Lutheran Pioneer MemorialPrint Page 
The monument commemorates 150th anniversary of the arrival of Lutheran refugees who pioneered the establishment of Klemzig, the first ethnic village in South Australia. from 1838 to 1988.
The large sculpture was unveiled in 1988. The monument alongside tells the Klemzig story. The next lists the names of people buried in the cemetery, and the third gives the names of Germans who made a significant contribution to South Australia. The memorial plaques at the path sides do not indicate gravesite, since their location was lost. They indicate some of the people interred in the cemetery.
The Lutheran Church was established in South Australia in 1838 by German emigrants from Prussia who came because of religious persecution. Although this persecution ceased in the mid-1840s, many more Germans followed, seeking the better life that the first migrants reported to them. Settlements were established at Klemzig, Hahndorf, Lobethal and in the Barossa Valley. Some 20,000 German Lutherans migrated to South Australia between 1838 and 1860. With the expansion of settlement, the German Lutherans began to spread out across the state in search of larger landholdings. In their settlements, they soon built churches and schools.
Location
| Address: | Spring Grove, Klemzig Memorial Gardens , Klemzig, 5087 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.883296 Long: 138.643418 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Religion |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 18-November-1838 |
| Approx. Event Start Date: | 1838 |
| Approx. Event End Date: | 1988 |
| Artist: | Anton Hart & Erminio Kotlar |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 13th March, 1988 |
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Klemzig
Everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in Heaven
Mt 10 v 32
Lutheran Pioneer Memorial
1838
Plaque :
Simple wooden crosses originally marked the graves of about 100 pioneers buried in this Cemetery.
The following are known to have been buried here between 1838 - 1861
[ Names ]
Plaque :
This plaque commemorates the significant contribution to the Colony of South Australia made by German men & women who arrived from 1838 to 1888
We honour here the efforts of some of these pioneers
[ Names ]
Plaque :
This sculpture commemorates the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Lutheran immigrants who settled in South Australia, & portrays their struggles, hardships, Vision & Influence.
These pioneers left their homeland under the leadership of Pastor August Kavel in the pursuit of religious liberty, & here built a village named Klemzig & the first Lutheran Church & School in Australia. The village became the staging place for settlements & Congregations like Hahndorf, Lobethal, Bethany, Langmeil.
The Congregation of Klemzig was the beginning of a Lutheran presence that spread throughout the land & eventually led to the formation of the Lutheran Church of Australia.
The avenue of trees & the name plaques commemorate the first villagers who lived in Klemzig.
Erected by members of the Church, with the support of the Art for Public Places Committee through the Department for the Arts.
Sculpted by Anton Hart & Erminio Kotlar.
Unveiled by His Excellency Lieutenant General Sir Donald Dunstan, K.B.E., C.B., Governor of South Australia, on March 13, 1988
1988
