Friends of Lutheran Archives
 The Friends of Lutheran Archives (FoLA) is a group whose goal is to encourage the collection and preservation of archival material and to promote the work of the Lutheran Archives. Become a Friend of the Lutheran Archives. Email FoLA for information, subscription rates, publications, outings, etc.
13th Australasian Congress on Genealogy 2012
 Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31March, Adelaide Convention Centre
For registration details see www.congress2012.org.au
1. Researching German family history in present-day Poland
Speakers: Janette Lange & Lois Zweck
Wednesday, 28 March
An introduction to archival tools and websites for locating German records in Polish archives, with advice on travelling in Poland
2. Why Polish Hill River failed to become a ‘Little Poland’ in Australia
Speaker: Anitta Maksymowicz
Friday, 30 March
There was a Polish presence in the Lutheran emigrations from the beginning, and four Polish families joined the Germans on the George Washington in 1844. The August in 1856 brought 131 Poles, who established a settlement at Polish Hill River near Clare. Anitta’s talk is based on the letters of Father Leon Rogalski who served the Catholic community there from 1870.
3. Old places, new names – territorial changes of the Middle Oder River
Speaker: Anitta Maksymowicz
Saturday 31 March
An outline of the entangled 19th and 20th century history of the former borderland of the Prussian provinces of Brandenburg, Silesia and Posen – the homeland of many Australian Lutherans.
FoLA
Re-enacting the Klemzig Story
Speaker: Anitta Maksymowicz
Monday, 2 April at 7.30 pm
Concordia College Chapel, 45 Cheltenham Street, Highgate
On 8 June 1838 hundreds of Prussian country-folk made their way from Klemzig and nearby villages to the port of Tschicherzig on the Oder River. 200 “Old Lutherans” were emigrating to South Australia, and a thousand family, friends and curious onlookers gathered to farewell them: they had not seen anything like this before.
On 5 July 2008 hundreds of local people followed the same route, dressed in period costume and travelling by horse and cart. But now the Polish village was called Kl?psk, the river was the Odra, the port was spelt Cigacice – and the people were Polish Catholics.
Re-enactments are a popular way of bringing historic events to life for later generations, and that is true in Poland too, but normally the actors are reliving the story of their ancestors, a story that still exists in the common memory. This Polish community had no connection with the event it was commemorating: virtually all local families had moved into the region after the exodus of the German population at the end of World War II.
The initiative for this unique event came from the Muzeum Ziemi Lubuskiej, the Museum of the Lubuska Land in Zielona G?ra, or Grünberg as it was known in Prussian times, when so many of our ancestors left these borderlands of Silesia, Brandenburg and Posen for a new life in Australia.
Dr Anitta Maksymowicz, historian and curator of the museum, gained a PhD for her research into 19th century emigration from the area to Australia, and in March / April 2012 she will visit the SA communities those emigrants created and share her knowledge of their homeland with us.
Her presentation on the two Polish re-enactments of 2008 and 2009 will be complemented by images of the SA re-enactments of the Kavel migration at Klemzig in 1986 and West Lakes in 1988.
SAGHS Occasional Meeting
Where Our Ancestors Lie - Searching for German Graveyards in the Middle Oder Region of Poland
Speaker: Anitta Maksymowicz
Wednesday, 11 April at 7.30 pm
South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society Library, 201 Unley Rd, Unley
Booking essential as venue may change according to numbers – please contact SAGHS office 08 8272 4222
Since World War II the cemeteries of the abandoned German communities have been left derelict and forgotten, but in recent years various Polish communities like the Catholic parish of Nekla have made commendable efforts to restore them. Anitta’s talk to SAGHS will provide us with an opportunity to hear about locating surviving graveyards and these restoration projects.
Barossa Archives & Historical Trust
Rural life and wine-growing in Old Prussia
Speaker: Anitta Maksymowicz
Wednesday, 18 April at 7.30pm
Langmeil Church Hall, 7 Maria St, Tanunda
Zielona G?ra, formerly Grünberg, is at the heart of an old wine growing region. The Museum has a permanent display on the history of wine-growing in the area, another close link to South Australia. The Ethnographic branch of the Lubuska Land Museum is a village of reconstructed 19th century buildings at Ochla near Zielona G?ra, providing detailed insights into the rural way of life.
About Time: History Month, May 2012
Lutheran Archives open days: Wednesday, 2 May & Saturday, 5 May 10.00 am - 12. 00 noon
See some of our most appealing artefacts in the display To Have and to Hold – Mementoes of Marriage. Green, silver and gold bridal wreaths take pride of place in the display as they did in many homes, and are an excellent example of the traditions and skills fostered in the German community.
As German as the King: South Australian legal practitioners of German heritage, 1860–1918
Speaker: Peter Moore
Monday, 21 May at 7.30pm
Bethlehem House, Sudholz Pl, Adelaide
When the SA Government mooted a Bill in 1916 to arrest Germans whose sons were not at the front, an MP asked of the Barossa’s German residents How many Germans are half English? The Premier snapped back - How many English are half Germans? They could have been talking about King George V – and the legal practitioners of German birth or extraction who practised law in SA between 1860 and the end of World War I. (Many more worked as law clerks; as many again were admitted after 1918.)
For fifty years before the outbreak of hostilities, ethnically German lawyers practised their profession effectively. Some achieved distinction. Three entered Parliament; two of them held office as Attorney General, one of whom went on to become a Supreme Court judge. Many were pillars of their local communities. Yet some found themselves caught up in the ugly wave of anti-German feeling that the war spawned. A few are known to have been vilified during the period of hostilities and accused of disloyalty – even by their fellow lawyers. Hardly the ‘enemy within’ as feared, the lawyers proved as stalwart as any other group in fighting on the war and home fronts.
The paper compares and contrasts the individual lawyers’ backgrounds, careers and experiences.
Peter Moore is a former SA legal practitioner, admitted in 1977, and has worked as a lawyer and archivist, a publisher, editor, adult educator and tour guide. A member of the Historical Society of SA since its foundation, he has lectured and published in local and legal history. This paper is part of a series he is delivering as he completes a full history of the SA legal profession, 1837 to 1945.
Treasures and Traditions of the German Community
Saturday, 12 May, 9.15 am – 4.30 pm
Ira Raymond Room, Barr Smith Library, Adelaide University, North Tce, Adelaide
Registration fee $35 includes lunch and refreshments.
This seminar showcases the creative skills, leisure and customs of town, country and church life with 13 brief papers and discussion time. The altar, the organ and the choir, so essential to Lutheran worship, are represented by Tamke’s altars, Wolff’s organs and Pastor Ortenburger’s Appila choir; German prominence in Adelaide musical life is highlighted by a glimpse of Carl Linger’s other compositions, and the international career of singer Clara Serena (Kleinschmidt). Church festivals and family celebrations called for lavish decoration, well documented in our Archives photo collection. The skilful lettering and artwork of illuminated addresses reflected communities’ esteem and gratitude to honoured individuals, and were often accompanied by the recitation of celebratory verse. Leisure crafts are represented by hair and feather pictures, popular in the Victorian era; avid German readers in the country could make use of a German book collection from the Circulating Library. The community wealth displayed in elaborate silver gifts and the prominence of German silversmiths in creating them is shown in the work of Julius Schomburgk, while his brother Richard’s use of German papier mache to demonstrate fruit varieties reflects the close link with the German scientific world.
Registration essential; forms can be obtained from Lutheran Archives.
Solway Reunion
On 16 October 1837 the sailing ship Solway of 337 tons under Captain R. Pearson berthed at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, completing a journey from Hamburg which began on 3 June.
A get-together of descendants of the passengers on that ship is planned for Saturday October 13th, Sunday 14th and Tuesday 16th 2012 at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island.
Surnames of the passengers on that trip include BAUER, BREMER, CHRISTIAN, DEBUS, DIESE, DREBING, DRESE, FLEIM, FORTSCH, GRAMP, GRUNHAGEN, HANSON, HAUSER, HUTSCH, KLEEMANN, KOEHLER, KRAMER, LAGE, MILDE, NEANDER, OPPEL, OELRICH, PFEIFFER, PIPKORN, PROPHET, SCHAEFFER, SCHMIDT, STURN, THEILMANN, WALLSCHLAGER and ZILM.
If you would like more information, please contact Jan Heppner, 08 8541 2820, email janhch@bigpond.com or Pastor David Christian 08 8391 0063, email davjoyxian@adam.com.au
The regular meeting place has been changed to Bethlehem House, Sudholz Place, because of the number of members experiencing problems with the stairs at LLL. Ramps and a lift for those not able to cope with stairs are a definite advantage at Bethlehem House, and parking in the city on Monday nights is not a problem. LLL did not charge us for the use of the meeting room, but Bethlehem House requires payment. We are now asking for a gold coin donation to cover the cost. Please remember to give your donation as you arrive at the meetings. (Supper will also be provided out of these funds.)
Audio-cassettes are available for many of the meeting topics. Cost is $3, or $5 posted.
Contact Lutheran Archives.
Friends of Lutheran Archives Journal
Receive your subscription to the journal with your FoLA membership. Many back issues of the FoLA Journal, since 1991, are still available. Check the list and sample the interesting articles. Contact FoLA to obtain more information or to obtain your own copies.
Newsletter
Read or download the following editions here:
Wartburg to Bowden: A Faith Journey
For the Learning Works radio series, this program was recorded in the Lutheran Archives in Adelaide and was broadcast on Good Friday, 25 March 2005 on PBA FM in Salisbury, South Australia. The 30-minute program was produced and presented by Tony Ryan, Archivist for the Australian College of Educators. It is now available online as an MP3 audiofile and can be downloaded from www.learningworksradio.com/audio/audio_2005_03_25.mp3
Contact
Email: fola@lca.org.au
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