G'day,

All from Mum's side) 1/16 Irish 1/16 Dutch some distant percentage of French Hugenot the rest presumably (~)English, with a few unresolvred biots over the 170 years that her ancestors have been in Australia

From Dad's side) Unrelenting Midlands England ... not only was great grandfather Bolton born in Bolton, but his ancestors probably built the original fortified town that gave it that name (means ~ fortified town). The Boltons onlt came out here ~ 1911, so they are the Pommy newcomers in the line.

Sourdough: There seems to be less Australian identification with distant European origins. The "Germans", of course, have had the problem of two World Wars, which were much more real to Australians than to Americans. It is only in recent years that these people are regaining the nerve to claim their background ... and the old people are complaining that evryone thinks of lederhosen-clad Bavarians and "oompah bands" ... when these are the sods they came out here to get away from! (Particularly strong feeling among the Barrossa Deutsch, the 1830s refugees to South Australia, from religious and labour intolerance.

We had two more waves of "Germanic" migration - 1860s to Victoria and 1880s to Queensland (in general terms) and all these were refugees from Bismarck's conquest of their independent states and duchies. most of these will call themselves Australians first ... but they are starting to rediscover their old music and traditions in an atmosphere where Australians are paranoid about Asians, instead of old foes like Germans.

Reagrds,

Bob Bolton