G'day Fooles ...

There had to be an excuse for the Piano Accordion Mania ;-) ...!

I guess this is a generalisation, but we seem to have had three distinct "waves" of (~) German immigration if the 1800s:

1: The 'religious / economic' refugees of the 1830s. Scottish Presbyterian Settlement Societies sent all these lovely wine-growing types to South Australia - and sent dour Scots Presbyterians to New Zealand ... Hey, we're not complaining!

2: In the 1860s it was definitely refugees, getting away from Bismarck's Prussian thugs. Many came to South Australia - and found that Uncle Hans (&c) had already got all the nice vine-growing land - so they trekked (often having built their own 'trekking carts' ... what the Yanks think are Amurican covered wagons) up the Murray / Murrimbidgee River systems and pioneered much of our Riverina.

3: The final refugees, as Bismarck conquered ... sorry ... united Germany came out in the 1880s ... and seem to have gone further north ... lots of their descendants around Toowoomba, these days.

I guess your 'German' maternal Grandfather and my 'English' paternal Grandfather marched along parrallel paths ... in both World Stoushes! Granddad came to Aussie, from the Manchester region, soon after his Dad died in 1910. He was made to work through his carpentry apprenticeship, before enlisting - then sailed with the Light Horse. It became clear this wasn't a cavalry war - not in Europe, anyway - and they were retrained as artillery ... so he came back as a Gunner / Driver.

He stayed in the Reserves (Artillery) and was straight back in for 1938 ... served with anti-Naval guns at Fremantle, then trained in Ordinance ... then was sent to guard Hay Prison Camp. He was senior non-com at Hay, at the time of the Japanese breakout from Cowra. (And, in my photographic employment, I worked worked with the bloke who was senior non-com at Cowra during the break-out!)

Regards,

Bob