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August Rietmann (1877-1951) was a Swiss-born Australian monumental mason, potter and sculptor.
Biography
August Rietmann was born in Lustdorf, Switzerland, in 1877. He married Maria Frieda Oesschlager (1878–1942) of Baden Baden, Germany on 6 August 1910. After five years and during WW1 he and wife Frieda migrated on 8 August 1915 to Melbourne, sailing on the S.S. Osterley from Marseille.[1]
In 1917 they leased Box Cottage, Ormond previously occupied by market gardeners William and Elizabeth Box, residents there from 1868–1913. There they raised two children, Stefanie (1918 -2006) and William (1920- 1997). In 1935 August purchased the property and the family used the Cottage during the day and slept in the Front House.[2]
From the date of his arrival August was employed at monumental masons Corbens Ltd. Clifton Hill, and after WW1 carved up to twelve war memorials,[3] including that at Bonnie Doon, until about 1922. During the 1920's August set up his own business producing pressed cement plant pot, columns, paving slabs and street lamp standards, some of which were installed in St Kilda Road, as well as headstones and figures. During the 1930s Depression he took on apprentices. He was contracted for his services by fine artists including Paul Mountford whose design for the memorial at Stonnington Town Rietmann carved in 1930. He built a workshop in the Barn and used the Cottage for plaster moulding. His son William joined the business[4] and and the family continued to use the site after August died in 1951.[5] He moved Rietmann Landscaping Ltd to Bay Road Highett in 1953 and later to Carrum. The land, containing the Box Cottage, was sold to Lewis Timber Pty Ltd in 1970 and they approached Moorabbin City Council to preserve the heritage Cottage. Subsequently in 1984 the Cottage was dismantled and reconstructed in the adjacent Joyce Park where it serves as a museum
References
- ^ "Photographs, x3 B/W August Rietmann working at Corbens Ltd c1915-22, c1915 -1922". Victorian Collections. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ Bader, Fran (July 2016). "Glen Eira history remembered : Box Cottage Museum" (PDF). Glen Eira Historical Society Newsletter. 10: 4. ISSN 2201-5647.
- ^ Clark, Anna (2016). Private Lives, Public History. S.l.: READHOWYOUWANT. ISBN 978-1-5252-1890-3. OCLC 1264718115.
- ^ "Advertising". Age. 1952-03-25. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "Family Notices". Age. 1951-11-17. Retrieved 2022-05-02.