In the late 1940s, Finnish immigrant John Sointu built this remarkable home on Wallis Island, near Forster.1 Far from the forests and lakes of his northern homeland, this small island offered a familiar echo of Finland.
As a young man, John worked in Indiana, U.S., crafting car bodies at the Union City Body Co.2 After marrying Sigrid in 1924, the couple moved to Canada to be near his cousin Ida Niemi, where John took up farming.3
In 1930, John, Sigrid, their two children, and Ida immigrated to Australia.4 Settling in Newcastle, John and Ida—an expert upholsterer—founded “Superior Auto Metal Works”. The business flourished and by 1937 they were building Singer car bodies to be sold in Sydney.5
Weekends were spent exploring and fishing the Myall and Wallis Lakes. In 1946, John and Ida took up a conditional purchase on Wallis Island and soon built Harmony Hill House—complete with a sauna.6 Leaving the motor trade behind, they embraced island life, constructing a jetty and boatshed and taking on oyster leases.7 Sointu’s Wharf even became a stop on the official mail boat route.8
The extended family lived together on the island until John’s death in 1959. The home remained a sanctuary for Sigrid and Ida until their passings in 1988 and 1982, respectively.9 The house, though altered, appears to still stand on Wallis Island.
Author: Janine Roberts
Read more about Ida Niemi and Wallis Island.
References:
1 Wingham Chronicle, 17 September 1948, 6.
2 Ancestry.com. US WWI draft registration card.
3 Ancestry.com.US Border Crossings from Canada to U.S.
4 Newcastle Morning Herald, 27 May 1938, 14.
5 Newcastle Morning Herald, 9 March 1937, 10.
6 NSW Land Records Services, Vol-Fol: 2153-13; Williamson, 2002, “We built a village – the Heritage of Coomba Park”; Graeme Andrews, Tea and Scones on Lake Wallis, AFLOAT, February 2012 on webpage GLMRSNSW https://www.flickr.com/photos/glmrsnsw/29259821330.
7 Dungog Chronicle, 25 November 1947, 4; Government Gazette of the State of NSW, 23 January 1948 [Issue No.8], 149; Government Gazette of the State of NSW, 6 January 1950 [Issue No.3], 24.
8 GLMRSNSW https://www.flickr.com/photos/glmrsnsw/29259821330.
9 NSW BDM, Death Index John Sointu No. 6795/1959, Death Index Ida Niemi 20791/1982 and Death Index for Sigrid Sointu 24288/1988.
