QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Stories in metal and stone

As far as Colin is concerned, the region’s cemeteries provide a tangible and hopefully lasting link to the past. They are, he says, a very real part of our history and deserve to be maintained to the highest of standards. After being immersed in that history for a day, it is hard to disagree with his sentiments. While it may sound like a somewhat offbeat idea, do yourself a favour and find the time to discover the cemeteries Above: The beautifully-maintained St John’s Lutheran Church Left: A cast iron headstone written in German at the Engelsburg Baptist Cemetery is a poignant link to the early history of Kalbar. The children, who didn’t make it to their first birthdays, are now ‘flowers which are now one in the garden of paradise where, after a short wait, their Saviour has brought them.’ Text and images reproduced by kind permission of Beaudesert Times’ Scenic Rim Lifestyle magazine and Gary Corbett for the article and photographs. beaudeserttimes.com.au scenicrim.qld.gov.au Below: Graves at the Englesburg Baptist Cemetery. Kalbar and the Fassifern Valley are part of the Scenic Rim, a picturesque area flanked by the mountains of the Border Ranges and rich in scenery and history, just an hour’s drive southwest of Brisbane. of the western Scenic Rim. You won’t be disappointed.

As was the case with all the cemeteries we visited, it was shocking to see how many children died at a young age. Clearly life was tough, with diphtheria, influenza and other ailments taking their toll. Next on our list of cemeteries was St John’s Lutheran Church and cemetery. With its distinctive bell tower, the church is arguably the most notable in the district and has stood guard over the adjoining cemetery since 1908. Clearly no visit to Kalbar, whether on a cemetery tour or not, should miss the church and its beautiful grounds that boast amazing views of the countryside. After a quick visit to the Kalbar general cemetery, we headed off to the oldest and most historic burial ground in the region just off the Cunningham Highway at Fassifern Reserve. The cemetery contains just four graves – three of which are in the same plot – and includes that of the oldest known grave in the region of a child who died in a flooded creek way back in 1855. But it was the monument to Alexander Balbi, who is widely regarded as the forefather of the Fassifern region, that had Colin the most excited. The owner of the historic Bush Inn at Fassifern which catered for travellers coming over Cunningham’s Gap as they travelled to and from Brisbane, Balbi had plans for a major township to be known as Fassifern drawn up in the 1850s. The plan included churches, hundreds of building blocks, reserves and even a town square. Unfortunately the plans were never acted upon and they were eventually scrapped, with Boonah in later years expanding to becoming the main town in the area. Nonetheless Balbi’s influence on the district until his death at the age of 44 in 1867 was considerable, a fact that was clearly demonstrated by the construction of the monument – which now sits at Fassifern Reserve – following his death.

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