QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

When World War II broke out on 3 September 1939, members of the German Club decided to close it down and the clubrooms were placed at the disposal of the Queensland Government, which continued to use them until the end of 1952, when the club reopened. Membership increased greatly, especially after 1955, when a new licensing law came into force, which stipulated that the club could not have fewer than 500 members to be able to sell wine, spirits, and beer. As a consequence of the large increase in membership, the club’s executive decided to enlarge the ballroom. As well as a bowling team, German members from Zillmere founded the first German football (soccer) team, Germania. A carnival association, the “KDK” (Klub der Karnevalisten), was founded in 1971, with the aim of bringing back the German Karneval to Brisbane. KDK holds their functions twice yearly – Saturday nights as close as possible to 11 November, and towards the end of February when the Lumpenball (Fancy Dress Ball) is held. Another popular group has been the Skat Club, which won many trophies in the Australian Skat Championships. (For the uninitiated, Skat is an early 19th century trick-taking card game, devised in Germany. Along with Doppelkopf , it is the most popular card game in Germany. Things could hardly have seemed rosier, nor more ‘gemütlich’ than on Saturday 17 June 1933, when The Brisbane Courier (left) reported the Club’s Golden Jubilee celebrations amidst lofty toasts and pointed asides hoping for the return of “tranquility and prosperity” to Germany; barely six years later, those hopes were to be dashed once more, as The West Australian reported (above) on 11 September 1939.

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