FRIEDRICH Winter
| Town/City | Rochedale South |
|---|---|
| First name | FRIEDRICH |
| Last name | Winter |
| Country of Origin | GERMANY |
| Year of Arrival in Australia | 1855 |
| Submitted by | John Winter |
Story
Averse to being conscripted into the Gernman army, great Grandfather Friedrich and his two brothers decided to emigrate. After all, the family would have grown up with tales of the Napoleonic Wars and the horrors of the French Revolution. My Dad would later joke about the fact I was the progeny of draft dodgers having been called up for National Service in 1968.
They left Germany in 1854 on the ship “Aurora” bound for Australia and after a lengthy voyage during which the ship was taken by pirates and then re-taken by the passengers and crew, they finally arrived in Sydney on the 30th. March 1855
The boys found their way into the Hunter valley where they found work. Great Grandfather married an English girl, Margaret Mary Wood in the Church of England East Maitland on 8th December 1862. From there he moved to Goondiwindi on the new State of Queensland side of the McIntyre River.
The Winter family were represented in Goondiwindi for nearly another 150 years and we still call it home although we no longer reside there.