My interest in German migration in the 19th century starts and stops almost with why they came, how they came, where they came from and what they did after arriving. Hence I get quite excited when we have these debates on the link. I learn a bit more and get some of my ideas either confirmed or corrected. I love it. I have done a lot of research into the why, how, where and what of German migration into Australia in the 19th century. I think I have it reasonably clear but there is still much to discover. I am writing this from memory. To understand it I find we have to consider it in 2 parts. Australia and Germany in the 19th century. German emigrants came to 5 states or colonies from 5 different parts of Germany. Remember that Germany was some 16 states or kingdoms until about 1870. The South Australians came from Silesia and Saxony. The first group came out because of persecution and arrived in about 1838. There can be little doubt that religious persecution was their reason although one wonders how many families came for the adventure. The migrants who followed these came because they had family in the first group or because of opportunities and letters home raving about the land of milk and honey and peace and freedom. Victoria is interesting because they came from 2 different areas. Those migrating into the western districts and places west of the Hume Highway came across from South Australia because land became scarce in the Barossa. Right across Melbourne we can find small pockets that were once German settlements. It seems that by the second generation these settlers had integrated totally into the overall population. I am often intrigued at how much the German influence had on Melbourne's development. Those people like those coming to Geelong appear to have came from the Slavic states of Eastern Germany. The potato disease seems to be the cause of leaving Germany There was a German migration into Tasmania but I have not yet been able to find anything about it. I just know it happened. New South Wales is fascinating. Popular theory is that there was no German migration into that state but like the persecution theory that is a myth. There was a very large German migration from the Rhine regions into New South Wales from the 1820s onward although the main influx was in the 1840s. They were brought out on contract to work the vineyards in the Hunter Valley, Camden area and Mudgee. After the contracts finished they often drifted across the range west and south. Albury already had a large German population before the South Australians migrated across to Jindera. Kirchner was a consul and business man who established a number if industries in the Northern Rivers. He brought Germans out to man his industries. Hence there was a large German population around Grafton and they also scattered across the tablelands. The majority of these migrants were Roman Catholic and they seem to have integrated immediately into the Irish Catholic communities. It seems that by the third generation all traces of German ancestry had been eliminated and I have found people of German descent who did not know it. I will later mention the migrants coming to Brisbane and moving down to Tenterfield and the New England. I would say that the German migration into NSW was as big as in South Australia but am open to correction. It is only my assessment which might be wrong. Queensland is the real place for Germen migration. The Germans coming to Queensland far outnumber those to South Australia. They came out under 3 different programmes. The first group arrived about 1832. J.D.Lang had a grand idea to civlise and Christianise the aborigines population. He decided that the best people to do this were the Germans so he went to the Gossner Mission School in Berlin looking for candidates. The first group arrived but the missions ideal never occurred. The realised almost immediately that there were vast opportunity in farming and trades and business so that was where they put their efforts. >From then on the government periodically sponsored Germans to come for mission ministry, to minister to the German communities and to provide tradesmen and business professional. They also encouraged the odd family to come unsupported and try their luck. The majority of Germans coming to Queensland came from the northern states of Pomerania and Brandenburg. A fellow named Lloyd who lived at Drayton and a fellow named Haussler who was a businessman in Brisbane undertook to bring Germans out as shepherds and farm labourers for the settlers on the Darling Downs and the New England of NSW. These two gentlemen went to Germany and persuaded people to come on a 2 year contract. The contract was similar to the one used to bring the Germans from the Rhine to the Hunter valley and NSW. I have a copy of Fred Kummerow's contract and am happy to share it on the link. He was engaged for 2 years. Every family member except the wife who was over 12 years of age was also engaged. They kept the families togethers where possible. During that 2 years the family received their rations for food, accommodation, some clothing and medical. They were paid a wage but part of that wage was retained to cover the cost of the shipping. Once the contract finished the family could leave. Most families left after about 5 years. The last scheme was where the government reclaimed land and divided it into smaller lots. This happened mostly in the Lockyer and Fassifern valleys Haussler in particular, wet to Germany to persuade people to come out for land parcels. On arrival the family was placed in a Migrant Hostel and then allotted a block of land. Every son over the age or 16 could get a block of land. Blocks were in sizes of 2 , 5, 10, 20, 40 or 80 acres. He was given a small loan and had to occupy within days and be productive within, I think, 5 years. That was the enticement to come but what enticed them to leave. This gets complex. As Germany entered the 19th century the old feudal system that had functioned for 1000 years was gradually closed down. Land was resumed from the barons and broken into blocks for families to farm. Suddenly the peasants were no longer peasants but land owners in their own right. This was not easy for many who now and to find ways to get their weekly food ration and clothing. For centuries they and their ancestor's and relied on the baron. The contracts offered in Australia were attractive. They could return to the life they understood. Somebody else did the caring and they just did the work. To add to these woes there was a disease in the potato and other root crops in the 1840s. They had 3 years of no corps followed by years of bad rainfalls. The agents presented a story of a land without disease and ample opportunity with wonderful weather. This was paradise. As the sons grew to men there developed a land shortage in Germany. In the past the baron found work of the sons and they all lived and worked for him. Now they had to find more land or move on to the cities. Another option was to migrate. The youngest son stayed home to inherit the farm while the older sons would often migrate. When the man arrived offering land for nothing in this new south land they grabbed it. There was a period of religious persecution in Silesia in the 1820s. How much the memory of this continued in people's mind is unknown. There was no actual persecution after about 1835. Germany became an industrial nation in the 19th century. Its industrial growth with foundries and railways was faster and greater than anything in Britain. Education grew at an equal rate. The literate and academic level of the Germans migrating to Queensland was higher than that of their English counterparts. Thus led to men like Karl Marx making their voices heard. It led to problems with workers demanding better pay and conditions. In 1848 there were massive strikes and riots throughout Germany. No country likes conscription into military service. The Prussians had a conscription programme and the people hated it. Young mend migrated. Young men just fled Germany. Families fled to avoid their sons being conscripted. Families migrated to avoid their sons being conscripted. Johann Hoffmann is repute to have said the he did not raise 8 sons to rage war against his people to satisfy the Prussian bully. Finally there was the rise of the Kaiser and the coming of Prussia. By the 1870s all 16 states had been brought under Prussian control. The people hated the Prussians. They could not get away fast enough. Hope this helps understand it all a little Albert Grulke