G'day All, Who on earth was Oskar ? This is the question that myself and a colleague are researching. And we would appreciate any help from all you intrepid kayaking historians out there. The bare facts are these: Back in 1932, Oskar left his home in Ulm, Germany, got into his folding kayak and began paddling south. He headed into the Mediterranean, looking for work in Cyprus. Oskar kept going, through the Middle East, Asia, and the South Pacific, reaching Australia eight years later. A remarkable 50,000 kilometre voyage. His reward was to be interned in a camp for foreign nationals for the next seven years, because by the time he reached Australia, World War Two had broken out and this eccentric German in his canvas and rubber folding kayak was considered a security risk. It is only now, some 12 years after his death, that serious research is under way into his adventure. A treasure-trove of material was bequested to Australia's National Maritime Museum which recently put some of Oskar's mementos on permanent display. Much of this material has still to be sorted through. Oskar didn't simply disappear when he left Germany. He kept in touch with friends, and later sponsors as he paddled along the way. He kept journals; and even more remarkably took 16mm black and white 'moving pictures' of his travels. Much of this footage shows the indigenous peoples he met, and somehow Oskar managed to keep all this film safe and dry in his kayak, and out of the clutches of the Australian wartime government which interned him. We would appreciate help from anyone who may have material relating to Oskar; in particular, his early history. He paddled a 'Pionier' double kayak, and the detail we have on this company is as follows: Pionier Faltbootwerft H Hoeflmayr & Co 13 b Bad Tolz Fernsprecher: Bad Tolz Nummer 212 und 232 Telegram-Anschrift "Pionier" Bankverbindungen:Direktion der Diskonto-Gesellschaft Filiale Munchen v. Stadtische Sparkasse Bad Tolz Postscheckkonto: Munchen 51150 We would be interested in hearing from any of our German PaddleWisers about this company. Do they still exist? Oskar actually paddled four of these kayaks. His correspondence contains many letters between Pionier, and his film supplier Agfa, where he wheels and deals for their support. As one kayak wore out, he was sent another! He also regularly sent back dispatches to a newspaper, the Berliner Lokal Anzeiger. His voyage is well documented and attested, but we would like to fill in the gaps of his early life. >From the film footage, the Pionier was very similar in profile to the Klepper. He named his boats "Sonnenschein' or Sunshine. One of his fellow internees crafted a beautiful model of Sunshine out of copper which is now on display at the Maritime Museum. But his actual boats have been long lost. My apologies for the long post, but I believe Oskar's story is worth telling. We are writing a piece for our local kayak club, and perhaps we can post this to folks who would like to read it. Regards, Peter Rattenbury, Wollongong, Australia. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Peter Rattenbury wrote: > We would appreciate help from anyone who may have material relating to > Oskar; in particular, his early history. I checked the "relevant" German websites and books about Oskar but could not find anything about him that has not been mentioned before. Setting out for a long voyage was most typical in that time. Unemployment was high and the future looked grey so thousands of younger and older paddlers went off to travel (usually via the Danube to get to the "south"). > He paddled a 'Pionier' double kayak, and the detail we have on this > company is as follows: > Pionier Faltbootwerft > H Hoeflmayr & Co > 13 b Bad Tolz > Fernsprecher: Bad Tolz Nummer 212 und 232 > Telegram-Anschrift "Pionier" > Bankverbindungen:Direktion der Diskonto-Gesellschaft Filiale Munchen v. > Stadtische Sparkasse Bad Tolz > Postscheckkonto: Munchen 51150 I'd assume these are facts from the 1930's, right? > We would be interested in hearing from any of our German PaddleWisers > about this company. Do they still exist? Nope, unfortunately not. Pionier went bankrupt in about 1968 when lots of German folding kayak makers disappeared due to the bad market situation for folding boats. You can see some of the prospects for Pionier boats built in the 1950's and 1960's at http://der.poly.bei.t-online.de/pionier_faltboote.html. A very interesting description of the Pionier factory in 1932 (?) can be read in "German Summer" (forgot the author) which is not in print anymore (check used book shops on the web). > He also regularly sent back dispatches to a newspaper, the Berliner Lokal > Anzeiger. I'll see what I can dig up here in Berlin. Just remind me now and then as I get older (26 by last Sunday :-)). Some folks in Germany (including me) are in the process of developing an English-German website about folding kayak related history (or rather canoe/kayak history in general). I'd be most interested in the report you and your friends are writing, Peter. Cheers, Marian -- Marian Gunkel Berlin, Germany http://www.mariangunkel.de *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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