Winkler Generations
Discovering the story of my father's family has been a historical journey back to the foundation of the Colony of South Australia, beginning with the early German settlements of the Adelaide Hills and the Barossa Valley. Most of the German immigrants were fleeing religious persecution. Some came hoping to find freedom and economic prosperity in the new colony. Many came because they had friends or relatives already in the colony. All had made the momentous decision to travel to the other side of the world, risking a dangerous three or four months at sea, to get a better chance in life.
Less than two years after the colony of South Australia was proclaimed, about 200 German religious refugees sponsored by George Fife Angas, arrived at Port Adelaide. They had left Prussia primarily due to a disagreement over the order of worship to be followed in religious services. By 1839 over 500 German emigrants had made the enormous decision to leave their homeland, their family and friends and brave the hazards of a long, dangerous voyage to become struggling pioneers in a foreign country. This marked the beginning of a flow of emigration from Prussia that continued until the turn of the century.
The first of my German ancestors to arrive in Australia were Samuel and Christiana Bensch in 1839. A daughter, Caroline Wilhelmina, was born soon after their arrival. Sixteen years later another German emigrant, Carl Andreas Winkler, arrived in South Australia. Andreas and Wilhelmina eventually married and raised a family of eight children. Two of those children married and had children of their own.
Thank you to Diane Brook for photographs of the family of Richard Albert Winkler and Kerrie Korte and Leanne Seres for photographs of the family of Elizabeth Jane McNeil. Thank you also to Christine Venchiarutti & Raelene Milton for some lovely photographs of the Winkler family. Special thanks to Roma Childs for the story of her father, Perce. A special mention to Jennifer Mulraney for her enthusiasm & interest.
Many thanks also to historian Nick Woods, from the Wallaroo Heritage & Nautical Museum for his assistance and a big thank you to The State Library of South Australia for their pictorial collection.
Less than two years after the colony of South Australia was proclaimed, about 200 German religious refugees sponsored by George Fife Angas, arrived at Port Adelaide. They had left Prussia primarily due to a disagreement over the order of worship to be followed in religious services. By 1839 over 500 German emigrants had made the enormous decision to leave their homeland, their family and friends and brave the hazards of a long, dangerous voyage to become struggling pioneers in a foreign country. This marked the beginning of a flow of emigration from Prussia that continued until the turn of the century.
The first of my German ancestors to arrive in Australia were Samuel and Christiana Bensch in 1839. A daughter, Caroline Wilhelmina, was born soon after their arrival. Sixteen years later another German emigrant, Carl Andreas Winkler, arrived in South Australia. Andreas and Wilhelmina eventually married and raised a family of eight children. Two of those children married and had children of their own.
Thank you to Diane Brook for photographs of the family of Richard Albert Winkler and Kerrie Korte and Leanne Seres for photographs of the family of Elizabeth Jane McNeil. Thank you also to Christine Venchiarutti & Raelene Milton for some lovely photographs of the Winkler family. Special thanks to Roma Childs for the story of her father, Perce. A special mention to Jennifer Mulraney for her enthusiasm & interest.
Many thanks also to historian Nick Woods, from the Wallaroo Heritage & Nautical Museum for his assistance and a big thank you to The State Library of South Australia for their pictorial collection.
Germany
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The Colony of South Australia
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Carl Andreas Winkler
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Charles William Winkler
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George Henry Winkler
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Samuel Ludwig Bensch
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August Christian Winkler
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Friedrich Carl Seigmund Winkler
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