Wend/Sorb Society of South Australia Inc. Newsletter No. 46 July 2013 Bus Trip - Wendish Heritage Trail Early on a bright, sunny Saturday (27 April), 57 people The location of the first sun-dried brick Lutheran gathered for our annual coach trip exploring areas church built by the Wends, and that of a later church relating to Wendish settlement in South Australia. We building have been indicated with chain fencing and had a full bus once again with folk aged from 7 to70 plaques on cairns. A plaque provides a memorial to a plus and some people still on a waiting list. This year Dr Frederick Lampard who used to walk around the the focus was on our recently launched Wendish district to visit his patients. The interesting graves Pioneer Heritage Trail with its interpretive signs. Six include those of other early pioneers, a few later signs have been erected, with four of them being visited Wendish settlers and even more recent burials. All well on this trip. The Hope Valley and Peters Hill signs will maintained. have to wait for another time, unless members manage to visit them individually. Finally we continued on to Rosedale’s current Trinity Lutheran Church and cemetery. The original manse Tour leaders Ruth and Eric Fiebig again presented all located opposite the church property is now a private travellers with folders of helpful maps, historical notes home with an impressive garden. Group photos were and images of the sites to be visited. taken of members present who are descendants of the Wendish Rosedale pioneers in front of the Trail sign From South Terrace we travelled along the northern exit located under a tree at the church property. The sign from Adelaide towards the Barossa Valley, admiring lists Rosedale’s Wendish pioneer family names of: the beautiful autumn colours of the area. We saw Albert, Burger, Deutscher, Fleischer, Gude, Hundrack, kangaroos and cockatoos in the green paddocks and Liebe, Mirtschin, Petschel and Rentsch. These moved numerous grapevines for which the area is world to Victoria in 1852. famous. While we journeyed, the committee members who were responsible for a particular Wendish Trail sign spoke about the many years of work involved. After a welcome morning tea at the historic city of Gawler we headed to the first of the four Trail signs, located at Rosedale (Rosenthal), turning north off the road to Lyndoch. After a short drive we noted the ancient fig trees and a shed marking the site where Deutscher’s barn had stood. This was where early Wendish settlers worshipped until their first church was built. A few metres on, we stopped to walk around the Pioneer Cemetery. Descendants of the Rosedale Wends Next our coach travelled to the second Trail sign near St John’s Lutheran Church and cemetery at Ebenezer, where we enjoyed investigating the cemetery which is divided into the old and new sections. The renowned leader of the largest group of the Wends to migrate here, Dr Johann Zwar, has a prominent grave which is in good repair. An old school building, built in 1871, also fascinated many of the tour group, although it is not in good condition. Preservation or restoration of this school would be a very worthy project. Eckert and Freund descendants felt a real connection and believe that some of their ancestors may have attended the school. Once again group photos were taken of the Rosedale Pioneer Cemetery descendants of the Ebenezer pioneers. Wendish pioneer 2 family names identified on the Trail sign are: Dallwitz, The sunshine continued as we then headed for the Doecke, Freund, Hennersdorf, Jenke, Kleinig, Lieschke, fourth and final Trail sign on our tour at St Kitts, Lowke, Mickan, Pannach, Schneider, Urban, Wenke placed at the entrance to the former St Petri Lutheran and Zwar. The Hennersdorf, Lieschke, Mickan and Church and cemetery. The church is now well cared for Wenke families trekked overland to Walla Walla in as a private home, and local identity Phil Noack NSW in 1868 and many descendants today live in the informed us that the area of natural scrub around the Riverina. area was one of the rare remnants of original vegetation left in the area. More photos were taken of descendants of the St Kitts pioneers with the Wendish Pioneer Heritage sign. Wendish pioneer family names include: Bartsch, Biar, Biele, Britza, Damschke, Doecke, Eckert, Freund, Gersch, Haupt, Jenke, Kleinig, Lehmann, Lieschke, Michalk, Miersch, Noack, Poetschke, Urban and Zwar. Unfortunately the couple responsible for work on the St Kitts sign (and previous bus trips), Dennis and June Jenke, were unavailable to attend the day trip and they were much missed by all. Descendants of Ebenezer Wends We then journeyed onto the third Trail sign in front of nearby Neukirch Lutheran Church and cemetery. After a warm welcome we enjoyed a roast chicken and salad lunch followed by fruit salad and ice-cream in the large new multi-purpose building currently under construction. The women of the church were admired for their ingenuity in providing this tasty lunch without access to sinks or stoves. We enjoyed delicious wines from the area (Marcus Schulz and others) as we Descendants of St Kitts Wends celebrated good company and food. Descendants of the Neukirch pioneers continued the day’s tradition of Although there are no Wendish links, we called into the posing with the Trail sign for photos. Wendish pioneer historic township of Dutton. It has lovely old buildings family names identified here are: Bartsch, Biar, Biele, and the 1871 St John’s Lutheran church has a rustic bell Doecke, Eckert, Freund, Genser, Gersch, Hempel, tower. People searched the cemetery for familiar names. Jenke, Kielan, Kleinig, Michalk and Noack. A brief stop at Truro enabled many of us to enjoy ice- creams and other snacks. Finally, we visited the old Gomersal (Schoenborn) cemetery with its historic school/church building and well preserved graves. We arrived back in Adelaide at 5.30 pm. With perfect weather, good company, lots of talking, safe travel and wonderful sights, it had been a most enjoyable and informative day. There was much history to ponder and we are grateful that a small group of committed descendants have honoured their Wendish ancestors by producing a highly commended series of Wendish Pioneer Heritage Trail signs. Special thanks go to the Fiebigs for their excellent planning for the whole day. Descendants of Neukirch Wends Marie Brazier, Pauline Burger, Ruth Walter (Wend/Sorb Society committee members) 3 President’s Report Did you enjoy the bus trip in April? Or were you one of the people who missed out because you left it too late to book seats? I warned you! We already have people on the list for next year’s trip to Peters Hill. We certainly had a good time on the bus trip: nice weather, good company, well-organised, interesting places, and lovely meal. No wonder the seats sell quickly. So make sure you book early next year. Once again the Wendish Heritage Society in Melbourne held an enjoyable event on the March long weekend. This year they visited the Grovedale district in Geelong. My wife and I, as well as Gilbert Materne, represented the South Australian Wends. We were shown the historic sites of Grovedale and Freshwater Creek. If you want an interesting historical weekend, then join them next year. It may be in the Natimuk district, just over the border from Bordertown. Our next meeting coming up will be different from what we advertised in the last newsletter. Since then Dr Norman Habel approached me and asked if we would like to hold the launch of his new book about his Wendish great-grandfather. We willingly accepted, so you are in for a treat on 21st July. See the publicity in the newsletter. Don’t forget our AGM on 8th September. This will be an important one as we need to elect a new Treasurer. Our current Treasurer, John Longmire, has served us willingly and well for five years. Can you help us find a replacement? Two of our other committee members have also retired. So there are places for anyone willing to get involved. Lyall Kupke Coming Events st Sun 21 July, 2pm Book launch Dr Norm Habel’s book, Tree Whisperer, is the story of his Wendish great-grandfather. At St Andrew’s Lutheran Church Hall (22 Avenue Rd, Glynde). (see article below) th Sun 8 September, 2pm Annual General Meeting Followed by a selection of Wendish films (in English). At St Andrew’s Lutheran Church Hall (22 Avenue Rd, Glynde). Tree Whisperer, by Norman Habel Norm has written a story about Wilhelm Habel, his great grandfather. In his research Norm found that his Habel ancestors were not Germans, but Wends who lived in Silesia. The Wends were of Slavic origin and for centuries lived in the forests, making their living from honey and wax, furs and timber. Many became established members of farming communities or country villages. This story traces Wilhelm’s journey to Australia and tells how his forest wisdom guided his spirit. It is the story of a tree whisperer in tune with nature and the mysteries of creation. The book will be launched at St Andrew’s Lutheran Church Hall, 22 Avenue Rd, Glynde, on Sunday 21st July at 2pm. All welcome. 4 Wends at Burnside The Burnside Library hosted a sell-out event for WANTED History SA month in the Burnside Library on 21st May when it held a seminar by the Wend/Sorb A new Treasurer. Our current treasurer, John Society of SA ‘The Coming of the Wends to Longmire, has indicated that this is his last year in Australia’ with Eric and Ruth Fiebig and ‘Wends this position.