WEIDENHOFER, Jack Lyndon

1908 - 1969  (60 years)

• Name	WEIDENHOFER, Jack Lyndon  [1]
  Born	4 Oct 1908	Franklin, Tasmania, Australia   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Died	17 May 1969	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  Person ID	I17494	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023

  
  

  Father	WEIDENHOFER, Walter Wallace,   b. 16 May 1875, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia ,   d. 9 Dec 1946, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia  (Age 71 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	DYER, Jessie May,   b. 18 Aug 1879, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia ,   d. 27 Sep 1957, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia  (Age 78 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Married	1 Feb 1905	St George's Church, Battery Point, Tasmania, Australia
  	St George's, Anglican Church
  Family ID	F3192	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	BRISTER, Nancy Heather,   b. 5 Oct 1913, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia ,   d. 7 Sep 1982, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia  (Age 68 years)
  Last Modified	16 Sep 2023
  Family ID	F4735	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  A History of the Weidenhofer Families in Australia 1846 - 2004. Written by Wyn Allen (née Weidenhofer) 2004 ©. Reproduced with permission of Stewart Allen, Barry Malcolm and Carlien Melrose. Jack Lyndon Weidenhofer 1908 - 1969 Born 4 Oct 1908 Franklin, Tasmania Died 17 May 1969 Hobart, Tasmania Married 28 Sep 1940 Hobart, Tasmania Nancy Heather Brister Born 5 Oct 1914 Died 7 Sep 1982 Jack was the second son of May and Walter Weidenhofer and was born in October 1908 in Franklin, Tasmania. As with his siblings, he inherited his father’s energy and enthusiasm for participating in sporting activities, especially swimming and diving. Later, he helped to organise a canoe club, after which, he took up gliding. In December 1942, Jack joined the Australian Army and was issued with No. T26036. Soon after this, he transferred to the A.I.F. and as TX12517 he was sent to New Guinea to join the Australian New Guinea Administration Unit (A.N.G.A.U.). Soon after reaching New Guinea, Jack and others were dropped behind enemy lines by the American Navy, their task being to keep the local native people friendly to the Allied Forces. Jack, being diplomatic and a friendly person, was ideal for this duty. The indigenous people soon got to know that Jack had a wife and daughter back in Australia with no “Man” to protect them, so they carved a 60 centimetre high Tumbrum (a type of statue) for Jack to send home to his family, so that they would be protected from evil spirits. The native people also protected the Australian servicemen from Japanese patrols which were active in that area. (The statue is one of Jack’s daughter Heather’s special treasures in her home in Pennsylvania, America and she feels that it has been a blessing to her family.) During the war, Jack was able to send home to his family, many letters and photos with detailed information of village life in New Guinea. These have been preserved in the Tasmanian Archives and also in the Museum in Zeehan on the west coast of Tasmania. Jack was discharged from the army as a Sergeant in January 1946. He was an excellent photographer, and upon returning to Tasmania after the war, he was employed by the Education Department of Tasmania, where he produced many excellent educational documentaries. He frequently entertained family and friends to “film evenings”. His two daughters can remember the constant stream of overseas visitors who were thus entertained. They were also usually taken to the top of Mt.Wellington to enjoy the magnificent view of Hobart. Another passion of Jack’s was music, in a variety of forms. He was a long term member of the Swan Street (Hobart) Methodist Church Choir and the Hobart Orpheus Society, as well as being the organist of the Hobart Masonic Lodge. He was a very versatile pianist, entertaining with music from Johann Weidenhöfer 58 jazz to Beethoven. He particularly enjoyed the song “The Purple People Eater” which was popular with teenagers in the late 1950s. Holidays were also enjoyed by the family, especially when visiting relatives in South Australia. Jack’s youngest daughter Isabel, recalls a trip from Hobart to Port Lincoln in South Australia travelling on an Italian freighter where the crew taught the girls the correct way to eat spaghetti by twirling it around a fork. After visiting Jack’s brother Ron and his wife Maisie in Port Lincoln, the family travelled by passenger steamer to Port Adelaide. They stayed with Jack’s cousin,Vera, whose daughter, Thelma, drew some pictures for Heather and Isabel to hang in their bedrooms. Jack’s bright and friendly personality often disguised the pain he suffered from a chronic illness caused by his wartime experience. He died in 1969, aged only 61 years.

  
  

• Sources

  [S20] Australia, World War II Military Service Records, 1939-1945, Ancestry.com, (Name: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2016;;).