non-fictionA Genealogical study of the Families of Frederick Heckendorf and a Record of Their Descendants, 1808-1982, 127 Years in Australia. In 1855, Frederick and Julianna Heckendorf and their children departed Hamburg on the SS Steinwarder for a new life in Australia. In 1869, they moved to Wodonga and it wasn't long before they set up a dairy farm at Willow Park. One hundred years later, the farm was in the hands of Fredrick's great grandson Les Boyes. In the 1970s the land was acquired by the Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation, which had the goal of developing Albury-Wodonga into a major inland city.heckendorf family, wodonga pioneers, german migration to australia

This brooch was owned by Lily Cave nee Stevenson. Lilian Bernice Stevenson was born in Wodonga on 30 November 1920 to John Stevenson and Ivy Victoria nee Pearce. On 28 November 1942, LIlian married Robert Walter Nation in Wodonga. Ivy was related to several prominent Wodonga families, including the Uhe and Heckendorf families. Ivy moved from Wodonga after her marriage. She passed away in Melbourne, Victoria in 2000.This item is connected to a prominent family in Wodonga, VictoriaAn amber stone set in a square gold setting with a pin clasp on the back.wodonga families, stevenson family wodonga, pearce family wodonga

Several German families arrived in Wodonga, usually via South Australia, in the late 1850 and 1860s. Some of the earliest settlers to arrive were the Haeusler, Schlink, Trudewind, Pfeiffer and Klinge families. Many of them had left from Prussia and Bavaria to escape religious persecution. They all became actively involved in the community and made outstanding and lasting contributions to the development of the town. In the years 1868-69 more settlers arrived from South Australia and other parts of Victoria. Among the names were Heckendorf, Mueller, Zeinert and Schubert. These families were instrumental in lobbying for the establishment of the St. John's Lutheran Church in Wodonga, the foundation stone being laid in 1874. By the 1890s to the early 1900s many other Germany names were added to the local community including Muller, Lange, Pumpa, Greschke, Lobbe, Posselt, Kreuger, Schuster, Pertzel, Star, Draper, Mueller, Semmler, Thiele, Terlich, Wegener, Schreiber and Draper. Germans continued to arrive in the area until 1914. In the great post-war migration that started through Bonegilla in December 1947, Germans were among the tens of thousands who arrived. Most of the migrants who settled in Wodonga at this time were born in Germany. According to the 2016 Census, Wodonga still has a larger percentage of people with German ancestry than most other rural communities in Victoria. The German Austrian Australian Club, Wodonga was originally formed in 1960 by immigrants to Australia, to provide a meeting place for refugees and immigrants from Europe. Oktoberfest has become a world-wide occasion for all people to share in the celebration of Bavarian traditions. The Wodonga Hospital approached the Club and asked for their involvement in holding an Oktoberfest to raise funds for the Hospital. These Fests took 11 months to organize and ended up raising over $27,000.00 for the Hospital. A large number of families of German origin have arrived in the Wodonga area from as early as the 1850s. They have made valuable and lasting contributions to the area in a range of fields including agriculture, local government, businesses, retail and medical services. Their contributions are recognised in several street names in Wodonga. A white china beer stein bearing the blue logo of the Wodonga 1979 Oktoberfest. Logo includes an image of a woman in German national costume.Above the image "WODONGA" Underneath the image "OKTOBERFEST 1979"wodonga, oktoberfest, german immigrants