German Schools and Teachers in Nineteenth‐Century South Australia

Abstract

This article uses the biographies of three German teachers to explore nineteenth century German immigrants' efforts to provide education which upheld their ethnic traditions and prepared their children to take their place in the British colony of South Australia. Lutheran schools, German state schools and private schools initially performed these functions in both rural and urban areas. Once compulsory schooling was introduced in 1875, however, German state schools were marginalised as English became the only language of instruction in the rapidly expanding state school system, and many private schools closed. Rural Lutheran schools maintained their role as nurseries of the church but also accommodated the demand for English language and culture by using state school courses of instruction in many subjects. In essence, by 1900 schools were no longer the key sites for the maintenance of German language and culture in South Australia