Friends of Lutheran Archives

Bethel SA – a settlement of Germans, Wends, Moravians, Lutherans and others

Speaker: Lyall Kupke

Thursday 23 March at 7.30pm

Immanuel Lutheran Church, 139 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006

WATCH THE RECORDING on FoLA YouTube channel: FoLA Meeting 23 March 2023 - Bethel SA: a settlement of Germans, Wends and others (Lyall Kupke) - YouTube

The district of Bethel lies 9km west of Kapunda. Since its first settlement in 1855, its German and Wendish settlers have experienced a Moravian Brethren settlement and church, two Lutheran churches, and a breakaway group. Lyall Kupke, retired archivist, will explain further.

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"Ein Buschmann kann alles": HA Heinrich at Hermannsburg after Horseshoe Bend

Speaker: David Moore

Thursday 13 April at 7.30pm

Immanuel Lutheran Church, 139 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006

LIVESTREAM on FoLA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsoflutheranarchives9644/live

Around 1920 Missionary Carl Strehlow feared the consequences of leaving the Hermannsburg mission as he had done in 1903 and 1910. An inexperienced new chum, or, even worse, a missionary who was intent upon undermining him, could have destroyed his work or led to the closure of the mission. The field of candidates for his replacement seems impossibly narrow.

In October 1922, after an arduous ten-day trek and before he could find a successor, Strehlow died at remote Horseshoe Bend. Lehrer Heinrich took responsibility for running the Hermannsburg Mission.

Rather than being a catastrophe, an interim or caretaker interlude before the arrival of another missionary, this era in Hermannsburg’s history is interesting in its own right. The young teacher at the centre of this history, Hermann Adolph Heinrich (1895-1959) led the mission in new directions. The Heinrichs learned Aranda and built lasting relationships with the local community. They entertained numerous guests at Hermannsburg as revealed by the Hermannsburg Visitor’s Book which covers the period 1925-1932. As Heinrich told one of the visitors during a challenging ride which he led through the rugged Macdonnell Ranges in mid-1926, A bushman can do anything.

David Moore is a linguist, translator and interpreter. His main interests are in descriptive linguistics, variation, forensic linguistics, Aboriginal languages in secondary schools, cross-cultural communication/miscommunication and the problems which face interpreters in remote Aboriginal communities.

Please consider supporting our public meetings by making a donation for attendance. Thank you!

In the Barossa and beyond: George French Angas, artist and naturalist

Speaker: Philip Jones

Thursday 25 May at 7.30pm

Immanuel Lutheran Church, 139 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006

LIVESTREAM on FoLA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsoflutheranarchives9644/live

Were it not for his father’s role in establishing South Australia, there would be no Australia Illustrated by George French Angas, and no images of the colony’s early German settlements.

Angas’s Barossa Valley images provide a particular insight into his project, founded on his father’s intentions to promote the colony to prospective immigrants and investors. Angas balanced those obligations with his enthusiasm for fine watercolour images, natural history collecting, and the ideals of a Romantic traveller, steeped in Dissent. This illustrated talk will shine a light on this precocious young artist and naturalist, whose legacy still informs our understanding of colonial South Australia.

Dr Philip Jones is a Senior Researcher at the South Australian Museum and author of the book, Illustrating the Antipodes: George French Angas in Australia and New Zealand, 1844-1845. The book is the culmination of his decades-long research into the life and work of the celebrated artist.

Please consider supporting our public meetings by making a donation for attendance. Thank you!

Missionary Christian Gottlob Teichelmann: a life of patient endurance

Speaker: Christine Lockwood

Thursday 29 June at 7.30pm

Immanuel Lutheran Church, 139 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006

LIVESTREAM on FoLA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsoflutheranarchives9644/live

Christian Gottlob Teichelmann (1807-1888) is mostly remembered today for co-authoring the Kaurna language grammar and vocabulary which has been the primary basis for the reclamation of Kaurna language and identity in recent times. Teichelmann was a missionary among the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains from 1838 to 1846. His missiological approach and priorities were formed by his Lutheran theological understanding. Commissioned by the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society in Dresden to testify to the heathen of the Gospel of the grace of God, Teichelmann found a people whose world was shattered by the impact of European colonisation. An insightful man, he became the foremost authority on the Kaurna language, a champion of justice for Aboriginal people and critic of colonial policy and practice. By nature a determined, exacting, forthright man, Teichelmann was to demonstrate compassion, humility and patient endurance as he sought to share the love of God while providing for the needs of Aboriginal people. He was finally forced to admit defeat by a lack of financial support and opposition from the colonial government and European settlers. His subsequent work among German Lutheran migrants called for similar patient endurance.

Dr Christine Lockwood completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide in 2014. Her thesis was entitled The Two Kingdoms: Lutheran Missionaries and the British Civilizing Mission in Early South Australia. She has contributed articles, papers and book chapters in her field. Her interest in Christian missions, cultural preservation, change and adaptation, and cross-cultural communications stems from her involvement in mission work in Papua New Guinea for 17 years (initially as a high school teacher), working with foreign students in the USA, teaching English as a foreign language, and raising her children in three countries.

Please consider supporting our public meetings by making a donation for attendance. Thank you!

United in song: the story behind the Lutheran Hymnal (1973)

Speaker: Jacob Fabich

Sunday 27 August at 2.00pm

Immanuel Lutheran Church, 139 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006

LIVESTREAM on FoLA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsoflutheranarchives9644/live

2023 marks 50 years since the launch of our very own Lutheran Hymnal. This took 22 years to produce! What took them so long? How did the two churches work together on this project (after all, work began in 1951 – 15 years before the LCA was born)? Why did we need a new one anyway – what was wrong with the old one? And what were the reactions to it? Critical reviews spoke favourably of it, but what did the people in the pews think? Come along and hear the fascinating story behind the Lutheran Hymnal and perhaps even sing a few favourites!

Jacob, a Pastoral Studies student at ALC, has just completed his vicarage. He grew up in Mildura, is the ALC’s resident organist and can usually be found in his natural habitat, the kitchen, on camps and other church functions. He loves being in the garden and is a co-founder of the ALC Gardening Club.

Please consider supporting our public meetings by making a donation for attendance. Thank you!

Architectural Innovators: Eric von Schramek and Norman Drogemuller

Speaker: Chris Burns

Thursday 21 September at 7.30pm

19 Edward St, Magill SA 5072 **note change of venue**

LIVESTREAM on FoLA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsoflutheranarchives9644/live

After 1955, most new Lutheran churches in South Australia were designed by one of two Adelaide architects: Eric von Schramek and Norman Drogemuller. Between them, von Schramek and Drogemuller revolutionised Lutheran architecture in South Australia, and in doing so, created  some of the state's most outstanding modern churches.

South Australian émigré architect Sir Eric von Schramek is remembered as one of South Australia's leading exponents of ecclesiastical architecture in the modern idiom. He designed at least twenty-two South Australian Lutheran churches, numerous churches for other denominations, and was knighted in 1982 for Service to Architecture.

Less well known, Norman Roy Drogemuller OAM was born at Lameroo in 1923. After serving in the Second World War, he established the Adelaide architectural firm Drogemuller and Pudney, through which he designed numerous modern Lutheran churches, especially in country areas of South Australia.

This illustrated talk traces the lives and careers of von Schramek and Drogemuller, and examines their work within the broader context of modern church architecture in South Australia.

Chris Burns is a historian at Heritage South Australia. While associated with the University of South Australia Architecture Museum in 2018, he was invited to prepare a survey for Heritage South Australia on new places of worship built in South Australia during the years 1945-1990. This research, funded by the Department for Environment and Water, identified over 650 new churches built during that period, and produced a thematic history. The report is available from the Heritage South Australia website.

Please consider supporting our public meetings by making a donation for attendance. Thank you!