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On July 5th 1844 EMANUEL KLAR of Lobethal in South Australia, wrote to his family. This and two other letters by Emanuel Klar were found about fifteen years ago in the estate of one of the German descendants, having survived two World Wars in the suburbs of Berlin. Fortunately for Mrs. Heffernan, the executor took the trouble to locate her in far off South Australia and forwarded the letters to her. They were handwritten and had been folded and put away for about 140-150 years, nevertheless, a translator was able to make a good fist of interpreting them. This letter gives not only a detailed account of the voyage but his views on early life in South Australia. It is a bit rambly.
This letter is reproduced by kind permission of Mrs. M.M.Heffernan O.A.M., of Christies Beach, South Australia
the Klar descendant in possession of the letters of Emmanuel Klar.
Where there are question marks in my typing, the original missing word or words was either lost in the passage of time or the translator was unable to interpret it or them.
To Water Miller, Karl Friedrich Klar
At Prittag, near Grunberg,
Lower Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia.
Dear Mother, Brother and Friends.
Grace to you all from Him who is, who was and who is to come and from Jesus Christ. Amen.
I wonder how long you will have looked forward to my letters and would have thought that we must all be dead and had forgotten all about you. The latter is not the case and the first only half true. For I came to this country happy and well with my wife, but childless, for both children I lost on the journey. One, the son, in Hamburg and my daughter shortly before landing here; of that more later. For I shall, as promised, give you a brief account of our journey at sea and then the remainder.
Late JUNE, 1841 we went aboard the Danish ship "SKJOLD" led by a Danish Captain named Claussen, a fine man.
JULY 1st. supplies were taken in. On the 2nd the little boy of Br. Hampel of Tirschtigel died and was still buried in Altona. As we yesterday went on board we were 250 Lutheran Souls, 2 Reformed from Hessen who intended visiting their relatives, both died on the journey, and Theodor Heinrich from Glogau with 8 souls… not as member ??? and then all the sailors and steering personnel, together 300 souls
JULY 3rd at 1 O'clock our ship with the help of a steamer left the harbour up to four miles??
JULY 6th we got under sail. Early Br. Kliches of Sawade youngest child died. The wind was against us and we had to?????? Kuxhaven
where earlier we had spoken to the Governor for permission.
JULY …….? Mrs Goi from Bentschen near Klastave died. The child with my son, Franz, lies in one grave in Hamburg on St Michael's cemetery
and she was also buried on this pilgrim's cemetery. There were also two ships in this port under guard which had taken emigrants and here sold them as slaves.
JULY 11th we entered the North Sea and soon passed Heligoland.
JULY 12th there were already many seasick and Br. Straude from Kl???? Near Zulbehau died aged 30 years. I am guardian of his two children, the middle one has died. He was buried in the North Sea on the 13th when it was still cold.
JULY 14th the child of Br Heinze of Beutschen died aged 6 years.
JULY 15th the twin daughter of Br. Nitscke from near Grunberg died of consumption, buried on the 16th. The funeral is conducted as follows: the body is placed into a bag which, at one end is filled with sand, when singing and the funeral address is given. Then the board on which the body lies is raised, the body is released and is immediately covered by the waves.
JULY 17th we tack in the Channel between England and France, from where I have written to you through a pilot.
JULY 18th we sailed past Wiethum and elsewhere. I together with my wife and daughter became very sick through diarrhea.
JULY 19th good wind. Br. Rohr of Tirschtigel near Schweibus died.
JULY 20th strong wind. Br. Ernst from Polkwitz died.
JULY 21st I again became seasick.
JULY 22nd we left the Channel and entered the Caspian Sea near Spain.
JULY 24th. a better wind, I felt better, it is very cold.
JULY 25th Br Lucier from Birnbauer died, also the children of Br Blesing from Holland near Wollstein. Both were buried in one bag. Good wind travel about 50 miles.
JULY 26th also a good wind we are travelling in the vicinity of Italy ? We passed a ship under the English flag destined for China.
JULY 27th we travel 60 miles today and passed Portugal and saw many swallows.
JULY 28th good wind.
JULY 29th weaker wind. We pass Gibraltar on left and evening can see Africa. Becoming much warmer and today we parted from Europe, goodbye.
The days are getting shorter the nearer we approach the line, as soon as the sun goes down, it is dark immediately.
JULY 30th We see the island of Madeira, where the good Madeira wine is made, and other islands.
JULY 31st A fair wind.
AUGUST 1st with a good wind we on the left pass Winde Terro.
AUGUST 2nd already the Trade Wind which from one Tropic to another is such that it does not change.
Today, the young girl who died yesterday was buried according to the Reformed Faith. I am becoming seasick, the ship is swaying very strongly.
AUGUST 3rd Today we are in the Tropic of Cancer, we travel 60 miles. We are only about 30 German miles distant from Africa. Evening strong wind.
AUGUST 4th It is very hot, must keep the head covered or you will suffer sunstroke.
AUGUST 5th Dark sky, as if about to rain, but does not rain here in the tropics.
This night we sail past the Cape Verde Islands and between the Boirges Banor? left and the Bonetta Cliffs right.
AUGUST 6th Very hot. The congregation (group) sleeps on deck because of the heat. We see large fish,
AUGUST 7th Very hot, we see a shark 20 yards long, followed the ship for days. The other twin of Br. Nitschke from Janni died. A great calm.
AUGUST 8th. Very fine…. The wife of mason Heutschke from Kutschkau near Schweibus died. The last days she was raving. We are sailing in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Moon light here is also dangerous, gives a thick head.
AUGUST 9th Good wind, the child of Br Schwarz of Freistadt died.
AUGUST 10th and 11th Good wind, the sea sickness is about again. I am also suffering ….. good wind …. a French battleship which we had recognized passed by.
AUGUST 14th cool, nights becoming very long, days very short, full heaven of stars. For the last time we see the Pole Star.
AUGUST 16th Good wind, passing Guinea,
AUGUST 17th Good wind,
AUGUST 18th We leave the Guinea or Gold Coast and wash with it ? … winds on the Eastern side of South America, to be free of the Equator.
AUGUST 19th pass the line, the seamen today celebrate the sea god Neptune, a heathen festival. That caused difficulty among us.
The sun is directly above our head and provides no shade all day.
AUGUST 20th Two large fish the size of storks approach our ship.
AUGUST 21st good wind. 22nd sail within the sight of island of Trinidad. On the Light (level?) of Terrumbaum the second daughter of Br. Nitschke of Janni died.
In his family it was the third death.
AUGUST 23rd strong wind. Here the sea water is completely blue. Als, I forgot to mention that two children of Br. Lehmann of Sawade near Grunberg died earlier.
AUGUST 24th A good wind, my daughter is well, Praise be to God.
AUGUST 25th We pass the heights of Bania?
AUGUST 26th We pass St Helena. It lies to our left. Here a son was born to Br Groten of Zullichau.
AUGUST 27th good wind.
AUGUST 28th Calm,. In view of the Martin Vos Rocks ?? near the Island of Trinidad which is uninhabited The child of Br Grosser died. Also a child is born to Br Grosser which was baptized on 29th. Today we saw a dead whale. The Captain went to it in a boat. The sharks are eating it. Many sea birds were shot. These were the size of a goose.
AUGUST 30th A weak wind
SEPTEMBER 1st We pass the Tropic of Capricorn and catch up with a Dutch ship making for Batavia.
SEPTEMBER 2nd Good wind,. A war ship under French flag with 500 military personnel not counting the horses we encountered, it was travelling to Borbou.
Yesterday, a child of Br Heintze of Beutscheu died,
SEPTEMBER 3rd Good wind, the eight year old son of Br Wenzel from Harte near Zullichau died, also the four year old of Br Leopold of Polkwitz.
We see many fish? And catch some. It is so cold that we must use our furs.
SEPTEMBER 4th today it is raining and snowing,
SEPTEMBER 5th The same, the wife of Br Hensel from Pinne died of consumption as did the youngest child of Br Rohr - the second death.
SEPTEMBER 6th The daughter of Br Rohr died and after several hours his wife as well, so, four deaths in the one family.
SEPTEMBER 7th A better wind. Br. Wallas of Alt Tonnschel died of dropsey also today the child of Br Mattner of Zullichau.
SEPTEMBER 8th good wind.
SEPTEMBER 9th The young person Poch of Kai near Zullichau died at the age of 25. His parents had long been in Australia. He saw them no more.
SEPTEMBER 10th Good wind - 3 miles per hour. We have reached the latitude of the Cape but have still a distance of 400 miles to go.
SEPTEMBER 11th Good wind, the Pastor has taken ill.
SEPTEMBER 12th strong, cold wind.
SEPTEMBER 13th much rain, half storm.
SEPTEMBER 14th Fine weather
SEPTEMBER 15th the fourth child of Br Rohr died and the fifth??????? 16th good wind.
SEPTEMBER 17th fair wind. The old Hesdine died so not seeing her people in Australia.
SEPTEMBER 18th Strong wind we arrive at the tip of the Cape, I am sick.
SEPTEMBER 19th good wind. My daughter shows measles on the head.
SEPTEMBER 20th and 21st good wind, half storm but at back. Today the woman in childbed, Grocke of Zullichau, died of a growth.
SEPTEMBER 23rd mild wind, the youngest little son of mason Heppner of Sawade died.
SEPTEMBER 24th Good wind, my daughter is getting worse.
SEPTEMBER 25th becoming much warmer.
SEPTEMBER 26th Fairly strong wind.
SEPTEMBER 27th Half storm but at back, second child of Br Wenzel of Harte died.
SEPTEMBER 28th ????died 3 deaths
OCTOBER 1st Calm. A ship we pass under Dutch flag.
OCTOBER 2nd fair wind. OCTOBER 3rd Half storm, my daughter is getting worse.
OCTOBER 4th a threequarter storm. The waves go over the ship and no cooking is possible.
OCTOBER 5th still stormy.
OCTOBER 6th wild wind. Mrs Scheuscke of Klastave died of consumption.
OCTOBER 7th favourable wind. The wife of Br Traugott Weinert of Brucheu ? Hauland died of dropsy and his son a little earlier - two deaths. We pass two islands of the Dutch, St Pauli and Amsterdam. The end for my daughter seems near.
OCTOBER 8th strong wind.
OCTOBER 9th The ship is swaying strongly.
OCTOBER 10th good wind.
OCTOBER 11th sharp wind.
OCTOBER 12th There came the saddest day of my life, my only remaining child died in my arms. The last, too, I had to give up. The Pastor based the funeral address on Mark 5,39 and the two hymns, ????? and 1043 from the Bresslauer Hymn Book. But, I shall not commit my justified pain to paper, for I know that the sea will give up its dead, He will replace everything. Here resides a treasure of my greatest treasures, tears only can I offer as a monument. She is buried at sea near New Holland on 13th October. On a pleasant spring day she will again burst into flower. Even in her last days she sang with Pastor Fritscke "I am Jesus' little lamb, therefore glad at heart I am".
OCTOBER 14th strong wind. I am not well, pain as has my wife.
OCTOBER 16th slight wind. We pass out of sight of New Holland.
OCTOBER 17th Fine Day. The son of Br Nitschke of Prittag died. At night a whale attempts to get under the boat and roars terribly.
There are many of them about who spout water high into the air through their noses. The Captain already ????
OCTOBER 18th Early morning 2 a.m.a ship from Denmark is sighted, it is a whaler and at 4.30 the whole ship cried, LAND, LAND, HALLELUYA!
OCTOBER 19th strong wind.
OCTOBER 20th fair wind. The mother in law of the deceased Brother died, named Preussen from Nypperndorf near Zullichau. Strong wind.
OCTOBER 23rd Calm; OCTOBER 24th Headwind; OCTOBER 25th Headwind
OCTOBER 26th We pass Kangaroo Island in the channel.
OCTOBER 27th fairly strong wind. Evening we are anchored in Alfa Bay. Earlier Mrs Reiching from Zileuzig died, a widow without relatives.
OCTOBER 28th we were guided into the Harbour by a pilot and at 2 o'clock we lay at anchor at Port Adelaide. Glory to God in the highest is now our word of praise.
This letter continued - CLICK HERE TO READ his views on early life in South Australia.
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JOURNAL - FROM PRITTAGE TO TSCHICHERZIG - 1841 as collated by Pastor Henry Proeve from all available sources.
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Saturday, 1st May |
After many delays the day of assembly was fixed on this day. The meeting place would be Tschicherzig, using three barges on the River Oder to transport the emigrants to the port of Hamburg. The people from Posen boarded a barge; those from Zullichau and Schwiebus and Meseritz in Posen the second, and the third was filled with emigrants from Grunberg Province Silesia, totaling about 270. The journey was some 600km along the rivers and connecting canals of eastern and central Germany, following the route taken by their follow believers in 1838. |
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Thursday 6th May |
the barges left, amid loud prayers and hymnes, for fear of the police was no longer necessary. |
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10th May | the barges turned into the Friedrich Wilhlem Canal, a channel about 25km long linking the Oder and Spree rivers. Progress was slow, because the canal was less than 9.5 metres wide at the bottom and only 1.5 metres deep. They negotiated seven locks as they were lifted a total of 18 metres up the Spree. |
| 13th May |
reached Berlin, then on into the Havel and to Potsdam.
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Wednesday 19th May |
Reached Wittenberg on the Elbe - the last Prussian town, and paid their export dues. |
| Saturday 22nd |
May the barges arrived in Hamburg at 7.00 pm.
The rain is falling in torrents; but despite the awful weather our good pastor, though looking very ill, is there to welcome us. As our eyes, after such a long period of separation, behold the good man, who for five years had endured such awful privations to minister to our wants, our hearts go out in love to the beloved and devoted servant of God. Some of the old people embrace and kiss him, and we all feel that we should like to follow their example.
The two representatives of these emigrants who have been engaged in the preliminary negotiations, Emanuel Klar and Dienegott Weinert, were also in the welcoming group. From one of the small boats Pastor Fritzschke delivered an earnest but comforting Ascension sermon, the festival day itself having fallen on the previous Thursday. |
| 24th May |
a meeting was held to organise the groups into one congregation, coming as they had from various parishes in Posen, Brandenberg and Silesia. Six elders were elected, two from each of the three areas: Emanuel Klar and August Grosser (Grunberg), Louis Grocke and Gottlieb Felsch (Zullichaw), and Gottfied Bormann and August Hensel (Posen). |
| Wednesday 26th May |
five baptisms took place - Carl Gottlob Heppner, Wilhelmine Ernstine Roehr, Johann Gottlieb Geue, Johanne Pauline Schultz and Gottfied Traugott Klar. Three days later August Weinert's wife gave birth to a son.
The chartered SKJOLD, a hurried replacement to the Mary Stewart had not yet arrived in port, and when it did arrive a fortnight later it needed repairs that took about four weeks to complete. The emigrants had to stay on the barges as the authorities of the Free City of Hamburg would not admit them into the city, until convincing evidence was given that they did not intend to remain in Hamburg, but would go to Australia. |
| 2nd June |
the Weinert baby was baptized at the Stadtdeich (town pier).
The delays and the renting of premises created financial difficulties for the people who still had to supply all their daily needs. There was not sufficient money in hand for the passages on the ship, because 274 persons had to be provided for instead of the 200 provided for in the contract of 11,00 thalers. If the requested funds were not secured there was a grave possibility that they would all be transported back to Prussia. |
| 11th June |
the group was overjoyed to receive a letter from Mrs. Richardson in Newcastle UK with £270 (1800 thalers) and Pastor Frizschke's future mother-in-law Madame Nehrlich, who was also to emigrate, loaned the necessary balance of 1127 thalers. |
| 14th June |
the chests were loaded on the SKJOLD, but the emigrants themselves had to remain in their rented quarters for another 15 days until they embarked on 30th June. |
| THE VOYAGE |
(Part as collated by Pastor Henry Proeve from all available sources.) |
| June 30 |
Although the emigrants embark on the day, the SKJOLD does not yet leave port. When it sets out it progresses no further than Altona. |
| July 2 |
Wilhelm Hampel's 2-year-old daughter died at 2.30 pm. The body is taken this evening to the mortuary in the Altona cemetery for burial at 3 pm tomorrow. |
| July 3 |
The 'SKJOLD' unexpectedly is towed out by a steamer at 1 pm and the sorrowing parents and their friends therefore cannot attend the burial. |
| July 4 and 5 |
We lie becalmed. |
| July 6 |
With a favourable wind we set sail at 6 am as far as Cuxhaven. The pastor is very weak so that he cannot give a sermon. When we have left Cuxhaven behind us several miles, a strong wind combined with heavy rain drives us back to Cuxhaven. Gottfied Kliche's 2-year-old daughter dies and is buried at Cuxhaven. |
| July 7 to 10 |
The stormy weather rages all these days. Mrs. Eleonore Gay dies at 5 pm on June 9 and is buried at Cuxhaven next. day. |
| July 11 |
At 5 pm we leave Cuxhaven for the second time. Pastor Fritzsche is heard to pray: 'O Lord Jesus Christ, be our compass, rudder and mast; and your breath speed us on our way.' At 10 pm we pass the island of Heligoland. |
| July 17 |
We catch sight of the cliff of Dover. There is severe stormy weather as we pass down the English Channel. |
| July 31 |
The 'SKJOLD' has reached the Canary Islands and passes Tenerife. Grieger's 6-year-old daugher dies, and is buried in the evening of the same day near the island of Palma. |
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August 1 |
We pass the Islands of Feroe, the westernmost of the Canary Islands. |
| August 19 |
The 'SKJOLD' crossed the Equator. |
| October 26 |
The 'SKJOLD' passes Kangaroo Island. Mrs Reich dies at midday and is buried the last to be buried at sea, in the strait. |
| October 27 |
The 'SKJOLD' arrives at Holdfast Bay in the morning, a Wednesday. At 7 pm it reaches the harbour at Port Adelaide. As soon as the anchor has been cast the emigrants gather for a thanksgiving service, with Pastor Fritzsche conducts with the words of Psalm 107; 23-31 to guide them in their thanksgiving. 'O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men.' During this service F Kavel and A Fiedler, from Klemzig, arrive on the vessel. The elders from the 'SKJOLD' and a few others still walk to Klemzig, some 15km distant, this same night.
The voyage of the 'SKJOLD' had an aspect that was tragic. To lose about one in five persons was a high price to pay. Fever, dysentery and puerperal infection spread though the steerage section of the ship and resulted in some 55 deaths, many of them children.
There was great joy and excitement now among the passengers. Even though they experienced some severe storms theirs was a non-stop voyage of over 20,000 km and 117 days, the the 'SKJOLD' anchoring off-shore at Port Adelaide on October 27, 1841.
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