QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

This book would, equally, not have been possible without the generosity of the many sponsors whose interest in presenting their role in the Germany– Queensland relationship, and participation in the informative content of this book, has also greatly enhanced its outcome. It is significant that the sponsorship ranges from small-medium enterprises and family businesses started by German immigrants, to multi-national corporations and leading academic institutions in both countries. Interest, from the outset, came from all points of the scale, the tangible support provided by Garry Page from Multicultural Affairs, and Germany’s construction giant hochtief ag, enabling this project to take form. I am most grateful for receiving from the former Premier, Anna Bligh, and her staff, both warm endorsement and the Queensland Government‘s generous foundation sponsorship. I also thank most sincerely the principal of Masthead Design & Creative, Matthew Tesch, who has been the fantastic editor and graphic designer of this book. Of German descent himself, his 25 years’ award-winning experience in the design, print, publishing and marketing fields enabled him to immediately grasp the concept and vision which I had in mind for this project, and he has brought it to life as its creative driving force over the two years it has taken to bring it to fruition. In this, we have been ably served by the talents and experience of two key contributing writers: Peter Ludlow, well-known Queensland historian and publisher of many Moreton Bay histories, and Robin Kleinschmidt, who researched and published the magnificent hardback From Stegelitz to Steiglitz: the history of the Kleinschmidt Family. Their interviews and writing have captured not only the incredible tenacity of the early German settlers but also the successful establishment of many German families and businesses in Queensland, and brought many little-known stories to light. My thanks also to the members and committee of the GACCQ Inc, who have given their fullest support to this book, from its conception to its publication. But my greatest thanks, and indebtedness, are due to my wife Carole, who shared with me, willingly or otherwise, the many frustrations, setbacks and disappointments in this book’s path which defied even a German engineer’s ability to surmount, and who nonetheless maintained her grace and patience as my strength and balance throughout. Today about a quarter of a million Queenslanders have a grandparent or great-grandparent of German descent and there are, in addition, approximately 20,000 German nationals presently living in southern Queensland. It is for all of them this book is published.

Detlef Sulzer ba bai m.s c fie a ust. cp e ng. President, German-Australian Community Centre Queensland Inc. Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany for Southern Queensland Chairman, Boulder Steel Limited September 2012

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