THE EMMY Author: Craig Buerckner
J.C. Godeffroy and Son had a contract to build ships that could bring Germans out to Australia. An agent worked in Hamburg to get Germans on to these ships. The agent was Mr Delius.
In 1848-49, four of their ships left Hamburg and arrived in Australia. The ships landed first at Port Phillip and then went on to Adelaide. The fourth German emigrant ship to arrive in Port Phillip was the Emmy, and she was one of the largest ships in Hamburg, being 554 tonnes.
The Emmy set sail on 5 September 1849 from Hamburg with 395 passengers who were nearly all assisted migrants. She also carried some cargo and provisions. Not many records are known of the journey, except that the ship called at no port on her journey to Port Phillip. It is presumed that she sailed via the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, as this was the route for sailing ships to catch
the westerly trade winds.
The Emmy arrived in Melbourne on 19 December 1849 - after a journey of 99 days - with six cabin passengers and 369 in the steerage. There had been a high rate of mortality on the journey, with 28 persons dying - seven female adults, five male adults and 16 children. There were two births.
Since 145 passengers went on to Adelaide, there must have been about 224 passengers remaining in Port Phillip. The passengers were landed and accommodated in the government immigration barracks where they were open for engagement. The names of those who disembarked, except for 34, are not recorded. The 34 were vinedressers and wine coopers who were ordered to come out.
Eventually, a settlement named Germantown, near Geelong, was founded by 10 of these families, numbering 37 persons, who came on the Emmy. They established a church and a school there. The name Germantown was changed to Grovedale during World War I.
It would appear from two reports in The Argus, a Melbourne newspaper, of 5 December 1849 and 20 December 1849 that the Emmy passengers were highly esteemed and all recommended by the agent, Mr Delius of Hamburg.
The Argus on Wednesday, 5 December 1849, stated that a meeting was held on German immigration. At this meeting, Mr Westgarth, an agent for the Emmy in Port Phillip, Melbourne, stated, `A vessel Emmy was shortly expected from Hamburg with about 400 German immigrants of a well assorted class, and suitable to the wants of the colony.' The main purpose of the meeting was to appoint a committee of a few persons who took an interest in German immigration to act in assisting the Germans on their arrival.
A second meeting was held on 15 December 1849 in which Mr Westgarth stated he had received a letter from Mr Delius saying the Emmy was to leave on 15 August. (She actually left on 5 September)
The South Australian register also reported:The Emmy had 400 passengers when she left Hamburg. Of these 30 died on the voyage to Melbourne of dysentery, diarrhoea and other disorders, pre-existing and incidental. The vessel appears a
pattern of cleanliness and order, and no complaints have been made of the provisions or officers. The general appearance of the immigrants and ship reflects the highest credit on the authorities. For a vessel of 554 tonnes, we think however, the number of passengers enormous. We have inspected the surgeon's list of dead passengers and found not only several presumed causes of death, but the mode of treatment adopted in each case. This is as it should be.
Below is a reconstructed list of the passengers who came out on the Emmy. There are no records that are known about the passengers who came to Australia on this voyage. The reason for this is that a desk clerk in Germany was ordered to make space in the filing cabinet, so all the records of the Emmy voyage were
thrown out.
On Emmy, under Captain J. H. O'Meyer:
H ANDRESEN*; S ANDRIESKE; G ARNDT; Fr BAENSCH; C G S BIESKE; J BISCHOFF; G BOCHEW; J G BOEHM; J G BONSAK*; W BORCHERS*; C L BUCHOLZ; G BURGEMEISTER*; C W BUERCKNER; M DIENHOFF; J G ELIX*; G EINSPORN; H FELLER; J G FIEDLER; G FINSTER; J C FRANCKE; W GEHLING; F W GEISSLER; S GERLACH; R GETZSCHMANN; S GOLDENBERG*; G GOGOL; GREGOR*; O GREUMERT; C GRUNWALD*; C HAFERKORN; H O HANASHKE; M HARTMAN*; W HECKER*; C R HELLWIG; C HEINBACH*; C HELD*; E A HENKE; J HEMMEL*; T HEMMEL; J G HERRRMANN; J C A HESSE; G HIELAND; W HOHN*; W & G JANKE; S KAEGER; J G KNATSCH; J KOBBEL; F W KOCH; L KOHN*; C KRUGER*; C KURGEMANN; LANGE; J F LEHNIG; J G LIMME; G F W LINDAU; T LINDENSCHMIDT; C MARAUN*; J A MARKERT; MEISS; G MARSCHNER; C W MILICH; J NICOLAI; J NITSCHKE; T ORTH*; H PAULKE; J PLAESCHKE; J
RADSPIELER; J G RAU*; C F E REIMANN*; C F S RITTER; S ROEHR; G ROSENZWEIG; G RUEDIGER; G RUSSACK; N SCHAEFER; W SCHEIMEISTER; E SCHILLER*; C SCHLIPALIUS; C E
SCHLOBACK; J SCHOBER; E SCHRODER;* J SCHUBERT; A SCHWABSCH; A SCHWERKOLT; B & A SEIDEL; A SEMKE; J G SIEBEL; G SOMMER*; L STARK*; C A H STORCH; C VOGES*; J W
WAGENKNECHT; W WAGNER; H W A WALTER; W WENSELL; J G WINTER; J G ZIMMER.
* Disembarked at Adelaide.