Lutheran Archives

Speaker: Professor Robert Heimann

Monday 15 July at 7.30pm

Bethlehem House, Sudholz Pl, Adelaide

This talk will discuss migration paths of the French Reformed following their expulsion from France from the 16th century on. Using the Billiau family from the Calais region of Northern France, one of his ancestor´s in-law families, as an example, he will talk about how the followers of French Reformer Jean Calvin (1509-1564), — often referred to as Huguenots — were persecuted, killed, or driven out of the country and forced to emigrate because their religious beliefs were not tolerated by the French monarchy. He will also explain how in the aftermath their descendants spread around the world, some actually finding their way to Australia as well as other parts of the world.

Robert Heimann is a German born university professor living in Graz, Austria; he teaches oratorio repertoire for singers at the University of Performing Arts in Graz and additionally works as a professional genealogist with a special interest in migration history.

Speaker: Dr Stephanie James

Monday 19 August at 7.30pm

Bethlehem House, Sudholz Pl, Adelaide

The talk will look at the nature of the parallels which emerged between German and Irish South Australians in World War One. While their experiences differed vastly, both communities were outsiders in an increasingly narrow focussed, intolerant Anglo society. Vociferous opposition to both groups centred around the 1916 and 1917 conscription referenda, and official surveillance targeted individuals in both communities.

As someone immersed in history throughout her life – mainly teaching at both secondary and tertiary levels following an Honours degree in 1970 – Stephanie’s MA (which looked at the Irish in the Clare Valley between 1841 and 1871) led to a PhD. This examined Irish-Australian loyalty at times of Imperial crisis. Within that approach, World War One formed the most significant plank; the questions highlighted there subsequently led her to explore what the South Australian Germans and Irish faced in common during those years of conflict. Her chapter ‘The Empire for the British. No Foreigners Need Apply. German and Irish Encounters with British Fair Play during the Great War’ was published in 2016 in an edited volume, Re-visiting World War I: Interpretations and Perspectives of the Great Conflict.

Speaker: Wayne Gladigau and panel

Monday 16 September at 7.30pm

Bethlehem House, Sudholz Pl, Adelaide

Did you know that over 60 pastors of the LCA have played football for the Adelaide Lutheran Football Club (ALFC)since it formed in 1969? Or that, at the past two conventions of General Synod in Brisbane and Sydney respectively, a full team of ALFC past players has been compiled from the list of delegates attending each of those two synodical meetings? These are just a couple of facts which illustrate the strong bond between the LCA and the ALFC over the years.

The history of the club has been documented in A Bulldog for me -50 years of Adelaide Lutheran Football which was launched at the anniversary celebrations in April. The September meeting of FoLA will feature a panel of past and present players and supporters who will share their insights into the Club’s story and its connection with the LCA. The Club’s long-serving statistician and author of the book, Wayne Gladigau will act as moderator of the panel, ensuring that the truth will occasionally get in the way of the tall stories being shared.