Past Events

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

Upcoming Events

October 13, 2012
Solway Reunion, 13, 14 & 16 October, 2012
On the 16th day of October, 1837, the sailing ship "Solway" of 337 tons, under Captain R. Pearson, berthed at Kingscote, Kangaroo Island. Thus ended a journey begun on 3rd June of that year from Hamburg in Germany. Planning is...

May 02, 2012
Wendish Wagon Wanderings
Retracing the 1852 Wagon Trek from Rosenthal to Portland, 2-6 May 2012 In 2012 it will be 160 years since a group of pioneer families travelled overland from the Barossa Valley in South Australia to Portland, and eventually Hamilton, in...

April 01, 2012
Pleasant Sunday Afternoon, Sunday 1 April 2012
We will begin with a delicious community lunch at 12.30 pm followed by a brief AGM before hearing our guest speakers at 2.00 pm. Hans and Natasha Schroeder will speak about German Lutherans in Russia. The venue is the Ivanhoe...

March 10, 2012
Labour Day Weekend Tour to Tabor, 10 - 12 March 2012
Our tour destination will be the Tabor area in Victoria's Western District. We will take part in the celebration of the Centenary of the present Tabor church building. The proposed itinerary, organised by Betty Huf, includes the Wetland Gardens, the...

January 01, 2012
2012 Calendar
:2012 calendar of events ....


2006 Calendar at a glance