Winkler Generations
A shallow tidal creek, 12 km to the west of Adelaide was selected as the site of Adelaide’s first Port. Colonel William Light sited the landing place on the upper reaches of the ‘Port Creek’. The Harbour was officially named Port Adelaide in 1837.
Navigation of vessels through the shallow creek proved difficult and ships were often stranded on the sand bar until high tide. Negotiating their way further upstream on the evening tide, the ships would weigh anchor as near to the landing as they were able before small boats were lowered to transport the passengers and their goods ashore. Often the passengers had to either wade through the mud flats or be carried the rest of the way before then scrambling up over the sand-hills to the township. The unpleasant conditions and the lack of proper facilities earned the Port the nickname ‘Port Misery’.
Navigation of vessels through the shallow creek proved difficult and ships were often stranded on the sand bar until high tide. Negotiating their way further upstream on the evening tide, the ships would weigh anchor as near to the landing as they were able before small boats were lowered to transport the passengers and their goods ashore. Often the passengers had to either wade through the mud flats or be carried the rest of the way before then scrambling up over the sand-hills to the township. The unpleasant conditions and the lack of proper facilities earned the Port the nickname ‘Port Misery’.
A canal was dredged through the Mangrove swamps in 1838 in an attempt to improve conditions but this still did not meet the needs of the settlement. Finally a new landing wharf was built downstream in deeper water. The wharf together with a proper warehouse and roadway were completed in 1840.
Temporary shelters were provided at Port Adelaide for the new arrivals until they were able to move on to a suitable settlement. However the heat together with sand-hills, mosquitoes and flies, would have made their stay very difficult.
Temporary shelters were provided at Port Adelaide for the new arrivals until they were able to move on to a suitable settlement. However the heat together with sand-hills, mosquitoes and flies, would have made their stay very difficult.
The New Colony
The Colony of South Australia was less than 2 years old when the first German emigrants stepped ashore. They could not have arrived at a worse time of year – late November - the beginning of the Australian summer. It was hot and dry and bushfires were seen in the hills. Despite earlier assurances by the Governor, no arrangements had been made for their accommodation or employment. The Germans, not knowing the language or the customs, felt helpless. They set up camp at Port Adelaide for a few weeks before Charles Flaxman arranged for them to lease a section of land belonging to Angas about 6 km northeast of Adelaide, near the River Torrens. Each family were allocated about five acres and more money was advanced to enable the purchase of stock and seeds. Very soon shelters were erected, some reed huts and others more substantial clay houses. This new village was called Klemzig in remembrance of their village in Brandenburg.
Most of the earlier English emigrants were merchants, not agriculturists, so few fruit and vegetables were locally grown and therefore they were very expensive. Even though the soil was poor and there was little rain, in just a few short months the industrious Germans had cultivated and established thriving vegetable gardens and were then able to sell their produce in and around Adelaide.
Gotthard Daniel Fritzche
After years of continual harassment, Pastor Gotthard Daniel Fritzche also felt compelled to emigrate. In June 1840, he sought out contact with George Fife Angas to assist his congregation but Angas, still suffering from financial difficulties after sponsoring Kavel’s emigrants, was unable to assist.
Pastor Kavel had heard of their plight and wrote urging Fritzche to come to South Australia but then events in Germany gave them some hope. King Friedrich Wilhelm III died on June 7 1840 and the Old-Lutheran’s prayed that under his son, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, conditions would change for the better. The new King did repeal the restrictive laws and the persecution of the Old-Lutherans eventually ceased. However, due to their experiences, the Old-Lutherans feared a repetition and felt compelled to carry out their original intention to leave.
Pastor Fritzche was at first unsure of what he should do, but a permit had already been granted and for his ordination to be recognised by the Prussian Government, he had to leave with the people who had nominated him as their Pastor. Eventually after funds for the voyage were painstakingly collected from numerous sources, the emigrants gathered in Hamburg to await departure.
Pastor Kavel had heard of their plight and wrote urging Fritzche to come to South Australia but then events in Germany gave them some hope. King Friedrich Wilhelm III died on June 7 1840 and the Old-Lutheran’s prayed that under his son, King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, conditions would change for the better. The new King did repeal the restrictive laws and the persecution of the Old-Lutherans eventually ceased. However, due to their experiences, the Old-Lutherans feared a repetition and felt compelled to carry out their original intention to leave.
Pastor Fritzche was at first unsure of what he should do, but a permit had already been granted and for his ordination to be recognised by the Prussian Government, he had to leave with the people who had nominated him as their Pastor. Eventually after funds for the voyage were painstakingly collected from numerous sources, the emigrants gathered in Hamburg to await departure.
The Danish ship Skjold had been chartered for the journey but delays while repairs were made to the ship took their toll on the waiting passengers. The families had to rent premises and supply their own daily needs while waiting for embarkation causing even further financial strains on the impoverished people.
Four deaths occurred amongst the group, including 3 infants, before the Skjold was ready for departure from Hamburg on 3rd July 1841. The journey continued to be plagued with misfortune. Terrible weather conditions and the passenger’s poor state of health added to their woes. Finally after 117 days at sea, the Skjold arrived at Port Adelaide on 28th October 1841. Over 50 deaths occurred during the long voyage. The South Australian Register of October 30, 1841 reported that the deaths were “principally among the children. The disease was dysentery.” |
Pastor Kavel and members of his Klemzig congregation welcomed the newcomers. On 1st November the earlier settlers arrived at Port Adelaide with wagons to transport the new arrivals to temporary homes at Klemzig and Hahndorf. The Skjold passengers who went to Hahndorf eventually founded the village of Lobethal. Those who stayed at Klemzig however were to look to the Barossa Valley.
The Barossa Valley
Colonel William Light first explored the region now known as the Barossa Valley in 1837. Barossa (or Barrosa as it was originally spelled) is apparently Spanish for “hill of red soil or mud.” Colonial Light is said to have named the valley after the site of a British victory over the French in the 1811 Spanish Civil War. About 50 km northeast of Adelaide, the broad shallow valley approximately 20 km long and 14 km wide is bordered on the east by the Barossa Ranges and on the west by the Greenock Hills.
In 1838 George Fife Angas appointed a German mineralogist, Johannes Menge, to survey the Barossa region. Menge’s favourable reports of potential fertile farming lands led Charles Flaxman to purchase 28,000 acres of land on behalf of George Fife Angas. This unauthorized purchase almost ruined Angas financially.
In 1838 George Fife Angas appointed a German mineralogist, Johannes Menge, to survey the Barossa region. Menge’s favourable reports of potential fertile farming lands led Charles Flaxman to purchase 28,000 acres of land on behalf of George Fife Angas. This unauthorized purchase almost ruined Angas financially.
In 1839 a contract was drawn up on behalf of the Klemzig, Hahndorf and Glen Osmond congregations for the purchase of 2,080 acres of land in the Barossa. Once land surveys were completed, it was Pastor Kavel’s wish that all of the German’s would settle there together. Having already built dwellings and established farms for themselves at Klemzig and Hahndorf, the families were reluctant to move and begin building a new village so soon. Eventually it was to be some of the passengers from the Skjold who would be the first to take up some of this land.
The Colony of South Australia was just 3 years old when settlement of the Barossa Valley began. The town of Gawler, on the southern boundary of the valley, was first settled in 1839. It was the second country town to be established in South Australia after Port Adelaide. In the central part of the valley, Bethany was the first settlement in 1842. German Pass (which became Angaston) and Langmeil, which later merged into Tanunda, were established soon after. The towns of Tanunda and Truro were surveyed about 1848 and Nuriootpa in 1850. Rosedale, Lyndoch, Greenock and Stockwell all date from the 1850's
The Colony of South Australia was just 3 years old when settlement of the Barossa Valley began. The town of Gawler, on the southern boundary of the valley, was first settled in 1839. It was the second country town to be established in South Australia after Port Adelaide. In the central part of the valley, Bethany was the first settlement in 1842. German Pass (which became Angaston) and Langmeil, which later merged into Tanunda, were established soon after. The towns of Tanunda and Truro were surveyed about 1848 and Nuriootpa in 1850. Rosedale, Lyndoch, Greenock and Stockwell all date from the 1850's
Bethany
Some four months after their arrival the Klemzig families from the Skjold arranged to lease some of the land from Angas and in early 1842, moved to the new settlement they called Bethanien (Bethany).
The village of Bethany was laid out in a German style with houses built along the main road and long strips of land set out in rows behind them. The farmers grew cereal crops, mostly wheat, as well as vegetables and fruit. Cattle and horses were gradually introduced. Traditional Prussian dress, food & festivals were observed in the village. The Germans kept mainly to themselves and married their own kind. They kept up their own language and customs and established their own German schools.
The village of Bethany was laid out in a German style with houses built along the main road and long strips of land set out in rows behind them. The farmers grew cereal crops, mostly wheat, as well as vegetables and fruit. Cattle and horses were gradually introduced. Traditional Prussian dress, food & festivals were observed in the village. The Germans kept mainly to themselves and married their own kind. They kept up their own language and customs and established their own German schools.
By 1843 the population at Bethany numbered about 200. Almost 500 hundred acres of land had been cultivated, mostly with wheat. New families began to arrive and took up temporary residence until they were able to secure their own land. In 1847, a disastrous fire almost destroyed the village; several homes were burnt to the ground.
In 1852 the land became the freehold property of the Bethany settlers but by this time many of the original 28 families had moved on to other settlements in the Valley to work larger farms. Most remained members of the Bethany congregation however until the new settlements at Langmeil, Greenock and Daveyston had established their churches. |
Lutheran Church Bethanien
The centre of the Lutheran community was the church. Early church services were held under a tree or in the tent or hut of the settlers. For the first few years Pastor Kavel and Pastor Fritzsche shared the ministerial duties of the various congregations. In 1845 the first church was built at Bethany under the direction of Pastor Fritzsche. It was a long, narrow building made from local stone with mud walls and a thatched roof. It stood in the centre of the line of dwellings, close to the cemetery on the northern side of the Bethany road. It was equipped with a pleasant sounding bell that was housed in a separate belfry. Each evening at sunset, the bell was rung to announce that the working day had ended.
Just a year after the church was completed a massive disagreement between Pastor Kavel and Pastor Fritzsche over church doctrine led to a split in the Lutheran Church. Pastor Fritzche and his followers remained at Bethany and formed the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Those who remained loyal to Pastor Kavel moved on to form new congregations at Gruenburg (near Angaston) and Nain. |
Pastor Heinrich August Eduard Meyer arrived in Bethany in 1848 to serve as assistant to Pastor Fritzche. Pastor Meyer went on to minister not only at Bethany but also in many of the new settlements in the Barossa area, until his sudden death in December 1862
In 1883, a new church was built on the opposite side of the road. The old church was not large enough to accommodate a new church bell that had arrived to replace the old worn out bell. The congregation decided the new church should have a distinctive name and called it ‘Die Herberge Christi zu Bethanien” (The Dwelling Place of Christ at Bethany).
In 1883, a new church was built on the opposite side of the road. The old church was not large enough to accommodate a new church bell that had arrived to replace the old worn out bell. The congregation decided the new church should have a distinctive name and called it ‘Die Herberge Christi zu Bethanien” (The Dwelling Place of Christ at Bethany).