QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Assmanshausen Weingut warwick, queensland

Jacob Philipp Kircher was born on 10 October 1817 in Rutzenweiler (now a suburb of Stuttgart) in Württemberg and his companion Elizabeth Scheurmann in the village of Affaltrach. In November 1854, two ships chartered by Henry Buckley, the Marbs and the Aurora , left Hamburg for Moreton Bay, with Jacob and Elizabeth among the several hundred aboard both vessels (on Marbs alone 201, of whom 95 were assisted migrants), most of whom came from the south of Germany. The ships arrived in March 1855 and, within a few weeks, some of the immigrants had gone to Maryborough by steamer and others had moved to Ipswich en route to squatters’ stations, although it was suspected that many had been hired as vine dressers and market gardeners, rather than as shepherds (which profession, it was said, they found somewhat less than desirable). The majority of the properties – particularly those west of Ipswich and Toowoomba on the fertile plains of the Darling Downs – had very fine orchards, and justly claimed the honour of having introduced vine cuttings and fruit trees to the Warwick district, including stations at Canning Downs, Glengallan and Rosenthal. Initially, the Kirchers went to Canning Downs southeast of Warwick, where Jacob replaced William Spreadborough as gardener, and subsequently produced the highest class fruit.

After remaining there for two years, Jacob went to Rosenthal where his multitude of duties as a bushman included splitting, fencing, and assisting in the erection of a woolshed. In 1861, Jacob paid £81 for 90 acres (36ha) of land at Sandy Creek, seven miles (11km) from Warwick, adjacent to the main Warwick-Toowoomba road. This had been a portion of the Glengallan estate, which he fenced, partly subdivided, and started off with 18 acres (7ha) of wheat. The wheat was not a success, and, after repeated failures, Jacob decided to go in for grape growing. He started by planting 1,000 vines and gradually extended his vineyard until eventually it covered 10 acres (4ha). They named their property “Assmanshausen” – a slightly Anglicised version of Aßmannshausen (note the ‘scharfes-S’ and three ‘n’s of the original) – the village on the banks of the Rhine at the foot of the Niederwald, by Rüdesheim, 45km west of Frankfurt, renowned for its reds ( Assmannshäuser ) made from Pinot Noir grapes ( Spätburgunder ).

To Toowoomba

Allora

Top: View northwest from the vineyard- encrusted slopes above Aßmannshausen, across the Rhein to the ruins of Burg Rheinfels on the west bank. This was the direction from which the German people most feared attack until the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the creation of the first unified German state; the Niederwalddenkmal was completed 12 years later. Main background: Johannes Schilling’s magnificent 10.5m-high figure of Germania maintains her Wacht am Rhein (‘watch over the Rhine’) today.

Glengallan

Toolburra

(Sandy Creek)

WARWICK

Rosenthal

Canning Downs

To Stanthorpe

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