QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

The Advice to Emigrants (1848) book for Australia as a destination advised that “no class requires much woollen clothing. One cloth suit, with top coat for men, and cloak for women, is sufficient. Barragon [a light corded cotton], fustian [heavy woven cotton], jean, moleskin are most suitable. Light linen trousers, jackets, and waistcoats, with blue shirts, are advisable… “Silks, and other kinds of ladies’ clothes, are all but certain to be spoiled, unless closely packed in tin, afterwards cased in wood. The personal baggage of emigrants should, in every case, be reduced to the smallest possible dimensions, and boxes containing it be sound, strong and watertight.” Other items recommended include: razors, combs, hair brushes, shoe brushes and blacking, 3lb (1.4kg) of soap per adult, 2 pairs sheets, 1 pair blankets and coarse coverlet, a strong oblong chest for the bulk of clothing (to be stored in the hold), a chest of small dimensions for the emigrant to keep at hand. The author also recommended common flock beds (mattresses), not feather or hair which he suggests would be destroyed on board. Other items deemed necessary for non-assisted steerage passengers were a knife and fork, a strong tin plate or two, a tin quart or pint pot, a couple of spoons, and a tin 2 gallon (9l) vessel to hold one adult’s allowance of water. Luggage was limited to 20 cubic feet (0.56m 3 ) or half a ton (500 kg) weight. Preparations for departure

In 1850, Hamburg city authorities made it a legal requirement that all ships leaving the port were registered, that passenger manifests were lodged, and port dues were paid. Despite this, no official passenger lists are available before 1855, and full records generally date from 1872. Initially, Hamburg had had no regulations to protect emigrants from being exploited while they waited to embark. Lodging-house landlords hired flitzer (‘runners’), paid on commission, to encourage as many emigrants as possible to their inns. Money-changers, store owners selling items for the voyage, and shipping clerks all used runners to try to relieve unsuspecting emigrants of their money. In 1851, an Association for the Protection of Emigrants was founded to try to stop the ‘runner racket’ by providing emigrants, on arrival at the station, with information about typical prices, ‘how to’ tips, current exchange rates, and so on. As the number of emigrants grew, this role was taken over by the City. Some protection was also available from the newly- established Emigration Office which had the authority to settle any disputes which arose before embarkation. In 1892, as emigration departures from Hamburg ballooned, special accommodation for emigrants was built and, today, this forms part of an emigration museum complex.

CLOTHING REQUIREMENTS FOR PERSONS OF THE LABOURING CLASS MALE FEMALE 8 coloured cotton shirts 6 shifts, 3 gingham or print dresses, 1 woollen dress 6 pair grey cotton hose 4 cotton, 1 serge, 2 woollen petticoats 2 pair worsted hose 6 pair cotton hose, 2 pair woollen hose 6 handkerchiefs 1 pair stays 4 towels 4 day and 4 night caps 1 pair strong boots 3 pair shoes 2 pair shoes 6 pocket handkerchiefs, 3 neck handkerchiefs 2 light canvas/duck trousers and jackets 2 small shawls/capes, 1 warm cloak 2 sets of moleskin, lined, strongly made 4 bed-gowns or night-dresses 1 woollen top coat 2 bonnets, 1 of strong coarse straw

References: Text in this essay, and sections of Part One, has been reproduced by kind permission of Lyn Spriggs and her family; in an internet world of of sometimes doubtful veracity and authenticity, their online resource is an exemplary model of research, reporting and attribution, and contributes greatly to the story of German immigration to Australia. heritage.spriggs.com.au

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