australian Register. Vol. XLVIII, no. 11, 560. South Australia. 1 December 1883. p. 6. Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Jubilee of Tin Mining". The Examiner. Vol. LXXXIV, no. 291. Tasmania, Australia. 9 December 1926. p. 8 (DAILY). Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c "Place Names of the North East". North-eastern Advertiser. Vol. XLI, no. 6. Tasmania, Australia. 24 January 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Upper Ringarooma". Launceston Examiner. Vol. XLIX, no. 29. Tasmania, Australia. 2 February 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Ringarooma". Daily Telegraph. Vol. VIII, no. 5. Tasmania, Australia. 6 January 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 22 July 2025 – via National Library of Australia.