QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Foreword Detlef Sulzer

Vorwort

In 2009, on the occasion of the State Library of Queensland’s 75th birthday celebrations, I became even more aware, through its rich archives, of the considerable German immigration that had occurred in Queensland prior to the First World War and following the Second World War. In contrast to South Australia, however, much less is known in Queensland of its German heritage, and this inspired me to prepare a publication which not only presents stories of early German communities and their members, but also portrays many aspects of their undertakings which are still both noticeable and important to life in Queensland today. This book is not intended to be an academic history of German settlement in Queensland, but rather sets out to provide a compendium of essays and images which lead the reader through many of the facets of the immigrants’ journeys and the social, cultural, business and economic contributions they have brought to this beautiful state. Without doubt, those settlers have played a vital role in the development of Queensland, Likewise, today, German immigrants and industry are involved and investing in many areas of its progress and prosperity. As much had been forgotten over the years about their humble beginnings, one of the aims of this book is to provide an engaging insight into the arrival of German settlers and progress of their offspring throughout the ensuing 170 years. And, as this book has evolved, the present has brought the future into sharper focus, with the exciting work being done across many areas of shared interests, research and academic collaborations. I would like to thank Her Excellency Penelope Wensley ac, Governor of Queensland, for her encouragement of this project from its outset, and for her warm and continuing interest in its development and conclusion. Also I am thankful for and indebted to the support and encouragement which I received from the former Lord Mayor of Brisbane, now Premier of Queensland, the Honourable Campbell Newman mp; Professor Anna Haebich, former Historian-in-Residence at the State Library and Professor of History at Griffith University, now Professor of History at Western Australia’s Curtin University; the Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk mp, former Minister for Transport, Main Roads and Multicultural Affairs, now Leader of the Opposition; Garry Page, Executive Director of Multicultural Affairs Queensland; His Excellency Dr Michael Witter, former German Ambassador to Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, now the Federal Republic’s Ambassador to Morocco; Hans-Günther Gnodtke, former Consul-General of the Federal Republic of Germany for NSW and Queensland, now Ambassador in Yemen; Ken Smith, Queensland’s Agent General for Europe in London, Sir Leo Hielscher ac, Foundation Chairman of the Queensland Treasury Corporation; and Martin Albrecht ac, Chairman of GeoDynamics. It is important, too, that I acknowledge the guidance and facilitation of His Excellency Peter Tesch, Australia’s Ambassador to Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, who serves both his country of birth and his family’s heritage with dignity, good humour and consummate professionalism; without him, in many respects, this book would be a languishing, unmanifest good idea.

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