Baking business brings in the dough

The monument to his life is a work of art, standing as one of the tallest in West Terrace cemetery in Adelaide. Carl Julius Habich was a German immigrant who ran a bakery for many years on Flinders Street.

The beautiful red granite headstone in West Terrace cemetery, Adelaide in memory of Carl Julius and Ernistina Habich. Photo Findagrave

His business must have flourished as, when he died in 1912, he left 31,000 pounds to his family.

Born in Hanover, Germany in 1836, Carl was apprenticed quite young as a baker and worked his way across Europe. He wasn't happy with the pay rates for baking, so like many Germans of his time, he decided to head to South Australia to start a new life in 1854.

After working for a number of bakeries, he opened his own business in 1862. He would become a well-known fixture in Flinders Street, where he and his two sons ran their bakery. He also had a number of farming pursuits underway when he bought 272 acres in the Richmond district.

He was a quiet man and didn't involve himself with public affairs. Although he did find himself in court, in 1878 when he bought the Caltowie Hotel and withdrew an offer for a tenant brewer to take it over, by letting it to another brewer.

When his health started to fail him, he retired from his baking business and travelled to New Zealand for a holiday. He died at his Wakefield Street residence in 1912, leaving behind his wife Ernistina and his two sons. He was 76 years old.

References

• 'West Terrace Cemetery: Stories in Stone', The Register, Saturday, 17 June, 1914, Page 17

• 'Personal', Critic, Wednesday, 30 October, 1912, Page 5

• 'Obituary', Observer, Saturday 19 October, 1912, Page 41

• 'Personal', The Advertiser, Tuesday 15 October, 1912, Page 8

• 'The Abode of the Dead', The Mail, Saturday, 1 September, 1917, Page 4

• 'Supreme Court - Civil Sittings', Adelaide Observer, Saturday, 26 April, 1879, Page 5