Beeck Golden Wedding
Would anyone be able to provide me with any photographs of Mr and Mrs Gustav A. Beeck please?
Gustav A. Beeck
GOLDEN WEDDING CELEBRATION
Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Adolf and Mathilda Fredericka (nee Strauss) Beeck Honoured.
Great Southern Herald
5 April 1933 – P2
The fiftieth anniversary of the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Gustav Adolf and Mathilda Fredericka Beeck of Albion Street, Katanning, took place on Wednesday, March 29. It was the occasion of festivities of a notable order, in which relatives and friends of the happy couple shared with evident delight and good feeling.
To mark the day with a proper measure of reverence, a devotional service, at which the Rev. Mr. J. A. Lewis officiated, was held at the Baptist Church. This was attended by a very large number of friends and relatives of the Beeck family. Approximately sixty relatives, for whom seats had been especially reserved, were present.
Following the service, a wedding breakfast was given by the children of Mr. and Mrs. Beeck at the Parish Hall, to which quite one hundred guests, comprising relatives and a few close friends, were invited. At the conclusion of the repast, a social evening was held in the hall, which was arranged by members of the Baptist Church, at which more than two hundred persons were present.
The guests at the wedding breakfast were received by Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Beeck, Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Beeck and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Beeck, with the master of ceremonies being the Rev. Mr. Lewis. The hall and tables had been tastefully decorated for the occasion, while the very excellent repast was served by Mrs Fleay, of the King George Hostel.
Four generations of relations were present, numbering 63 in all, and including 34 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Seven of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Beeck were present, namely Oscar, Edwin and Arthur (sons), and Mesdames Quartermaine, Kowald, Mason and Hervey Harris (daughters), the missing one being Mrs. Spehn, who resides in Queensland. Two nieces, the Misses Strauss, of South Australia, also were present.
Mr. Lewis welcomed the guests on behalf of the hosts and hostesses. The occasion was a memorable one, he said, and it was the desire of the relatives of the guests of honour to do it full justice. He then read letters and telegrams of congratulations received from friends and relations in various parts of the Commonwealth and proceeded with the toast list.
After the Loyal Toast had been duly honoured, Mr. Lewis proposed the toast of Mr. and Mrs. Gus. Beeck, congratulating them on having reached the golden anniversary of their wedding day, and wishing them long life and every happiness. The toast was received with musical honours.
Mr. Gus. Beeck responded in a happy manner. He was more than gratified at the way in which the toast had been received and was pleased to see so many friends and relatives present. He was in an awkward predicament, however, for although he had carefully prepared a speech for the evening, it had entirely left him.
In reminiscent strain, Mr. Beeck recounted some of the trials which had beset Mrs. Beeck and himself when first they started on their land at Marracoonda. They were married in South Australia, but with a growing family were soon forced to the realisation that their opportunities in that State were restricted. So they came to the West, and although the early days in their new home were ones of hard work and little leisure, their efforts had been crowned with success, and he could say with all sincerity they blessed the day which determined their move to Western Australia, He desired to thank particularly the wives of his sons for the splendid function they had prepared in honour of “Mother” and himself, and all those who had given them so many beautiful presents.
The next toast proposed by Mr. Lewis was “The Sons and Daughters.” In giving the toast, Mr. Lewis said when he first came to Katanning, he was told that if he threw a stone into a crowd in the street, he would surely hit a Beeck or a Quartermaine. Possibly this statement was somewhat of an exaggeration, but he had learned by his intercourse with the Beecks and the Quartermaines that all of them were good citizens and an acquisition to the district.
Mr. Oscar Beeck responded on behalf of the sons and daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Beeck. “Today is a proud day for the Beeck family,” he said, “and one which will live long in our memories.” In proposing the toast “The Grandchildren,” Mr. Lewis said even the youngest generation of the family showed that they were shaping to carry on the splendid traditions of their forefathers. The Beecks were a God-faring, church-loving, people, and the third generation was following in the footsteps of the parents. Mr. David Quartermaine responded on behalf of the grandchildren.
The final toast of the evening being to “Absent Friends and Relations,” which was honoured standing and in silence.
It is interesting to note that this golden wedding celebration is the fourth which has been held in connection with the Beeck family. The parents of Mr. Gus. Beeck (Mr. and Mrs. Emil Robert Beeck celebrated their golden wedding in Katanning many years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Strauss, the parents of Mrs. Gus. Beeck, celebrated their golden wedding in South Australia some years ago, and Mr. and Mrs. Buchholz, parents of Mrs. Oscar Beeck, celebrated their golden wedding within recent years.
SOCIAL EVENING.
The social evening that followed was attended by a representative gathering of town and country folk, the Parish Hall proving all too small for the accommodation of those present. During the evening a musical programme was rendered by an instrumental quintette, under the baton of Mr. A. J. Morrell, with Mrs. Morrell at the piano. Vocal items were contributed by Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Wanke, Miss Hilda Beeck, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon W. Beeck and violin duets by Mr. Morrell and his son, Harry.
Several friends of the guests of honour were invited to speak. Mr. Alex. Prosser. J.P., chairman of the Katanning Road Board, said he had known Mr. and Mrs. Gus. Beeck for many years and had come to the State with them from South Australia. He had helped Mr. Beeck to make a home here, and eventually had married one of his sisters. Mr. and Mrs. Beeck had. been both a father and mother to him, and he was proud to be present and to participate in the function given in their honour.
Mr. C. A. Harris congratulated Mr. and Mrs. Beeck on having reached this milestone on their journey through life. He claimed over 40 years acquaintance with them and said that the Beeck family had been responsible for the establishment of the Baptist Church at Katanning and in the Great Southern. Not only were Mr. and Mrs. Beeck good Christians, but they had brought up their children by precept and example to be good-living men and women.
Hon. Alex. Thomson, M.L.C., said he was very pleased indeed to be present and tender to Mr. and Mrs. Beeck good wishes from Mrs. Thomson and himself. He had been present at the golden wedding of Mr. Beeck’s parents and accounted himself fortunate in having known those sturdy pioneers. The family was of the stuff that made good citizens and it was a lucky day for the district when the original Beecks decided to settle in the vicinity of Katanning.
They were good farmers and conducted their businesses on sound lines, to the advantage of not only themselves, but of all who had business dealings with them. Mr. Thomson quoted figures compiled by the Government Statistician, which valued the average wealth produced yearly by each adult in the State at £375. “As there were 64 members of the family in the district,” he said, “it could be computed that they were worth £22,500 annually to the State on a general average.” In his opinion, however, the Beecks were worth much more than the general average, and it would be difficult to assess their real worth to the country. He extended sincere wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Beeck for the happiest of even-tides to their long and successful lives.
Mr. A. E. Piesse, M.L.A., said he was glad to be present and to join in the congratulations heaped upon Mr. and Mrs. Beeck on the occasion of their golden wedding. He had known them ever since they arrived in the district 43 years ago. He remembered well the day they arrived by special train with their family, Mr. Alex. Prosser and Mr. Ted Wilhelm, together with all their worldly goods of furniture, farming implements and stock. It was a red-letter day for Katanning and marked the beginning of a development and progression that had made the district one of the foremost in the State.
Mr. Synnott expressed pleasure at being present and to add his congratulations on their golden wedding to those already tendered to the guests of honour. Mr. and Mrs. Beeck could take unto themselves pride in such a gathering, which was a testimony of the esteem and affection in which they were held by all who knew them.
The present generation could have no conception of the difficulties which had faced the pioneers of the early days of the district, but it was their bravery and hard work that had made Katanning the pleasant place it now was.
Mr. Jack Green said he had known Mr. Beeck from boyhood’s days and had played and quarrelled with him back on the old farm in South Australia. Although he had known Mr. Beeck for more years than he cared to reckon, he had never known him to be guilty of a mean or dishonourable action. He took particular pleasure in joining in the congratulations on this occasion, as he had been present at the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Beeck fifty years ago.
During the evening Mr. Lewis staged an amusing competition called “Dressing the Bride”, in which a number of young people participated. Each young man was furnished with a supply of paper and a packet of pins, and the object of the competition was for them to dress their partner in a bride’s costume from the materials supplied. When time was called, Mr. H. A. Fildes was declared the winner, the ‘bride’ being Miss Vera Kemble.
The evening concluded with the serving of a dainty supper. Mr. Lewis was, at this stage, presenting the guests of honour with a handsome tray mobile, which bore an inscription on a silver plate, reading “To Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Beeck on the occasion of their Golden Wedding, from members and friends of the Katanning and Marracoonda Baptist Church“, Mr. Beeck accepted the gift in a few well-chosen words.
Beeck Golden Wedding. Beeck Golden Wedding. Beeck Golden Wedding.