Australia Day – A Letter Home…If only you were here
Australia Day celebrations are at the end of the month and it reminded me of what the day means to me personally. I am so grateful to my Great Great Grandparents who immigrated here in the 1800’s from England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. They did it tough in the wilds of Australia, to give me and my relatives a better future than what they knew of.
One strain of my family tree – the Scholls from Germany, settled in Mt Whitestone at the foot of the Toowoomba Range, Queensland in 1868. They reared 14 healthy children all of who helped work the land both in crops and cattle. The last time I visited there in 1983 for a family reunion, the old farmhouse was still standing and parts of it looked very similar to this old building I shot near Childers recently.
Johann Scholl my great great grandfather was 18yo when he dreamed of owning lots of land. He thought he would try his luck overseas in Australia, a big vast country he had heard so much about.
This letter is an imaginary one based on known facts about his life.
A letter to his mother in Germany who he never saw again…..
26th January, 1880
Dear Mother
I hope this letter finds you well. It has been seventeen long years since I left Herbelhausen. You will be pleased to know that through hard work and efforts I am now the owner of 160 acres here in Queensland, with plans to buy more. It is a far cry from the crowded cities of Germany! If only you were here Mother to enjoy the fruits of my labor…..
I was fortunate enough to obtain work as soon as I arrived…a herdsman on the Darling Downs, building the railway line between Dalby and Chinchilla, tin mining at Stanthorpe, and building stock fences at St George.
You now have a new daughter-in-law – Johanna Dornbusch a lovely hardworking girl from the old country as well as six grandchildren with more on the way!
I have built a home for our brood with the help of the local aborigines and Peachy helps Johanna with the children.
It can be pretty tough going here….floods and droughts have ruined the crops over the years but I would have it no other way …….Australia is a country full of countless possibilities Mother, a land of plenty….
if only you were here….
Your loving son
Johann
Australia Day – A Letter Home…If only you were here by Holly Kempe
Comments
Ah what a lovely touching letter Holly. I too have often thought of my ancestors which came from both the British Isles and France to settle in the often hostile climate of Canada! But for their bravery, endurance and perseverance where we be today! Whenever I hear criticism of immigrants I think of my great-grandparents and wonder if sometimes the negative perception was the same for them….it is due to all the wonderful immigrants that we are so lucky to live in vast open grand democracies like Australia and Canada, and although very different environments, I often think that Australians and Canadians have a lot in common because of our ancestry and the respect and admiration we have for other cultures and the immigrants that introduce them to us. A particularly fine instance of writing Holly!
Johann apparently had a brother who went to Canada the same time Johann went to Australia. They had a deal between them that which ever land proved to be the better place to live, then the other brother would join him. Evidently each believed the land they chose to be the best, so neither changed their place of settlement. Having a common ancestry is therefore so true Joanne.
– Holly Kempe
Warm and touching Holly, I’m sure Johann would be immensely proud of his descendants and the land of opportunity in which he settled.
Tough character though, the Darling Downs must have been like the moon compared to Germany …. still is :)
I often think of their life when things aren’t going as well as to be expected and think what have I really got to worry about!….nothing at all compared to the hardships they had to endure!
– Holly Kempe
Yes, it’s good to put things into perspective from time to time. We really are very lucky.
This makes a strong case for keeping a diary, doesnt it Holly ?
How fascinating it would be to relive that time through Johann’s words …….
Written letters or a diary passed down the generations would certainly make it easier to trace the family roots Richie and also give a better insight into those times. I’m tracing a line at the moment that might lead to a convict in the family! ….a Sewell from London in about 1814 – how exciting! lol I’ll let you know how I go…
– Holly Kempe