ProvenanceThe booklet was given to Adeline Marie Mathilde Wegener to commemorate her confirmation on 27 December 1891 at the Lutheran Church in Blumberg by pastor H Harms. Adeline was born in December 1878 in Blumberg and baptised on 20 January 1879. Adeline’s parents Julius Louis Wilhelm Wegener and Karoline, nee Neumann lived from early age in Blumberg and were active members of the Lutheran church. Adeline’s grandparents had emigrated from the Prussian provinces in Brandenburg and Saxony. Her fraternal granddad, August Neumann, was ten years old when he came with his parents on the Zebra in 1838. August’s family was one of the original German occupants of Hahndorf before they moved to Bethany and later Blumberg. Blumberg was renamed Birdwood in 1918 because of anti-German resentments during the First World War.SignificanceThis booklet is representative of religious practices and beliefs of German migrants and their families who left their home country to be able to continue practicing their religion.
‘Old Lutherans’ fled their homeland because the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm III, had decreed in 1817 that all his subjects must use his new worship book and join the Union Church, which he set up by combining the Lutheran and the Reformed Church.
The first group of Lutheran refugees from Prussia arrived between 1838 and 1840, in South Australia under the guidance of Pastor Ludwig August Christian Kavel.DescriptionPublished Hannover 1891. Booklet is printed in German. Soft cover. On front cover are the words: 'Gedenkbuechlein fur Konfirmierte Christen', set inside patterned edging.AcknowledgementDate of Creation1880 - 1890Date of Usage1891, 27 DecemberMaterialPaper DimensionType: Closed
Height: 175
Width: 110
Unit (Lengths): mm Accession NumberHT 1988.0004
