Books

The inspiring story of victory over death and despair by Christian missionaries, who saved from extinction a nomadic people in the Australian desert, considered a “doomed race” without a future by anthropologists steeped in Darwinist race theory.

When Frieda Keysser, aged just 20, set off from northern Bavaria in August 1895 to marry the man of her dreams, she had no idea what lay before her. For Hermannsburg in Central Australia was on the frontier: life was harsh, most Aranda people were still nomadic, and often there was bloodshed. The nearest doctor was a thousand miles away, supplies came up twice a year from Adelaide, and even finding a reliable water supply was a constant struggle.

Passionate and emotional, Frieda was born into an ancient Frankish family which had come down in the world. By age 14 she was orphaned, disinherited and homeless, and at 15 went into service in a clergyman’s family. But then in 1892 she and Carl met – and fell in love. Her romantic, mercurial nature contrasted sharply with Carl’s cool pragmatism and intellectual detachment, but the relationship blossomed into a happy marriage. They had six children, Carl’s language studies and anthropological work attracted international acclaim, while – most importantly – Frieda’s efforts to overcome the problems of infant mortality bore fruit in growing numbers, with Hermannsburg perhaps the only place in Australia where white settlement did not lead to the virtual extinction of the aboriginal population.

Drawing on Carl’s letters and published writings, and based on Frieda’s diaries covering the period, this first volume traces their extraordinary story against the background  of growing tension between Germany and England which culminated in World War One, with Carl officially classified as an enemy alien despite Australian citizenship, and rival anthropologist Baldwin Spencer clamouring to turn Hermannsburg into a training institution for half-caste children taken from their families, topics to be covered in the second volume.

It is September 1910. Now back in Germany, Frieda is hoping the Australian adventure is over. The children are put into school – and then comes the first shock: the boys are all remedial students, several years behind their age group. Only Martha is in a class with girls her own age. Next comes the news that Leonhardi, Carl’s editor, has died from a stroke. Will Carl’s book continue to be published? While he makes a tour of mission societies in Bavaria, Frieda is left to cope with the children on her own. Worse is to come: Carl’s superior, Rev. Kaibel, dismisses his work at Hermannsburg as a failure, alters all the arrangements then returns south, leaving Carl’s inexperienced replacement, Oskar Liebler, in charge of a work force of rebellious employees unwilling to take orders. Carl’s friends in Australia warn him if he doesn’t come back, his life’s work will be lost. Letters from the Aranda Christians follow, begging him to come back to Australia with his children. Though a good job is available for Carl in Bavaria, much to Frieda’s dismay they return to Australia at the end of 2011, leaving all their children but Theo, the youngest, with family. In the meantime, Carl is invited to speak to Frankfurt’s Anthropological Society members. His lecture is a great success, so secures the continued publication of his book.

Back in Australia, after spending the summer’s heat in the south, the three Strehlows return to a warm welcome from the Aranda, delighted that the family is back. By now events in Europe are looking grim, with continued tension over the size of the German navy and the steady break-up of the Ottoman Empire, with Britain, France and Russia jostling to incorporate large parts of it into their empires; the Kaiser on the other hand thinks the Turks should keep those parts of their empire which are outside Europe.

The scene is now set for the First World War. With Australia a loyal part of the British Empire, persons of German descent become enemy aliens and prison camps are set up for those considered a national risk. The Northern Territory is no longer part of South Australia, so despite his oldest son fighting in the German army on the Eastern Front, Carl is not in immediate danger, but newspaper campaigns to get young men to enlist and fight the Hun lead to constant attempts to have Hermannsburg taken over as an orphanage for half-caste children run by men of “sound English commonsense”. Carl’s professional rival Baldwin Spencer pours anti-mission propaganda into the ears of government ministers in Melbourne, yet his efforts are fruitless. The Mission continues to flourish, its population grows steadily, Carl translates the New Testament into Aranda, and in 1917 even becomes accepted as part of the British ruling elite! After the defeat of the Central Powers, the national mood relaxes, but no replacement can be found so Carl and Frieda can leave Australia and rejoin their other children in Germany. In 1922 Carl falls seriously ill and, after securing Hermannsburg’s future, makes a desperate attempt to reach a doctor. Halfway to the Oodnadatta railhead he dies at the Horseshoe Bend pub, leaving Frieda to travel with Theo to the south to an uncertain future.