Sylvester Edwin Rohu (1882-1945)
Sylvester Edwin Rohu was born in 1882 at Woolloomooloo, Sydney. He was the second son of Henry Stewart Rohu and Ada Jane Tost. In his teens and early twenties, Silvester was a championship swimmer, as was his sister, Millicent. With the outbreak of the First World War, at the age of 33, Sylvester (Sil) enlisted in the Australia Imperial Forces (A.I.F.) which was a volunteer force. His enlistment papers record his profession as 'naturalist' and next of kin as his mother, Ada Jane Rohu as she had divorced Henry Stewart in 1890 . He departed Sydney on the troopship ‘Argyllshire’ on 11th May 1916. You can view a summary of Sil's AIF record here.
First World War
The 'Yandoo'
Sil and three mates (Eric Harding, Bert Duckworth and Basil Hodge) produced the 7th Field Artillery Brigade weekly newspaper The Yandoo for the duration of the war. The typewriter, paper and duplicator were purchased at Durban, South Africa on the way to England with the convoy. They reproduced 1,200 copies of each issue using the typewriter and wax duplicator. On one occasion, passing through the tropics on the way to England, the wax melted, while in the trenches in France the wax sometimes froze. The equipment travelled on transport vehicles when the battery moved from one position to another on the Western Front. On one occasion the Germans were advancing too fast and they overran the complete outfit. With the change in the fortunes of war, however, and the advance of the Allies, it was all recovered, and the old typewriter is now preserved in the National War Memorial at Canberra. The entire Yandoo collection was published in three volumes in 1920. Sil was discharged in October 1919. He received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Sil visited Germany in 1933 during the Nazi era. Interestingly, one of his companions was his old mate and Yandoo co-writer from the AIF, Bert Duckworth. This article in the Sydney Morning Herald (Friday, 24 November 1933) records an unfortunate incident that happened during their visit when H. Duckworth (probably Bert's brother) was slapped in the face by a uniformed Nazi officer.
Gunsmith and fisherman
Shortly after he returned to Sydney, Sil purchased a gunsmith store which was located firstly at 110 Bathurst Street Sydney and later moved to 143 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Although he wasn’t experienced in this area of business Sil developed the store’s activities wider into the areas of fishing and other sports. He promoted his business so well that it became known throughout Australia. Sil was also a naturalist. In fact, two sub-species of albatross are named after him!
Married Life
In 1923, at the age of 41, Sil married Laura May Young at Marrickville. Later the two lived at The Crescent, Vaucluse where they had a waterfront house with a boatshed. Sil’s boatshed served as the first clubhouse for the Vaucluse Junior Amateur Association, until weight of numbers meant that boats had to be stored elsewhere. The boatshed also served as the meeting place for the VJ Association for many years. There is a memorial plaque to Sil on the newly built Vaucluse Sailing Clubhouse in Sydney (2016).
Yacht Design
During a short period of illness in 1931, Sil laid plans for a sailing boat which would be designed specifically for children and teenagers as a training and racing craft. He asked his sailing partner, Charles Sparrow, a designer 22 years his younger, to come up with a plan for an inexpensive father and son boat. The result was the Vaucluse Junior or VJ, one of the great icons of Australian sailing. The VJ, according to marine historian Graeme Andrews, 'changed the sailing scene in Australia radically and immediately, and its effect has been felt for generations since its introduction in the 1931-32 sailing season'. The VJ class is still sailed and raced in Australia today..
Prior to the invention of the VJ, there were no sailing boats that were designed specifically for children and teenagers so they could learn to sail. Sil Rohu’s vision for the VJ required 3 things: It was to be purposely designed for two children or teenagers so they could learn to sail and learn to race; the boat should be unsinkable and easy to right after a capsize; the boat should be able to be made at home by a boy and his dad and should be inexpensive to construct (in the 1930s the boat cost 5 pounds 7 shillings and sixpence and the sails cost 3 pounds 5 shillings).
Prior to the invention of the VJ, there were no sailing boats that were designed specifically for children and teenagers so they could learn to sail. Sil Rohu’s vision for the VJ required 3 things: It was to be purposely designed for two children or teenagers so they could learn to sail and learn to race; the boat should be unsinkable and easy to right after a capsize; the boat should be able to be made at home by a boy and his dad and should be inexpensive to construct (in the 1930s the boat cost 5 pounds 7 shillings and sixpence and the sails cost 3 pounds 5 shillings).
Charitable work
In 1931 during the depths of the Great Depression, Sil saw all around him the effects of social upheaval. Work was scarce with over 20% of Sydney’s workers unemployed, and poverty and hardship was everywhere around. This must have been disturbing for a community minded man like Sil Rohu. In 1926 Sil along with other returned servicemen helped set up a branch of Legacy in Sydney which looked after widows and families of World War I soldiers killed or injured during that conflict.
The photo opposite shows Sil placing a wreath at the Cenotaph in memory of those in the 7th Field Artillery Brigade who lost their lives in the Great War. (Sydney Morning Herald 12th May 1930).
The photo opposite shows Sil placing a wreath at the Cenotaph in memory of those in the 7th Field Artillery Brigade who lost their lives in the Great War. (Sydney Morning Herald 12th May 1930).
Visits to Ireland
Sil visited Ireland in 1916 while on leave in England from the front in France (Sil had developed an infection in his leg). During this time he visited his Uncle, Fredrick Raynor, aunt Miriam, and his cousins, Maud, Eva, Lilian, Violet, Fred, Harry and Louis in Cork. In a letter to a friend in Australia he says ‘I had a bosca time over in Cork. The relatives are a fine crowd real good sports. I have 4 girl and 3 boy cousins the youngest (Violet) about 21 years.’ They brought him to Ardmore, where Fredrick holidayed in the summer. He also visited Blarney and kissed the Blarney stone!
Obituary
Sil died suddenly (probably from a heart attack or stroke) on 24 March 1945 and was buried at the Eastern Suburbs Crematorium, Botany, Sydney. His obituary (opposite) was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday 27 March 1945. His wife Laura who was born in Newcastle, NSW in 1890, lived to be 91 years old. They had no children.
The funeral of Mr Sylvester Edwin (Sil) Rohu, who died in his home, The Crescent, Vaucluse, on Saturday, took place at the Eastern Suburbs Crematorium yesterday and was largely attended. Mr Rohu, who was aged 62, was a returned soldier of the 1914-18 war. He was well known in sporting circles. His gunsmith and fish-tackle shop in Elizabeth Street was the rendezvous of many sportsmen. His chief hobbies were deep-sea fishing and sailing. He is survived by Mrs Rohu.
The funeral of Mr Sylvester Edwin (Sil) Rohu, who died in his home, The Crescent, Vaucluse, on Saturday, took place at the Eastern Suburbs Crematorium yesterday and was largely attended. Mr Rohu, who was aged 62, was a returned soldier of the 1914-18 war. He was well known in sporting circles. His gunsmith and fish-tackle shop in Elizabeth Street was the rendezvous of many sportsmen. His chief hobbies were deep-sea fishing and sailing. He is survived by Mrs Rohu.