Renaming of German place names in Australia
The renaming of German place names in Australia took place mainly during the First World War . The German Empire was at war with the Commonwealth of Australia and an anti-German mood developed in the course of the war. Until then, German emigrants had been a recognized part of Australian society and had played an important part in building Australia.
The German place names were either Anglicized or replaced by Aboriginal place names such as Kobandilla and Karawirra or names of famous people such as British Field Marshal Kitchener, or they were named after the battlefields of the First World War ( Verdun and Somme ).
Not all German places were renamed, for example the place Hermannsburg in the Northern Territory was not changed, neither was the place Prenzlau in Queensland. After the end of the First World War, there were numerous renaming; one of the first took place in 1920, when Townsend got its old name again, Marburg , and others have followed to this day. In 1935, the Nomenclature Act of 1935 was passed in South Australia , which allowed the renaming of numerous places on a secure legal basis.
In South Australia, where most of the Germans settled, 64 places were renamed in the course of the First World War (according to other counts 70); in Tasmania two, in Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales three each and in Queensland 15.
politics
In Australia in 1914 there were about 100,000 Germans out of a total population of about 4.5 million. They were respected in Australia because they had played a major role in building the country. In 1900 almost 10% of the South Australian population were German-Australians. When Germany became an enemy of the Commonwealth in World War I, nationwide anti-German hysteria arose and many British Australians assumed that the Germans in Australia would support the German Kaiser.
The hysteria was also expressed in the name changes of places, either by law or by petition . The presence of German names in Australia was taken as an affront by many Australians and sensitized a large part of the population at that time. Not only were the names changed, but there was also a lot of discrimination against German-born Australians during the war, some of whom were interned. German-Australians found little employment and as a result many of them were forced to go to internment camps on their own ; there were also Australians of British origin who no longer wanted to work with the "Germans".
When the Australian federal government under Billy Hughes wanted to introduce general conscription in 1916 , the Australians rejected this in a referendum in October 1916. Some political groups blamed the Catholics and the German-Australians for the failure of this referendum and pretended that the German-Australians had voted against conscription in the referendum. In 1917 Prime Minister Billy Hughes then denied the German-Australians the right to vote, but the second referendum on conscription failed with an even larger number of votes against. The refusal to vote, a sign of doubt about their loyalty, affected many of the German-Australians who served in the Australian armed forces.
New South Wales
| Germantown changed to | Holbrook | (modified 1915) |
| German's Hill changed to | Lidster | |
| German Creek changed to | Empire Vale | |
| Ebenezer changed to | Walla Walla | |
| Schlinkers Lane changed to | Bullecourt Lane | (today Ultimo , a suburb of Sydney ) |
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory was sparsely populated at that time. However, there was a settlement with a German name, Hermannsburg , the mission station of the Lutherans since 1877, whose name has not been changed. Other names of German origin are the Petermann Ranges , the Ernest Giles in 1874 after the German geographer and cartographer August Petermann and the Mount Zeil , which was named by another researcher after Count Waldburg-Zeil .
Queensland
By 1890, 245,000 immigrants had come to Queensland . Of these, 86% were British and of the remaining 14% the Germans formed the largest group.
| Mountains changed to | Murra Murra | |
| Bergenside changed to | Neuve | |
| Bismarck changed to | Maclagan | |
| Castel Sant'Angelo changed to | Kalbar | |
| Fahley changed to | Kilbirnie | |
| Gehrkevale changed to | Mount Mort | |
| Gramzow changed to | Carbrook | |
| Hapsburg changed to | Kowbi | |
| Hessenburg changed to | Ingoldsby | |
| Kirchheim changed to | Haigslea | |
| Marburg changed to | Townsend (1917) | Marburg again since 1920 |
| Minden changed to | Frenchton | since 1930 Minden again |
| Roessler changed to | Applethorpe | |
| Stegelitz changed to | Woongoolba | a district is now called Steiglitz |
| Teutoburgh changed to | Witta |
South Australia
The first German settlers in Australia were Lutherans from the eastern Prussian territories who emigrated because they were killed by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. were persecuted for their religion. From November to December 1838 several ships with German emigrants reached South Australia and they settled there. Around 1900, 10% of South Australians were of German descent. Most of the renaming took place in South Australia.
| Bartsch's Creek changed to | Yedlakoo Creek | ( Renamed Bartsch Creek in 1986 ) |
| Berlin Rock changed to | Panpandie skirt | |
| Bethany changed to | Bethany | |
| Bismarck changed to | Weeroopa | |
| Blumberg changed to | Birdwood | |
| Blumental changed to | Lakkari | |
| Book (s) fields changed to | Loos | |
| Cape Bauer changed to | Cape of Wondoma | (1948 again Cape Bauer) |
| Carlsruhe changed to | Customers (renamed 1918) | |
| Ehrenbreitstein changed to | Mount Yerila | |
| Ferdinand Creek changed to | Ernabella Creek | |
| Friedensthal changed to | Black Hill | |
| Friedrichstadt changed to | Tangari | |
| Friedrichswalde changed to | Tarnma | |
| Gebhardt's Hills changed to | Polygon Ridge | ( Renamed Gebhardt Hills in 1986 ) |
| German Creek changed to | Benara Creek | (1986 again German Creek) |
| German passport changed to | Tappa Pass | |
| Germantown Hill changed to | Vimy Ridge | (only the street name was renamed to Germantown Hill Road) |
| Gottlieb's Well changed to | Parnggi Well | |
| Grunberg changed to | Karalta | ( Renamed Gruenberg in 1975 ) |
| Grunthal changed to | Verdun | |
| Hahndorf changed to | Ambleside | (1935 again Hahndorf) |
| Hasse's Mound changed to | Larelar Mound | |
| Heidelberg changed to | Kobandilla | |
| Lord God Springs changed to | Marree | |
| Hildesheim changed to | Punthari | |
| Hope valley changed to | Karavirra | (1975 again hope valley) |
| Hundred of Basedow changed to | Hundred of French | (“Hundred of” = “District of”) |
| Hundred of Homburg changed to | Hundred of Haig | |
| Hundred of Krichauff changed to | Hundred of Beatty | |
| Hundred of Paech changed to | Hundred of Cannawigra | |
| Hundred of plum changed into | Hundred of Geegeela | |
| Hundred of Rhine (North) changed to | Hundred of Jellicoe | |
| Hundred of Rhine (South) changed to | Hundred of Jutland | |
| Hundred of Scherk changed to | Hundred of Sturdee | |
| Hundred of Schomburgk changed to | Hundred of Maude | |
| Hundred of Von Doussa changed to | Hundred of Allenby | |
| Jaenschtown changed to | Kerkanya | |
| Kaiserstuhl changed to | Mount Kitchener | (Renamed Kaiser's Seat in 1918 and again Kaiserstuhl Conservation Park since 1975 ) |
| Klaebes changed to | Kilto | |
| Klemzig changed to | Gaza | (Klemzig again in 1935, the local football club still bears the name Gaza ) |
| Frill skirt changed to | Marti Rock | |
| Krichauff changed to | Beatty | ( Renamed Mount Mary in 1940 ) |
| Kronsdorf changed to | Kabminye | ( Renamed Krondorf in 1975 ) |
| Langdorf changed to | Kaldukee | |
| Langmeil changed to | Bilyara (near Tanunda) | (1975 again Langmeil) |
| Lobethal changed to | Tweedvale | (1935 again Lobethal) |
| Mount Ferdinand changed to | Mount Warrabillinna | |
| Mount Meyer changed to | Mount Kauto | |
| Muller's Hill changed to | Yandina Hill | |
| Neudorf changed to | Mamburdi | (1986 again in Neudorf) |
| Neukirch changed to | Dimchurch | (1975 again Neukirch) |
| New Hamburg changed to | Willyaroo | |
| New Mecklenburg changed to | Gomersal | |
| Oliventhal changed to | Olivedale | |
| Petersburg changed to | Peterborough | |
| Rhine Park changed to | Kongolia | |
| Rhine Hill changed to | Mons | |
| Rhine River (North) changed to | The Somme | ( Changed to Somme Creek in 1971 ) |
| Rhine River (South) changed to | The Marne | ( Changed to Marne River in 1971 ) |
| Rhine Villa changed to | Cambrai | |
| Rosenthal changed to | Rosedale | |
| Schoenthal changed to | Boongala | (1986 again Schoenthal) |
| Seppelts changed to | Dorrien | |
| Schreiberhau changed to | Warre | (1975 again Schreiberhau) |
| Siegersdorf changed to | Bultawilta | (1975 again Siegersdorf) |
| Steinfeld changed to | Stonefield | (1986 again Steinfeld) |
| Summerfeldt changed to | Summerfield | |
| Vogelsang's Corner changed to | Tarerkoore | (1986 again Vogelsang Corner ) |
| Wusser's Nob changed to | Karun Nob | (1983 again Wusser Nob ) |
Tasmania
In 1855, 858 Germans came to Tasmania , many from southwest or northern Germany and around 500 Germans in the 1860s and 1870s . In 1901 there were over 1,500 German immigrants in Tasmania.
| Bismarck changed to | Collinsvale |
| German Town changed to | Lilydale |
Victoria
| Germantown changed to | Grovedale | |
| Hochkirch changed to | Tarrington | |
| Mount Bismarck changed to | Mount Kitchener | |
| Reinholtz's PO changed to | Reynold's PO | (changed on November 5, 1920) |
Western Australia
In 1891 there were almost 300 people of German origin in Western Australia .
| Heidelburg changed to | Bickley |
| Müller Park changed to | Kitchener Park (again Mueller Park since 1981 ) |
Web links
- German Place Names - South Australia
- South Australian History - German placenames
- Australian Bureau of Statistics - Changing of German Place Names in Australia
- Victorian counties map
Individual evidence
- ↑ Information on www.onomastik.com . Retrieved January 16, 2011
- ↑ Information on www.onomastik.com . Retrieved January 17, 2011
- ^ Premier Postal History: Post Office List by Country . Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
- ↑ a b c Western Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory at www.onomastik.com . Retrieved January 15, 2011
- ↑ New South Wales on www.onomastik.com . Retrieved January 15, 2011
- ^ Minden on Queensland Places , accessed October 15, 2013.
- ↑ Woongoolba borders on Steiglitz , accessed on October 15, 2013.
- ^ South Australia on onomastik.com . Retrieved January 15, 2011
- ^ Premier Postal History: Post Office List by Country . Retrieved March 6, 2011.
