Good Morning List, I'm trying to find out some details of the life of James Gottlieb AVAGE. He was born in Prussia on 17 March 1841 and arrived in Victoria on the Wilhelmsburg in August 1853 as Gottlieb AWEGE. He appears to have travelled with a relatives Wilhelm & Maria Elizabeth EINSPORN nee AWEGE. In 1862 Maria & Wilhelm had a child of their own born at Jan Juc just out of Torquay. Around 1861 he was in Bendigo and by this time may have adopted the Christian name of James to anglicise his Prussian name. He stayed in Bendigo for about 5 years but I have no knowledge of his residence or work or life in Bendigo. He could have been known by any of the above spellings of his surname. About 1866 he moved to Miners Rest & Ballarat where he married and raised a family. He became naturalised in 1915 and died in 1924 and is buried in the Ballarat Cemetery. I have the birth details of his children. I have seen his occupation listed as a labourer, a green grocer and a gardener. While in Ballarat he lived at Wendouree in Howitt Street on the corner of Dowling Street. The house was demolished years ago. I am particularly interested in his life in Geelong & Bendigo prior to his marriage in Ballarat in 1868. Regards, Chris in Adelaide