The curiosity of a historian and the determination of a west coast woman led to the return of a Tasmanian treasure and shed some light on the missing years of the Marion Sticht necklace. Little was known about this unique piece of Tasmanian history until a chance knock on the door of a heritage-listed Federation mansion in Queenstown in 2016.writer and photographer GARRY SIMS
Robert Sticht was an American metallurgist, who upon migrating from the US with Marion Sticht, his wife of six months, moved to Queenstown, Tasmania, in 1895. He became synonymous with mining on the west coast due to his introduction of pyritic smelting at Mount Lyell. When appointed general manager of the mine, he negotiated the building of what he considered an appropriate home, grand enough to demonstrate the success of the mine and its importance, not only in Tasmania but on a global level.
Robert and Marion moved into their new home, Penghana, in 1898. The Federation-style mansion is now a heritage-listed state treasure.
The Mount Lyell company mined copper on Tasmania’s rugged west coast, with Robert Sticht acknowledged as a world leader in this field. While a very successful mining operation, history shows that it was not without controversies. The heavy pollution of the King and Queen rivers resulted in the death of all aquatic life and the loss of natural vegetation on the hills surrounding Queenstown, and to the toxic waste and fires associated with mining activities. Perhaps the darkest chapter in the history of the area was the death of 42 miners in an underground fire in 1912.
It would be unfair to judge Robert Sticht on the environmental and human loss associated with the Mount Lyell Mining operations. Sticht was a cultured man who was well-respected in the community. The Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Co Ltd report of December 1922 says his “natural generosity endeared him to all that worked with him or for him”.
Sticht is also remembered as a fine art and rare book collector, with his private collection once housed in a grand library in Penghana. Items of this collection were sold after his death to provide for his family, in particular to fund the education of his sons. Part of the collection went into private ownership with some now part of the holdings of the Public Library of Victoria and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Marion Sticht (nee Staige), was born in Illinois in 1865. Tasmanian author Brett Martin, in his outstanding book Marion, says she was a “well-educated, middle-class woman” who, as was often the case in the day, was somewhat in the background of her husband.
During their time at Penghana, Robert and Marion had three children and were surrounded by fine art, books and house staff, and entertained dignities including governors, politicians, international mining executives and, it is rumoured, members of the Royal family.
Their life on the wild but beautiful west coast of Tasmania was a period that will not be repeated, but there are items associated with this period that link to these extraordinary days. One of these items is Marion Sticht’s unique charm necklace, which is a true Tasmanian treasure.
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The necklace is a stunning piece of jewellery that represents the life and times of Marion and Robert Sticht. It was gifted to Marion by her husband and over time she collected 27 unique pendants as charms. Many reflect significant life events such as the circular charm bearing their initials and the years 1895-1905, believed to celebrate 10 years of marriage. Inside a circle is a pink enamel representation of Tasmania, with a diamond where Queenstown is located. Other charms reflect the life of a miner, including a miniature “spider”, which is the spike onto which a miner placed his candle.
The necklace encompassed the life and love of Robert and Marion Sticht, and the history of mining on the west coast. It was treasured and cherished, even when the passage of time ruptured the lives of Robert and Marion.
Robert Sticht died in Launceston on April 30, 1922, aged 65 years, from cancer. At the time of his death, he was the general manager of Mount Lyell Mining. He and Marion had spent 24 years living in Penghana, high on a hill overlooking Queenstown and with stunning views of Mt Owen. With his passing, Penghana would accommodate a new general manager. Marion had to leave.
She did not return to the US. Her sons were at school in Victoria, but she didn’t move there either. She moved to Balfour, a small and isolated town in the nearby Tarkine, moving into a modest, dirt-floored shack on a parcel of land her husband had invested in with the vision that Balfour would become another Tasmanian mining success story.
Marion’s new life significantly differed from her privileged one in Queenstown. She was followed to her new surroundings by her loyal maid, Ethel Robertson, but little else of privilege came with her, exemplifying the tenuous rights and position of women at the time.
Fortune favoured neither Balfour nor Marion, whose health deteriorated. Ethel cared for her loyally, but in time it was decided Marion was too ill to remain in Balfour and she moved into care in Victoria. She died in Melbourne in 1924, only two years after the death of her husband.
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It is suggested that Marion Sticht gifted her necklace to Ethel as a sign of her thanks for the care she provided over the years, and especially after they left Penghana for Balfour, but this is not certain. What actually happened to this the uniquely Tasmanian necklace in 1924 remains a mystery, and there is every possibility that it could have been lost forever.
And then it reappeared – in an auction house in Melbourne in the 1940s. If Marion did gift the necklace to Ethel, it is possible Ethel sold it during the hard times of the Depression. But if this was the case, how did the necklace find its way to a Melbourne auction house? It is also possible that the sons of Marion and Robert took possession of the necklace, and put it up for auction. We don’t know.
What is known is that necklace was, some time after the auction, bought by Frances Herriott, who had an academic background in history and also ran an antique shop in the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland.
Upon purchase, Herriott had the necklace stored in a safe, where it remained for nearly 25 years. However, Herriott, who at the time had no idea of the significance of the necklace, had the curious mind of both an academic and an antiquarian, and started investigating. She managed to confirm that the maker’s mark on some of the charms was that of the famous Tasmanian jeweller F & W Stewart, of Launceston. Herriott also discovered that the surname “Sticht” was associated with the necklace, but these clues did not provide enough to identify the origin and history of the piece.
These things would remain a mystery until a chance visit to Tasmania in April, 2016.
Frances Herriot’s holiday to Tasmania, as is the way of many, included the beautiful west coast. While in Queenstown, she took advantage of the experience offered by West Coast Wilderness Railway for a rail tour. During the commentary on board, Herriot heard the story of Robert Sticht in the history of mining in and around Queenstown, and things started to fall into place. Herriott finally understood that the necklace in her safe in Queensland was a genuine Tasmanian treasure that had direct links to Penghana, the former mansion home of Robert and Marion Sticht
Penghana was now owned by the National Trust and managed by Steve Berndt and Karen Nixon as an award-winning bed and breakfast accommodation venue, and when Frances Herriott knocked on the door, it was opened Karen Nixon, who has dedicated much time to the history of Penghana and colonial Queenstown life.
The time was right for the necklace to be returned to Tasmania. The chance visit by Francis Herriott and the efforts of Karen Nixon enabled the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery to acquire the necklace in 2018, where it is now part of the State Collection. It is the completion of a journey that involved love, mystery and the history of a unique time in Queenstown.
Acknowledgements: Garry Sims would like to thank Karen Nixon, manager of Penghana, Queenstown, for her assistance in preparing this article.
Image of Marion Sticht courtesy Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery.
Garry Sims APM lives in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and travels frequently to Tasmania, where he visits and photographs Hobart, Bruny Island and the west coast.