QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Viewing distant mountains assigned to Heussler, so both his interests and responsibilities became inevitably entangled. Matters came to a head in July 1863, when some disgruntled migrants presented a petition to the government asking that an Immigration Agent be appointed on a salary, for truly ‘disinterested’ promotion of migration and in the selection of migrants. The government took no action at that time, as the petitioners were clearly a minority. However conditions on some of the Godeffroy ships declined; in January 1866 the Wandrahm was quarantined off Moreton Island for two months because of an outbreak of typhus aboard. Although the official enquiry did not find severe breaches of regulations, it was a final catalyst which led the government to cancel Heussler’s appointment as Immigration Agent and to suspend immigration from Germany. It did not resume until 1870. Letters to newspapers at the time reveal some antipathy to Heussler and the Godeffroy line, but Heussler himself was noted for his courtesy and kindness. While questions might

“ENTREPRENEUR – GO-GETTER – SURVIVOR “:He reinvented himself over and over: as a wine merchant, an importer-exporter, a labour bureau, a diplomat, a migration agent, a bankrupt (several times), a successful businessman, a new migrant, a respectable citizen, sugar planter, a member of parliament, an agita tor for pastoralists and farmers…the list goes on. “I’ve been reading the self-published story of Heussler written by his great grandson, Robert. As an academic it makes me cringe with much interpretation and reading between the lines – of the ‘he must have been thinking this’ or ‘intending that’ style. As a writer and historian, even one interested in the subject, it makes for heavy reading. As a person subject to my own biases and interpretations, I don’t think I would have got on very well with the historical Mr. Heussler. “He reminds me very much of people I have met, whom I might kindly label as “entrepreneurs.” That is, those indefatigably energetic people who have a thousand ideas, of which two or three work some of the time. But they have so many ideas and so much chutzpah that they make an impression on the world. “Take his campaign to be appointed as an immigration officer. Writing to the Colonial Secretary in 1861, he graciously stated that: ‘if the Government think well of it and resolve to create the office I shall have much honour in accepting the same.’ It is of the “build it and people will come” model of behaviour. Heussler enjoyed great success as Immigration Agent, and was responsible for bringing thousands of Germans to Queensland between 1861 and 1866. He formed an association with Hamburg shipping company J C Godeffrey & Son, which had a large trading empire in South America and was developing another in the South Pacific. Godeffroy migrant ships sailed from Hamburg to Queensland and many of them then back-loaded cargo from the Pacific island plantations to return to Germany. Despite its success the program encountered difficulties. Some of the new arrivals were very satisfied with their decision, and letters to their families in Germany encouraged them to make the long voyage to the Fifth Continent, often giving advice on what to bring and what to leave behind. The result was minor chain migration, with whole families migrating in several batches. However not all were happy with their experiences. There were complaints about crowding and poor or inadequate food on the ships, although the conditions on the Godeffroy ships to Australia were considerably superior to those on the ships sailing to America. There were also complaints, often well justified, of exaggeration of the nature of the country they were coming to. Heussler’s sub-agents particularly were not always scrupulous with giving honest, accurate information. A complication was Heussler’s onflict of interest. If migrants were unable to pay their fare, their land grant was

be asked about the practice of accepting as payment the land grants of subsidised migrants, and while he seems to have been a little over-enthusiastic in his descriptions of the new state, there can be no doubt he did a great service to Queensland, in attracting many sturdy and hard-working settlers. They perservered through pioneering hardships to achieve a measure of prosperity built on by their successors.

“Heussler is credited with bringing 2,000 German migrants to Queensland, many from Hesse. One of his achievements was spending time in Germany refuting the articles circulating in the press about the semi- slavery endured by bonded migrants travelling to Australia. As a businessman, he saw it as a simple exchange of commodities – migrants who didn’t have the passage money could simply contract to work for a certain period on arrival for an employer who would advance the money for passage. In fact he campaigned actively for land orders to be transferable so that migrants could use these to pay for passage. One of his earlier businesses had been as a labour bureau placing newly arrived migrants with employers. “He seemed to like conspicuous consumption. While he was based in Brisbane, he moved his business as soon as possible to Queen Street. He had several business incarnations at various points along this prominent street. After returning to Queensland from his stint in Germany, he had a magnificent house built, Fernberg, which is now the official residence of Queensland’s governor. He lost the house to creditors in 1872. Above all things Heussler was a survivor.” This interesting take on Heussler the man can be found in an fascinating online blog, in which the writer canvasses many interesting stories and findings about Germans in Queensland: http://twotreehill.blogspot.com/2008/05/jc-heussler-entrepre neur-go-getter.html

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