Hi Albert I am very interested in the Germans in Camden as that was where my family lived (I still live here actually hahahahaha) Cheers Karen -----Original Message----- From: Albert Grulke [mailto:grulke@bigpond.com.au] Sent: Monday, 17 January 2005 3:45 PM To: AUS-GERMAN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [AUS-GERMAN] Hunter valley Germans I have completed a work in regard Germans to the Camden valley south-west of Sydney in the 19th century. I am happy to make my story available on the list of privately if anybody is interested. I am now pursuing the Hunter valley region. I find here a rather large - almost said 'massive' - list. It certainly would equal some of the German settlements in Queensland and South Australia. What has got to me is why they lost their German traditions and language so quickly. It seems that within a generation there was no evidence of it having ever been a German community. Was it due to the large Irish, Scottish and English influence? Was it because unlike Queensland they had no Lutheran Church? I find it amazing. I know that for my part at least the language fell by the wayside. My grandparents were first generation Australian and to my knowledge they could not speak German. However we did retain some of the other traditions such as in food. We certainly knew that our ancestors came from Germany and we were proud of that fact. So I ask, "Why did the Hunter Valley Germans just fade away so quickly?" It is not like as in the Camden where they were just a small pocket in the tens. In the Hunter the German families were in the hundred and maybe thousands. Anybody got a clue? Albert Grulke curious in cloudy miserable Melbourne in January. ==== AUS-GERMAN Mailing List ==== Remember, to unsubscribe, send an email to aus-german-l-request@rootsweb.com with unsubscribe in the subject line. ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&ta rgetid=5429