25th Anniversary of our Society
by John NoackA 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 helped to maintain contacts with many descendants of the Wendish...
Hartwich / Hartwig Family Reunion
by June Winter
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 T...
The Herlitz Grave Plaque Dedication
by John Noack
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 all particip...
100th Ann., St John’s Lutheran Church, Pella
by John NoAck
The Pella community provided an excellent weekend program on 14–15 Mat, 2011, 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...
Eugene von Guerard’s Exhibition
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, 16 April – 7 August 2011. The painter, who was born in Vien...
“The German-Speaking Community of Melbourne 1855-1865”
by EditorVolkhard Wehner was the guest speaker at our "Pleasant Sunday Afternoon" on Sunday 3 April 2011. He spoke about his newly-published book Heimat Melbourne: A History of the German-speaking Community of Melbourne, 1855-1865. The "Pleasant Sunday Aft...
Wimmera Tour
by Betty Huf
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 from 1...
Les Kossatz (1943–2011)
by John NoackLeslie George Kossatz, died 15 February 2011. Wendish Artist and Sculptor and "The Art of Existence" Les Kossatz was a widely-acclaimed artist and sculptor who was well know for his sculptured sheep. He was a descendant of the Wendish Kossatz f...
Touring the land of the Wends
by Chris Elmore
Chris Elmore, the writer of this report, is a great-great-grandson of Johann Samuel Rohr (1810-1890) and Anna Dorothea Petras (1822-1911). In this report he describes the experience of visiting the homeland of his Wendish ancestors: As part of an ...
Westgarthtown’s 160th Anniversary
by Rob WuchatschThe year 2010, was Westgarthtown's 160th Anniversary and celebrations took place on Sunday 21 November 2010 as part of the City of Whittlesea's Cultural Heritage Program. The Friends of Westgarthtown and the City of Whittlesea hosted an afternoon ...