The Krushka brothers were 19th-century Tasmanian settlers of Prussian origin, comprising Christopher, Frederick, Charles, and William Krushka. They became prominent tin miners in north-eastern Tasmania after discovering and developing the Brothers' Home mine, one of the regionâÂÂs richest tin deposits.
The Krushka family (originally recorded as Kruschke) emigrated from Rädnitz in the Prussian province of Brandenburg (now Radnica, Poland). Led by Christian Krushka and his wife Johanna, the family arrived in Hobart Town on 26 August 1855 aboard the ship Wilhelmsburg, which had departed from the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Christian had previously worked as a bargee on the Oder River. According to later accounts, the family left Prussia in part to avoid compulsory military service for their sons following the political unrest of the German revolutions of 1848âÂÂ1849.
Upon arrival in the Colony of Tasmania, the family initially worked as manual labourers in the Coal Valley district before moving to north-eastern Tasmania in the 1870s. Contemporary and later newspaper accounts describe the familyâÂÂs early years as marked by economic hardship.
A widely repeated anecdote claims that while working as harvest labourers near Longford, one of the brothers was shown kindness by a farmerâÂÂs daughter and later returned to marry her after the family had become established.
In June 1875, Christopher Krushka was prospecting with George Renison Bell when he identified potential deposits on the Cascade River. Christopher sent for his brothers, Frederick and Charles, who made the first discovery using an improvised wooden shovel carved from a sapling.
The brothersâ operation was noted for blending their agricultural background with mining; they famously used horse-drawn harrows in their tail-races to loosen sand and settle the tin ore. By the 1880s, the mine was producing up to 40 tons of tin per week.
In 1899, the brothers sold their "Home" claim to the London-based Briseis Tin Mines Ltd for approximately ã95,000 (comprising ã35,000 in cash and the remainder in shares). This sale facilitated the amalgamation of the region's mines into a large-scale industrial operation with a 30-mile-long head race.
While the brothers were celebrated for their wealth, they also faced significant risks; in 1886, a suspected arsonist destroyed a 100-ton hay stack and machinery at William Krushka's farm at Brothers' Home, causing ã1,500 in uninsured losses.
The Krushkas' influence is preserved in the geography of north-eastern Tasmania.
In the 1880s and 1890s, the Krushka brothers became a dominant force in Tasmanian horse racing. All four brothers (Christopher, Charles, Frederick and William) owned and raced a large and successful stable of horses, with their colours becoming a familiar sight on nearly every course in the state. Their success was remarkable:
Following the Launceston Cup victory, Christopher famously celebrated by showering gold sovereigns from his hotel balcony onto the cheering crowd below. Their eventual departure from racing was described as a loss to the Tasmanian turf.
The family's connection to the Ringarooma district continued through successive generations: