Gerhardt Johannsen

Gerhardt Andreas Johannsen (14 November 1876 – 4 April 1951) was a stonemason, builder and pastoralist in the Northern Territory.

Early life

Johannsen was born in Denmark on 14 November 1876 and, in 1899, he left to emigrate to Australia: working his passage as a crew member. He had originally planned to emigrate to South Africa but the Boer War prevented this.

When he arrived in South Australia he went to the Barossa Valley where he met and married Marie Ottilie (Tilly) Hoffmann in 1905.

Johannsen also served as a guide to Walter Baldwin Spencer and Leonard Keith Ward during their 1923 visit and, once again hosted Ward and Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Stefansson wanted to compare the arid desert of Central Australia with the Arctic. However, in these years two additional children were born; Randle Werner Johannsen (10 August 1925) and Myrtle Edna Johannsen (22 November 1926).

Later life

In later life Johannsen was an active member of the Alice Springs Progress Association.

Johannsen died suddenly on 4 April 1951 when he collapsed from a heart attack at the Pioneer Theatre whilst with his wife Marie. His funeral was one of the biggest seen in Alice Springs for many years.