QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Frisch, Fromm, Fröhlich, Frei …

It needed little encouragement for Peter Ludlow to delve into the history of Brisbane’s German Club – although he did decline a second helping of dessert. It’s Saturday night! Let’s go to the Brisbane German Club! I’ve booked a table for dinner, but even so we must arrive early. The doors open at 6pm but already many others share our enthusiasm. At the bar, they serve 40 German and Australian beers. What to choose? Löwenbräu is always good. Let’s have that. Through the archway, in the ballroom, lights flash on stage and the band erupts. Tonight Andrew has his Echo band. Their song is “Happy Wanderer”. Gee, that was one of the first songs I remember hearing when I was a kid, way back in … But look, the dinner queue is growing! We should order soon. What’s on the menu? Pork Knuckle or Kassler and Sauerkraut? Perhaps Sauerbraten, Frikadellen, Bratwurst or Knackwurst? Some Leberkäse? … and the Schnitzel always looks great. While we wait for our meal, let’s sit in the ballroom. With Andrew’s music playing, all the audience is waving the arms in unison. It’s like the beer halls back in Germany! Come on, sing up there! It sharpens the appetite for the food’s arrival!

Andrew Olszanowski brought his family to Australia in 1983 and settled in Brisbane. His two boys, Martin and Bartosz, attended primary school and wife Eva obtained a job as a Registered Nurse while Andrew joined the Brisbane City Council as a Technical Officer in the engineering field. Shortly after his arrival he joined a group of musicians and became the leader of the Echo Band. One day, Brisbane German Club Choir Conductor Leo Keller heard the band playing and recommended the group to the Club Committee. Within a year, the Echo Band was playing regular Saturday Dance Nights at the Brisbane German Club in Vulture Street. Almost 30 years later, Andrew is the one remaining original member but still performs at the German Club as the Echo Band with local Australian musicians. In 2010 Andrew was asked by the Club whether he could help them to re-open their German-syle “Beer Hall” and perform as a solo musician on Friday and Saturday nights, and this has really taken off in a big way with a lot young visitors enjoying immensely the German atmosphere, music, food, and – “natürlich!” – a great selection of imported German beers. The tireless efforts of Andrew and his band are helping ensure that the popularity of the Brisbane German Club and its heritage remain strong. Trying their level best to not look like the world’s most amusing police line-up, the wind instruments of Andrew’s Echo Band are accompanied by (left to right) Bill, Andrew himself, Colin and Zoltan. We asked for a picture of the group in action … but that just caused a lot of huffing and puffing.

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