Arthur George Finster is my great-grandfather. He is the second child of Arthur Guido Finster, who immigrated to Australia in 1849, and his wife, Margarethe Stamm. Arthur George was born on 13th October 1863 at Ballarat, Victoria. Margarethe died in 1869 when Arthur George was only six.
Arthur George married Isabella Elliott in Melbourne on 22nd October 1884. He was a gifted musician, and a teacher of piano and violin. He lived at 10 McLaren Street, Bendigo, where he had a polished plaque on the front fence which read ‘Mr A G FINSTER, PIANOFORTE AND VIOLIN’. He was well thought of in the Bendigo district and was appointed an adjudicator of musical competitions around Australia. In 1922 he moved to Melbourne, continuing as a teacher and as a mentor for his daughter, Lilian.
There were nine children born to Arthur George and Isabella. Sadly, four of the children died early and did not reach adulthood. Their first born was Ida Margarethe, born in October 1885.
A death notice in the Bendigo Times read:
On the 4 January, at her grandpa’s residence, 10 McLaren Street, Ida Margharita Sarah, the infant daughter of Arthur and Isabella Finster, aged 14 weeks.
Oh, why was Ida taken, when life was just begun. We will not ask the reason why but say ‘Thy will be done’.[1]
Alwyn Roberts Finster (known as Alwyn Guido Finster) was born on 6th December 1886. The name ‘Roberts’ has no known connection to other Finster family names. But Sarah Finster, his grandmother, registered his birth. Perhaps ‘Roberts’ had some significance for her, or maybe was simply a name she liked. Many of the other children had names connected to their German ancestors.
Their third child, Edith Sidonia, was born in August 1888, but sadly died at six months on 4th February 1889. Sidonia had been the name of a sister of Guido, her grandfather.
On 1st March 1890, their fourth child, Arthur Alexander Finster, was born. He must have been a welcome baby, after losing two daughters in infancy in the previous few years.
Then a healthy baby girl, Isabelle Emily, was born on 15th March 1892. Belle, as she was known, lived a long life in Melbourne and died in 1980.
On 18th December 1894 Fred Elliott Finster was born. He was only four months old when he died on 8th April 1894.
Their seventh child, a healthy son, Eugene Vogel, was born on 9th September 1895 at Bendigo. He was a World War 1 veteran. He married Chrystal, and they had four children who lived in Victoria.
Harry Elliott was born on 27th August 1897. He died of heart disease in 1911 aged 14 years. Among the floral tributes presented to the family at his funeral was one from two of Harry’s friends with whom he had played the part of a sailor in the recent school operetta. On the floral anchor were the words, Our dearest friend sadly anchored.[2]
Their last child was a little sister for Isabelle. Lilian Jessie Finster was born on 8th June 1905. She was noticed at an early age to have a great gift of playing by ear a tune she had heard a few hours earlier. Having obtained her Bachelor of Music in 1927, she became a concert pianist, performing at concerts in Melbourne and Bendigo. She played on the ABC music programmes and taught piano at the Presbyterian Ladies’ College in Camberwell. She married Frank Giljohann in 1938, and they had two children, Janne and Peter.
It must have been very sad for Arthur George and Isabella to bury four of their children. After Harry died in 1911, they erected a memorial to them in the Bendigo Cemetery. The headstone reads:
In Loving Memory of Harry, beloved son of A G and I Finster.
Died 20 September 1911 aged 14 years.
Also, their darlings Ida, Edith, and Fred.
There are many reports in the Bendigo Advertiser about Arthur and his involvement in the music world. When Arthur was 16, he played the piano with his father, Guido, for a benefit concert in St James Hall, Bendigo.[3]
By 1894, he was the musical director of the Camp and Gravel Hill State School. There is a report of the concert played by his pupils of The Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe.[4] He was praised for his wonderful ability to nurture the musical spirit in his pupils. In 1902 a “highly successful operetta called Fickle Fortune was presented at the Princess Theatre, Bendigo, with Arthur George Finster as the musical director”.[5]
In 1903 at St Peter’s Church, Eaglehawk, the choir was conducted by Mr. Arthur George Finster.[6] Arthur George Finster’s male choir produced the Tales of Hoffman in 1912.[7] For many years he was choirmaster at All Saints Pro-Cathedral and St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Bendigo. Arthur’s musical diversity as pianist, violinist, choirmaster, and conductor has allowed him to give pleasure to many people though concerts and operettas he produced.
Arthur George was also class singing master and overseer of school music under the Education Department in the Bendigo area. His pupils invariably achieved the highest points in both examinations and competitions.
As well as teaching and producing concerts, he was appointed a musical adjudicator. In December 1906 he adjudicated the Cambrian competitions in Boulder, Western Australia.[8] He also adjudicated in Castlemaine, Rochester, Kerang, Eaglehawk and Wycheproof.[9]
In 1922 Arthur, Isabella, and Lilian moved to 77 Victoria Road, Auburn, Melbourne. This was to enable Lilian to attend Melbourne University to complete her Bachelor of Music which was conferred on her on 11th April 1927.[10]
Arthur George was also an examiner for the London College of Music from 1929 to 1941.[11] He firmly believed in the excellence of discipline in the playing of both violin and piano. In December 1933 and 1934, he awarded a prize for violin at Caulfield Grammar.[12]
Isabella Finster died in Melbourne on 11th January 1942. Arthur George died on 3rd October 1944, aged 80 years.
Arthur George Finster was highly regarded in his community and in the music world. He had a long and fulfilling life, filled with love and music.
[1] Bendigo Times 6 January 1886
[2] Bendigo Advertiser 23 September 1911 page 6
[3] Bendigo Advertiser 17 June 1879 page 3
[4] Bendigo Advertiser 17 August 1894 page 2
[5] Bendigo Advertiser 15 May 1902 page 7
[6] Bendigo Advertiser 17 May 1903
[7] Bendigo Advertiser 21 November 1912
[8] The Argus, 21 December 1906 page 8
[9] The Australian Musical News, 1 July 1922
[10] The Argus 11 April 1927 page 12
[11] The Argus 5 February 1941, page 3
[12] The Argus 13 December 1933 page 11