Past Events
Pleasant Sunday Afternoon, Sunday 7 April 2013
Our annual Pleasant Sunday Afternoon commenced with a community lunch at 12.30 pm followed by a brief AGM. As this year marks the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Ludwig Leichhardt, we heard about this famous German explorer and naturalist...
April 07, 2013
A.I.G.S. Bendigo Area Family History Expo
10.00 am - 4.00 pm, Sunday 17 March 2013 Leisure Centre, Browning St, Kangaroo Flat Our president, John Noack represented the Wendish Heritage Society and served as a consultant at this well attended event. Many other genealogical societies were also...
March 17, 2013
Labour Day Weekend Tour, 9 - 10 March, 2013
Our tour destination for 2013 was the Grovedale and Freshwater Creek area, near Geelong, Victoria. The itinerary, organised by June Winter, was as follows: We met in the church hall at St Paul's Lutheran Church in Grovedale, cnr Torquay Rd...
March 09, 2013
Nieder-Weisel Plaque for Victorian Goldfields
The largest number of people to emigrate to Australia from any town in what is now Germany came to Victoria from Nieder Weisel in the 1800's, a Lutheran village in the Country called Hesse. The village had 2,300 inhabitants in...
January 19, 2013
Ziebell's Farmhouse Open Garden, 17 & 18 November, 2012
The historic Ziebell's Farmhouse Garden was included in Australia's Open Garden Scheme for the first time last year. The Garden was open from 10 am to 4.30 pm on both Sat. 17 and Sun. 18 November. This event was a...
November 17, 2012
Reunion of Descendants of Solway Passengers, 13-16 October, 2012
Pauline Cockrill reported in The Islander, Kangaroo Island's local newspaper, that a very successful Reunion was held for the descendants of German pioneers who arrived at Kangaroo Island, South Australia aboard the Solway, 175 years ago in October 1837. The...
October 13, 2012
2012 Trek Luncheon at Austrian Club, Sat 13 October at 12.30pm.
Our Wendish Heritage Society's 2012 Trek Luncheon was held on Saturday 13 October 2012 at 12.30 pm at Melbourne's picturesque Austrian Club and Cultural Centre, located at 90 Sheehan Road in Heidelberg West (Melways 19 F/9). This trek Luncheon enabled...
October 13, 2012
Sign unveiled at Rosedale, South Australia
September 28, 2012
Visitors from Lusatia
On Sunday, 5th August 2012, our society's research library received a visit from two German academics, Sebastian Kurtenbach and Elisa Ribbe. The visit was a very pleasant surprise, and was motivated by the fact that Elisa is of Wendish heritage...
August 27, 2012
Wendish Wagon Wanderings
The 1852 Rosenthal to Hochkirch Wagon Trek Revisited by John Noack, based on research in "Wagon Trekking" by Helen Petschel-Walton and other researchers. The 160th anniversary of the 1852 pioneering overland Trek from Rosedale, formerly Rosenthal and Hoffnungsthal in South...
May 02, 2012
The Wend/Sorb Tour to South Australia's Lower North, 28 April 2012
by John Noack, based on [1] the Tour Itinerary and Notes prepared by the Tour Organising Committee from information made available at the Lutheran Archives and on [2] published books relating to the History of Lutherans in Australia and listed...
April 28, 2012
Pleasant Sunday Afternoon, Sunday 1 April 2012
We began with a delicious community lunch at 12.30 pm followed by a brief AGM before hearing our guest speaker at 2.00 pm. Hans Schroeder spoke about German Lutherans in Russia. The venue was the Ivanhoe Lutheran Church, 27 Livingstone...
April 01, 2012
Tabor Church Building Centenary Celebration Weekend, 10-12 March 2012.
by John Noack, based on tour notes prepared by Betty Huf and on useful literature listed below...
March 10, 2012
The Tale of Frieda Keysser
GERMAN-AUSTRALIAN CONNECTIONS NETWORK A Discussion between John Strehlow and Dr Peter Sutton The TALE of FRIEDA KEYSSER Frieda Keysser & Carl StrehlowL an historical biography Volume I: 1875-1910 by John Strehlow Venue: the Ira Raymond Room, Barr Smith Library, University...
March 08, 2012
25th Anniversary of our Society, Saturday 15 October 2011
25th Anniversary Celebration, 15 October 2011. A Luncheon on Saturday 15 October 2011 was held from 12 noon to 4pm at the German Club Tivoli in Windsor, to celebrate our Society's 25th Anniversary. It was established in 1986 and has...
October 15, 2011
HARTWICH / HARTWIG Family Reunion and Book Launch, 1st & 2nd October, 2011.
About 400 descendants of Michael and Eva Rosina Hartwich attended the Family Reunion and Book Launch at Hamilton on 1-2 October 2011. On the Saturday evening, 240 people enjoyed the dinner and concert, which featured talented family members and the...
October 02, 2011
Wendish Fest 2011, Serbin, Texas, USA
Curtis Becker wants you to enjoy his photos from this year's Wendish Fest on 25 September. Please enjoy! 23rd Annual Wendish Fest 2011, Serbin, Texas, USA...
September 25, 2011
The Herlitz Grave Restoration and Plaque Dedication, 29 May 2011.
The Dedication of the Memorial Plaque for Pastor Hermann Herlitz was held at 1pm on 29 May 2011 in the Lutheran Section of the Melbourne General Cemetery at Carlton. Hans Schroeder as the Master of Ceremonies, welcomed special guests and...
June 14, 2011
100th Anniversary of St John's Lutheran Church at Pella, 14-15 May 2011.
The Pella community provided an excellent weekend program for the Centenary celebration of the dedication of their church building, which took place on 14 May 1911. The officiating Pastors in 1911 included N. Wiese, E. Kriewaldt, O. Mueller and J.F....
May 26, 2011
Nature Revealed: Eugene von Guerard's Paintings on Display, 16 April - 7 August, 2011
The Ian Potter Centre in Melbourne's Federation Square was the location of "Nature Revealed", the display of over 150 paintings by Eugene von Guerard. The Centre was open from 10am-5pm each day...
April 16, 2011
"The German-Speaking Community of Melbourne 1855-1865", Sunday 3 April 2011
April 03, 2011
March Tour to the Wimmera, 12-14 March 2011
This year's tour, organized for those who are interested in the history of German and Wendish people, focussed on the districts of Warracknabeal and Minyip. The tour is traditionally held on the Victorian Labour Day weekend which this year was...
March 12, 2011
Westgarthtown's 160th Anniversary, Saturday 21 November 2010
November 21, 2010
Worldwide Wendish Workshop, Iowa USA, 13-15 August 2010
The Iowa (USA) Wendish Heritage Study Group is conducting a "Worldwide Wendish Workshop" from 13-15 August 2010....
August 13, 2010
The 1860 Hamburg Ships' 150th Anniversary Lunch 19/06/10
Time: Saturday 19 June 2010 at 12.00 noon Venue : German Club Tivoli, 291 Dandenong Road, Windsor, Victoria. Speaker: John Noack on "The 1860 Hamburg Ships and their Passengers to Australia"....
June 19, 2010
Heike Bishop talks on "Homeopathy", Sunday 11 April 2010
April 11, 2010
Haeusler Reunion, Sunday 7 March 2010
On 7 March 2010, many descendants of Johann Friedrich August and Anna Rosina Haeusler gathered at Monivae College in Hamilton, Victoria, to celebrate the arrival in Australia of their ancestors in 1846. August was the second youngest of seven children...
March 07, 2010
Dimboola and Jeparit Tour 6-8 March 2010
March 06, 2010
Guided Tours of the Westgarthtown Heritage Trail: Sunday 1 November 2009
November 01, 2009
Whittlesea Cemeteries Tour: Saturday 31 October 2009
October 31, 2009
Freshwater Creek's 150th Anniversary, Sunday 18 October 2009
October 18, 2009
The 1859 Hamburg Ships' 150th Anniversary Dinner, 16 October 2009
The International Settlers' Group celebrates the 1859 Hamburg Ships....
October 16, 2009
Archival and Family History Displays at Luther College: 2-5 October 2009
October 02, 2009
The Warrayure "Trinity" Lutheran Church's 100th Anniversary, 23 August 2009
100th Anniversary Celebrations at "Trinity" Warrayure (a farming community between Hamilton and Dunkeld, Victoria) were held in the church, the hall and the school on 22-23 August 2009, involving about 500 people over the weekend. In some families, at least...
August 23, 2009
PSA Emigrants from Lower Lusatia - illustrated talk, Sunday 5 April 2009
Members and friends attended our Pleasant Sunday Afternoon (PSA) at Ivanhoe Lutheran Church at 12.30pm. It included a community lunch, our Annual General Meeting, and an illustrated talk on the Emigrants from Lower Lusatia....
April 05, 2009
Tatura and Shepparton Tour 7-8 March, 2009.
The Wendish Heritage Society's 2009 March Country Tour included, on Saturday 7 March, a visit to Tatura and to its Irrigation and Wartime Camps Museum at 49 Hogan St, Tatura. On Saturday evening, we dined, and most participants were...
March 07, 2009
Wendish Artist and Sculptor Les Kossatz and "The Art of Existence" 11 Jan 2009
Les Kossatz is a Melbourne artist and sculptor and a descendant of a wendish family. His Exhibition "The Art of Existence" was on display from 22 Nov 2008 to 8 March 2009 at Heide Museum of Modern Art, 7...
January 11, 2009
Vectis Church buildings - 100th Anniversary, 17 Nov 2008
On 17th and 18th November 2008, Zion Lutheran Church at Vectis celebrated the 100th anniversary of the dedication of its present church building. This church was built by H. Dinning from Beulah at a cost of 728 pounds and was...
November 17, 2008
1858 Hamburg Ships Dinner, 4 October 2008
Our Society's 2008 Dinner at the Ringwood Lutheran Hall provided the opportunity for the descendants of the passengers of the 1858 Hamburg Ships to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia of about ten ships, carrying...
October 04, 2008
Deutscher Family Reunion 27-28 Sep 2008
Deutscher 2008: A Reunion of the Deutscher descendants celebrating 160 years of the Deutscher Family in Australia took place in Hamilton on 27-28th September 2008....
September 27, 2008
PSA Emigrants from Nieder Weisel 6 April 2008
Our Pleasant Sunday Afternoon on 6 April 2008 included a Community Lunch, our AGM and a talk on Nieder Weisel....
April 06, 2008
Nagorcka Weekend at Tarrington 8-9 March 2008
Our Wendish Heritage Society and the descendants of Christian and Emilie Nagorcka (who had twelve children) celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the arrival of the Nagorcka ancestors in Australia in 1857 on the ship Gottorp. We visited Tarrington's Nagorcka...
March 08, 2008
1857 Hamburg Ships Dinner, 6 October 2007
The 2007 Wendish Annual Dinner, held in the Ringwood Lutheran Church Hall on Saturday 6 October 2007, celebrated the 150th anniversary of the 1857 ships from Hamburg to Melbourne. Seventy eight guests enjoyed a fine meal, and heard interesting...
October 06, 2007
Leongatha Genealogical Weekend 2-3 June 2007
I reckon that we had a pretty good time at Leongatha. I enjoyed all the talks, which included the Irish women, the Cornish miners' trek from Burra to the Victorian Gold-fields and available records relating to deserted and delinquent...
June 02, 2007
Freshwater Creek / Waldkirch 140th Anniversary, 19 Nov. 2006
The Freshwater Creek (formerly Waldkirch) congregation celebrated the laying of their church's foundation stone on 19 November 2006....
November 19, 2006
Mulwala Family History Expo, 18 Nov. 2006
Bob and Betty Proposch of Yarrawonga, assisted by Clay Kruger, represented our Society at the annual Family History Expo held at Mulwala....
November 18, 2006
Westgarthtown's 150th Anniversary, 10-12 Nov. 2006
The Thomastown Lutheran Congregation (formerly known as Westgarthtown and actually in Lalor) celebrated the 150th anniversary of the dedication of its church building, which took place on 17 November 1856. The only older Lutheran Church building is at Lobethal in...
November 10, 2006
Peters Hill 150th Anniversary, 15 October 2006
The Peters Hill Church's celebration of its 150th Anniversary was held on 15 October 2006...
October 15, 2006
The Deutscher Family Wendish Dinner, 7 Oct 2006
The Society's 2006 Annual Dinner was held in the Community Centre at Calvary Lutheran Church, Greensborough. The Dinner celebrated the 20th Anniversary of our Society and the contribution of the Deutscher family to Australia....
October 07, 2006
Byaduk Lutheran Church Closed, 17 September 2006
The closure of Zion/Neukirch Lutheran Church, Byaduk took place on Sunday 17 Sept 2006...
September 17, 2006
Grovedale / Germantown Pioneers' Memorial Stone, 10 Sep 2006
The early pioneer families of Germantown (now Grovedale, Victoria) were commemorated with the unveiling of a Memorial Stone at the Germantown Cemetery on 10 Sept. 2006. Local historian June Winter has researched the early German families, many of whom were...
September 10, 2006
Bundoora Heritage Tour, 12 Mar 2005
A report of this activity appears in the August 2005 edition of our Wendish Society Newsletter which can be downloaded from the Publications/Newletters section of this website. Some of the participants on a "trailer tour" of Bundoora Park...
March 12, 2005
German Heritage Festival, 20 Nov 2004
A German Heritage Festival and Christkindl Market was held on Saturday 20 November from 11 am-4pm at Westgarthtown Reserve, Gardenia Rd, Thomastown. Visitors inspected the Ziebell Farmhouse with its historical displays, heard a recital of classical music on the Thomastown...
November 20, 2004
