Setting out on a journey can lead to unexpected places. It’s a time of excitement – of envisioning a new future. For the Prussian immigrants to Light Pass and the Barossa in the mid-1800’s, taking those first steps allowed them to go places they would never have imagined. They had a firm faith that God was leading them, and a strong sense of community, backed up by qualities such as adaptability, resourcefulness, the willingness to take on new challenges and face hardships. Their stories interconnect and weave together, and it’s fascinating to see where their journeys have taken them and their descendants.
Lee Boehm is an author who has researched the Boehm and Luhrs families of Light Pass and she’s recently written a book about their subsequent journey to Walla Walla in NSW. While researching the family history of her husband Christopher Boehm, she delved into the stories of the Boehm and Luhr’s families of Light Pass. Along the way she learnt about the Rechners, the Scholzs and others in the early Light Pass community. She’s written the following account for us.
“Fritz Boehm and his wife Ilse, aged 30 and 26, with their 4-week-old son Traugott, travelled from Silesia in Prussia on the ship Heerjeebhoy Rustomjee Patel in 1845 and settled at Light Pass in South Australia.
Also on the ship was Rosina Scholz who was 25 and her Uncle and Aunt, Gottfried and Christiane with their seven children. Gottfried Scholz had served in the Prussian Army and was skilled at bone setting and remedial massage, setting up a clinic that became very popular after he or his eldest son Henry (stories vary) reset George Fife Angus’ broken leg.
Willows Hospital c.1920s
Mr Angus was the wealthy Englishman who was the benefactor of the German immigrants and helped Pastor Kavel lead his flock out of poverty in Prussia. Although Mr Angus’ two sons had been in South Australia since the early 1840’s attending to his interests, Mr Angus did not come out until 1851, by which time the German villages in the Barossa Valley were thriving. Mr Angus gave the Scholz’s 500 pounds in gratitude for healing his leg, which allowed Henry to build what became the successful Willows Hospital at Light Pass. (editors note: read more about the Willows hospital here)
On arrival at Light Pass in 1845 the new settlers met Heinrich Luhrs, aged 37, who had already been in the village for a short time. Heinrich and Rosina Sholtz were married on 6 April 1846 by Pastor Kavel.
Heinrich had come to South Australia in 1841, from London. He was on the same ship, the Augustus as George French Angus, their benefactor’s eldest son. Heinrich was the only German on the ship and his French horn became quite a novelty during the journey.
Heinrich had left his home in Hannover, Germany, in his early 20’s and went to work as a gardener on the estate of a duke. Within seven years he became head gardener and departed the estate with excellent references. He was restless and had become involved with the Dresden Missionary Society mainly so that he could adventure across the seas to the new colony of South Australia. His quest to become a missionary took him from Germany to London and back several times before he managed to gain passage from London. During his time in London, he worked as a German tutor at Oxford. After coming to Australia, he spent some time on Aboriginal missions on the southern coast of South Australia. But rather than for religious reasons, Henry had wanted to impart his agricultural knowledge to the natives. He was told that they did not have an understanding of growing crops or maintaining beautiful gardens, which were a necessity of life in Europe.
But Heinrich found that the natives had been doing very well by themselves, travelling from place to place depending on where the fish, animals and native fruits and plants were naturally plentiful. They knew what time of year to go to what place and welcomed the change in scenery. Trying to harness them to one place and try to tame nature was not something that they wanted to do. They also had their own ‘Gods,’ and sacred beings, that were related to the stars and to nature and were not very interested in learning about what other men thought it was best to worship.
Luhrs cottage
Heinrich soon became disillusioned at the mission at Victor Harbour and decided to follow Pastor Kavel to the Barossa Valley and take up his own land to farm. Then, once he got there, and met his beloved Rosina his quest for adventure had stopped, as the new adventure of running a farm and raising a family had begun.
However, before he was able to get too settled into the farming life the village started becoming populated with more and more families from Germany. The Germans held education in great regard and required all children to attend school until at least the age of 14, well before the South Australian government mandated school attendance. Pastor Kavel asked Heinrich if he would be the first school teacher at Light Pass.
It seemed like the best choice in the village due to his previous experience at Oxford. It is unknown how Heinrich went in his duties, however, it seems that he ran the school for at least some time from his own house, which has now been restored as a museum, Luhrs Cottage, near Rechner’s cottage, that the public can visit.
In 1850 the village was blessed with the arrival of the youthful and exuberant 19-year-old Julius Rechner, who came highly recommended by both the Lutheran Pastors, Kavel and Fritzsche, who at the time were embroiled in religious conflict and were both vying for popularity amongst the growing congregations in the Barossa Valley. This eventually led to a split in the Light Pass Immanuel congregation, and the formation of the Strait Gate Congregation – hence why there are two churches at Light Pass. Both Pastors offered him the job of schoolteacher at Light Pass and after some discussion about the terms he moved to Light Pass in mid-1850 to take over from Heinrich Luhrs. He held the position for 10 years. (editors note: read more about GJ Rechner here)
Julius was surprised not long afterwards when his sweetheart Bertha arrived at Port Adelaide and the couple were married on the 23rd of October 1850. It can be assumed that the community of Light Pass rallied around and became their family, and the Boehm’s and Luhrs’ would have been good friends to the Rechner’s. Julius had an affinity with music, which he would have had in common with Heinrich Luhrs and his French Horn.
In my research I found out so many interesting stories about these families and having already published two books about my own convict ancestors, I decided to tackle the story of the Boehm’s, finding the connection with the Luhrs’ and so many other families at Light Pass.
Heinrich Luhrs eldest son Henry was employed in 1868 on a trek to Walla Walla in New South Wales (near Albury) with a group of families from Light Pass and Ebenezer. He returned to Light Pass to marry his sweetheart, Maria Joppich, and not long afterwards Maria’s sister Eleanore Joppich married Traugott Boehm (who was the 4-week-old baby on the journey out from Prussia in 1845). Henry and Maria Luhrs eventually moved to New South Wales, settling in the areas around Walla Walla where the German Lutheran communities were thriving. The Boehm’s later followed them and a few years later the two families moved to Parkes where they started the Lutheran church there. My husband’s father was born in Parkes many years later in the 1940’s.”
Thanks, Lee, for sharing that interesting account with us. Lee’s book, The Journey, a generational story of the Boehm’s and Luhrs’, and including many other families from that time period, will be available on Amazon from late Jan/early Feb 2025.
You can follow Lee on Facebook Lee Boehm – Author or Instagram lee_boehm_author for information about her books.
Post featured image courtesy of Nicola Nuttall on Unsplash
