Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Birth: Wandsbek (Hamburg) Germany 3 December 1911
Death: Arno Bay, South Australia 24 March 1984

Arrival date in Australia is not known, but Karl became a ‘naturalised’ Australian in 1934. Married to Irene in February 1942 and working as a fisherman at Streaky Bay SA, Karl was conscripted in April 1942, becoming a full time soldier in September. After training he was sent to New Guinea and posted to 61 Battalion in March 1943. Perhaps because of his work with boats and the sea he was in August transferred to 11 Australian Water Transport Operating Coy, RAE (later named 11 Aust Small Ships Coy). Whilst with that unit he transferred to the AIF (SX39354) and by March 1944 was “Trade Group 3 - Helmsman”. He returned to Brisbane May 1944 but from then until April 1945 was hospitalised several times with Malaria. By May 1945 he was sufficiently well to be sent back to his unit, and he left Brisbane on 2 August 1945 on Army Vessel 1367 Reninna, disembarking at Labuan in Borneo 7 days after Japan’s surrender. There he stayed (promoted to Corporal) until returning to Australia January 1946 to be discharged in Adelaide 7 February 1946, having spent 602 of his 1227 days of service outside of Australia.
In 1950, Karl was instrumental in saving the lives of three men with whom he was fishing when his fishing cutter, Sea Bird, ran onto a reef and capsized. The Adelaide Advertiser (31 January 1950) reported: “Weingartner swam to the cutter’s dinghy which had broken adrift and was then about one mile from the wreck, and pushed it towards the (three) swimmers. With the men clinging to it, Weingartner then swam ashore, pushing the dinghy in front of him.” A fourth man managed to swim ashore but unfortunately one Percival Brown, a 35 year old father of two, could not swim and so drowned.
Karl died 24 March 1984 aged 73 and is buried at Arno Bay, a fishing town on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. His name appears on the World War 2 Honour Board in the Streaky Bay Town Hall.