Jacob Born

This true story of Jacob Born is a shortened and edited version of an article in The Queensland Times newspaper in 1913.

In 1863, an 18-year-old orphan called Jacob Born left his home in Germany and sailed to Australia. He had paid his own fare, but most of the other 264 people on the ship were coming to Australia with their fares paid by the German Immigration Agency.

The ship reached Moreton Bay on Wednesday 26 November and the following day, the passengers were brought up the river to Brisbane.

On Friday, Jacob spent six shillings on the fare for a paddle steamer to Ipswich.

He landed at a wharf at the bottom of Bell Street. Two people immediately noticed the boy, John North who was in charge of Cribb and Foote's "back" store (at the river end of Bell St) and the firm's carter John Reid. They tried to talk to Jacob but found that he could not speak English and they could not speak German.

The steam boat agent Robert Sparrow allowed Jacob to leave his heavy box in the slab store opposite the wharf and Jacob then set out to look at the town. Jacob stuck out as being "a new chum" and he became the victim of some teasing by the local boys.

On Saturday, he was still wandering forlornly around the town and he finally attracted the attention of John Foote. A kindly man, Foote called his German assistant Francis Klein to act as interpreter and soon discovered Jacob's story.

Mr Foote offered Jacob a job and took him home to his own house in Martin Street.

On Monday morning, Jacob started work in Cribb and Foote's back store. He was soon a familiar sight around Ipswich as he went out with a basket to make deliveries.

He made deliveries to the famous North Australian Club in South St and watched all the comings and goings in town.

Ipswich was a busy port and Bell St, Union St and East St were crowded with teams of bullocks. Jacob was also present when a big fire destroyed the Cribb and Foote back store in 1865.

Jacob was taught English by James Hockley of Cribb and Foote's ironmongery department and then he attended a school in Upper Ellenborough Street run by William O'Donnell. Here he made friends with other Ipswich people.

Jacob also discovered that a man from his German home had also come to Ipswich - Dr von Lossberg.

In 1866, three years after Jacob started work, a financial depression affected Queensland. Local farmers, particular cotton farmers, faced hardship and debt.

Cribb and Foote instructed Jacob to travel around the district to find out what help the firm could offer.

Jacob again became a familiar sight, this time travelling in a buggy through the countryside, able to speak to the many German farmers of the area. Jacob said he sometimes carried as much as 3000 pounds ($6000) with him to lend to farmers to tide them over their difficulties.

"No one could have an idea of the misery suffered by people on the land through no fault of their own. They just could not get any money for what they had grown," Jacob said.

In 1871, Jacob was put in charge of Cribb and Foote's store and cotton ginnery at Churchbank near Harrisville.

The former friendless youth had become an important man.

He was a member of the Ipswich Hospital Board and he visited patients every Sunday afternoon and taught in the Methodist Sunday School for 60 years.

In the 1890 and 1893 floods, he again travelled around the countryside to help families.

He died at his home in Syntax St in 1928 at the age of 83 and at his funeral, the minister said his story was part of the history of this
area.