Wolfgang Degenhardt

Who was Wolfgang Degenhardt?

Wolfgang Degenhardt was an artist, prominent in Newcastle located in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. Husband of Irene Degenhardt, who still lives in Newcastle today.

Degenhardt was born in Germany, studied art in Bremen and Milan. He migrated to Greta, New South Wales in the Hunter Valley in January 1955, with his wife Irene and sons Fred and Alex after the second world war. Shortly after arriving in Australia. He worked at BHP steel works, in the coke ovens as part of the immigration program at the time, which required people to work for two years in an industry chosen by the Australian Government. A year after arriving in Australia, he built his own home on Warners Bay Road, Charlestown. It was hard work, as the acre block he selected, was dense Australian bush land. To clear the block he used hand saws and an axe. He built the home with a small loan from the Commonwealth Bank, coming home after his shift at BHP to cut timbers and paint. The house has remained relatively unchanged to this day.

Over the years he presented his paintings to every man who retired from the steal works, with art supplies given to him by BHP, he became very well known for this. He worked for the BHP for 30 years, retiring only a few years before his passing.