QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

The German Australian Community Centre Queensland Inc. (GACCQ) consists of an enthusiastic group of German migrants who have come to Australia over the past 30 years and decided to make Brisbane their home. While the group is committed to conserve German values and traditions it also liaises and collaborates with other German groups in Queensland – the Brisbane and Gold Coast German Clubs, GABA (German Australian Business Association), SAGSE (Society for Australian German Student Exchange - Queensland), and the Goethe Society. Association president Detlef Sulzer: “The GACCQ Inc. was formed in late 2005 when Brisbane started to grow in a very rapid way, and it was clear that the many German organisations here needed to advance together. A key component of our vision has been a proposal for the next generation of development at a central location in Brisbane, enabling all the established social and community organisations to come together ‘under one roof’. “GACCQ’s commitment to the publication of this book will fill the information gap currently existing in the Queensland community on the very strong German immigration to Queensland before and after its creation in 1859 and the breadth and depth of the connections today and into the future. “Unlike Sydney and Melbourne, Brisbane does not have a branch of the Australian German Welfare Society – an organisation formed to look after the elderly. “I envisage that the proceeds of this book should be used by the GACCQ to establish a Brisbane Chapter of the German Welfare Association and thus help the elderly by bringing them together, organising tours, and help those of 75 or 80 who might suddenly lose the English language, which they might have only learned as an adult. It is not a well-known fact that as you grow older you can suddenly forget the language you have been speaking for 50 years, just because you didn’t learn it when you were young. “I see that there is a definite need to assist and, if the proceeds of the book can be used for that, then it will serve many goals: past, present and future, as its title states. It will help people to know what their ancestors have left behind, and how they have contributed to building up this Queensland which, I envisage one day – through its richness in resources, in agriculture, in tourism, and the desire for students to study here – will be the leading state of Australia. “But if we wait too long, people will have forgotten where the beginnings were, and what very real opportunities are now within our reach.” About the GACCQ Inc

The vision to provide a unifying home to the various German orientated groups and organisations in Queensland, to act as a central point for German interests, and to provide the supporters of this idea with a common base, has become a reality with the founding of GACCQ. GACCQ provides the opportunity to bring together more closely the German Australian community in Queensland, the existing organisations and groups nurturing German culture, German language, German business, and German entertainment interests. Using traditional and modern media GACCQ provides regional information on activities of the individual German-Australian organisations and groups, thereby establishing a greater solidarity between them. The identity and independence of each individual organisation or group remains untouched, but will be enriched through assistance, coordination and information exchange available from GACCQ. GACCQ provides contacts, assistance and promotion for: * German-Australian Clubs in Queensland * German-Australian Business Associations and business interests * German speaking welfare organisations and groups * German speaking cultural, traditional and religious groups. * Groups to learn and speak the German language * German-Australian information exchange A range of membership opportunities is available, from individual to concession/student, corporate to associate. We invite you to become a member of this organisation and to play an active part in the uniting and co-operative idea of German-Australian activities in Queensland– the GACCQ. The GACCQ is administered through the Brisbane office of the Honorary Consul for Germany in Southern Queensland, and full contact details can be found on our website. * German-Australian student exchange * German-Australian university exchange.

gaccq.org.au

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