QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

The Courier-Mail BRISBANE, Jan. 18.— Hundreds of German resi dents of Brisbane gathered on the mercantile wharf at Bulimba this morning to welcome the German light cruiser Karlsruhe which is on a training voy age around the world. To the stirring strains of Hit ler’s favourite march, played by the ship’s band, the efficient-looking craft berthed punctually at 10 o’clock. Commander J. C. McFarlane, District Naval Officer, was the first visitor on board pay ing a formal courtesy call. Then Mr. J. Beiers, Ger man consul for Queensland, officially welcomed the Commandant (Captain Baron Harsdorf von Enderndorf) in German on behalf of the German community in this State. Captain Baron Harsdorf von Enderndorf replied to the welcome both in Ger man and in English, and said that he greeted the Germans in Queensland in the name of the new Germany. He trusted that this visit would strength en the bonds of friendship between the two coun tries. They had been looking forward to this visit during which he hoped the relationship between Queenslanders and the officers, cadets, and men of the cruiser Karlsruhe would be very agreeable. Scenes on the wharf during and after the berthing of the Karlsruhe were enlivening, as the German residents spoke excitedly in their native tongue and eagerly scanned the decks of the cruiser. Although the principal purpose of the voyage is to train the cruiser’s crew in particular, and the future genera tion of officers she is carrying, there is another ob ject in view. This is to give their fellow countrymen settled in other countries some idea of how the new Germany under Hitler looks and thinks today. Despite the misgivings of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers League and others, reported in the week preceding the arrival of Karlsruhe, about “just what consituted an equitable line of conduct in recognising official representatives of former enemy nations” it was left to individuals to make their own choices, and The Courier-Mail reported (16 January) Consul Beiers stating “everywhere the hand of friendship has been held out to us.” Voigt also noted the undercurrents occasioned by German politics at home: “Freiherr von Harsdorf, the captain, experienced a situation similar to that of…a year before: severe criticism of National Socialist policy by the press, courteous treatment by the Australian authorities and a partially warm welcome by the population. [But] the hospitality of the German-Australians in Queensland knew no bounds: on 18 January, Reich Foundation Day, they laid on a banquet for 700 persons, a good third of whom were members of the Karlsruhe crew. The next day, the German ‘Turnverein’ in Brisbane organized an evening’s entertainment.” Sailors were given the choice of two different tram routes to see something of Brisbane, and were quite impressed: “Your hills, your flowers, your gardens are so nice they remind us of the Fatherland.”

Brisbane was hardly known in Germany, the sailor said, and it was a great surprise to him and his mates to find that it covered such a large area. The buildings, he said, were much larger than he had expected, and the houses were of a different type from those he had been used to in Germany. On the 22nd a special train took part of the ship’s company to Ipswich; from there a party of sailors visited Marburg, and another Kalbar and Boonah. The captain wrote: ‘The detachments taking part in the excursions into the Queensland interior … were given a moving welcome by settlers of German extraction. The appearance of the crew even left its mark on non-German Australians … These excursions to German settlers were an unforgettable experience for both the crew and the farmers of German origin.’ A later suggestion by Consul-General Asmis that another cruiser visit Australia in 1938/39 was to go unheeded. ‘Boonah the kangaroo’ was presented to the crew of the cruiser, making the rest of the round-world voyage via the USA and Panama, before transferring ashore, to the Karlsuhe town zoo.

A note added to the card confirmed the ‘roo was still there in 1941. Image (neg.no.33866) courtesy State Library of Queensland Below: With band and crowds, the Karlsruhe detachment marches ceremonially through the main street of Boonah. Image (neg. no.33870) courtesy State Library of Queensland

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