Jørgen

Jørgen, the second son of Jørgen (Snr) and Thuridur Torina Magnúsdóttir (aka Magnússen) was born on 24 July 1840 at Hundslev, a small village in Notmark parish, Island of Als, Slesvig province in Denmark. Jørgen was confirmed on 4 March 1855 in Notmark's parish of Our Lady's Church (photo below), which takes its name from the middle ages when Catholicism was practised before the reformation of 1536. Parson Holger Christian Clausen Fangel annotated the confirmation register with these remarks against Jørgen's name - Knowledge and behaviour: excellent; father deceased. Christian, born in Iceland, was his elder brother.

Slesvig, where Jørgen was raised, was a region subject to some tension between Denmark and Germany and the battles that followed are clearly the reason for Jørgen's later decision to emigrate to Australia. Administratively, the Kingdom of Denmark is divided into several districts and Als, in the district of Sønderborg, was in the former Duchy of Slesvig which, together with the Duchy of Holstein, were the subject of bitter conflict during the 1800s. The German Liberal speakers of Slesvig (spelt Schleswig in German) wanted a free constitution and affiliation to Holstein and the German Federation of which Holstein was a member. On the other hand, the Danish National-Liberal movement (from which the Eider Policy emerged) demanded Slesvig be incorporated in the Kingdom of Denmark—the river Eider being the proposed boundary between the two duchies. This policy was adopted in 1848 when the Schleswig-Holsteiners resorted to arms and rebellion resulted in Prussia aiding Schleswig-Holstein against the Danes. The Prusso-Danish War ensued for 2 years from 1848 with agreements being reached in 1851 and 1852 resulting in the 1863 separation of Holstein. Under the terms of the November Constitution, Slesvig was annexed to Denmark. 

War erupted again between Denmark and Prussia/Austria in 1864. Denmark was defeated and Schleswig-Holstein was surrendered to Prussia and Austria. Thereafter, the Danes concentrated their efforts on internal affairs, instituting important economic changes (in particular, specialisation in dairy production) that transformed the country from a nation of poor peasantry into one of prosperous smallholders. This situation continued until after a plebiscite in 1920 when north Slesvig was reincorporated into Denmark.

Queensland’s Efforts To Attract Immigrants

The Scandinavian Diaspora

In a concerted effort to populate the land with European settlers, Queensland’s colonial administrators had earlier enacted a pioneering immigration policy between 1860 and 1901. Before Federation in 1901, Queensland’s assisted passage schemes for non-British settlers in particular – mainly Germans and Scandinavians – encouraged newcomers to land in Queensland ports thus boosting regional populations. Many non-British migrants made good use of free or assisted passages throughout the 1870s and 1880s. The Queensland government circulated considerable information in Scandinavia as well as posting advertisements in newspapers to inform the Nordic populace of Queensland’s boundless opportunities. Despite such efforts, prospective immigrants from poverty and servitude arrived on our shores often still unprepared and lacking vital knowledge of what to expect. As one Danish carpenter noted in Missing Friends of his voyage from Hamburg in 1871:

What a motley crew we were: Germans, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, a Russian Finn, and an Icelander. There were many nationalities, but in the majority of cases extreme poverty was evident in their dress and stamped upon their faces, and it was easy to see that the same spirit of recklessness which filled me had somehow also been instilled into them. Nearly everybody had guns, revolvers, and knives, which were promptly taken from us as we stepped on board … None of us knew anything about Queensland, and many were the surmises and guesses at what the country was like and what we were going to do there.

In terms of settlement nationally, by the 1870s Queensland had become the prime focus of many Scandinavian sojourners. Following the arrival of the first assisted Scandinavian contingent to Maryborough in 1871, immigrant numbers increased at an astonishing rate.

On arrival, new immigrants disembarked at several of the main ports, including Brisbane, Maryborough, Mackay, Bundaberg and Townsville, where they were lodged in immigration depots before gaining employment. With most of Queensland’s Scandinavians being of rural and agricultural origin – and often destitute, requiring assistance to make the journey – they were particularly suited to taking up the government’s offer of land, eventually selecting plots and founding small farming settlements in the pioneering south-east corner of the state, particularly near Bundaberg, Mackay, Nikenbah, Pialba, Tiaro, Tinana, Kingaroy and Laidley.

Pioneering Queensland, it seemed, was involved in a wide social experiment in adapting the ‘hardy Norseman’ to the trials of the Australian scrub while at the same time aiding in the State’s economic development. One new settler noted the prosperous migrant communities that grew in the farming hinterlands of south-east Queensland: …

I was one of the Danes who in 1875 selected land in the Pialba district. We were upwards of forty Scandinavian families, and more arrived later. Most of these early settlers are there still. The dense forest has disappeared, and the district presents a beautiful landscape covered with luxuriant fields of maize, sugar plantations, and vineyards.

Despite its best efforts at attracting northern European migrants, the Queensland government faced significant difficulties in promoting the colony to an uninformed and wary Nordic population. Of significance was the simple lack of immigrant knowledge about Australia, let alone Queensland. To complicate matters, Queensland’s harsh and hot environment was deemed difficult for such migrants to endure. According to one writer, P. B. Hansen, living conditions in Queensland were particularly severe, frequently causing already established Scandinavians to leave Brisbane for southern cities, seeking opportunities elsewhere. Furthermore, unfavourable reports from unsuccessful and unhappy migrants began to appear in the Scandinavian press, as the Nordic governments attempted to stem the excessive emigration of their citizens at a time of rapid late industrialisation. As a result of this negative backlash and generally poor results, the assisted migration program was eventually scrapped in 1901, and later emigrants had to pay a full fare.

In Search Of A New Life

After years of struggles and unrest, many Danes looked elsewhere for a new life in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Jørgen chose to resettle and sailed from the German port of Hamburg on 20 April 1871 bound for Australia aboard the Friedeburg under the command of Captain Kopper. Shipping records indicate that other Danes of the same name also arrived around this time but I have not attempted to prove whether they were related. Danes comprised about 70 per cent of the 3-4000 Scandinavian immigrants who arrived in Queensland between 1870 and 1880 under the State Government's free passage scheme.

Jørgen’s Free Passage (top right) aboard the Friedeburg (second right). 

Jørgen, aged 31 years, arrived in Moreton Bay (now Brisbane) on 12 August 1871. On arrival, The Brisbane Courier of Tuesday, 15 August reported that - In all they number 353 ... [and after] ... 110 days ... The hearty manner in which they commenced cheering and singing before reaching the wharf shows at least that they arrive in good spirits, and with an evident determination to appreciate their new home.

THE BRISBANE COURIER, TUESDAY,
AUGUST 15, 1871, SHIPPING ARRIVALS

August 12 - Friedeborg, 786 tons, Captain Kopper, from Hamburg.  Passengers: Mr and Mrs Anderson, Mrs Heinemann, Mr Kruse, and 301 in the steerage.

The German immigrants ex Friedeborg were brought up yesterday by the Settler, and certainly, as far as appearance goes, they promise to become as useful a class of settlers as have been received here under the Immigration Regulations for some time past.  They are a hardy looking lot, who appear to have been well used to work.  In all they number 353, including children, all, with the exception of 23, being free passengers.  Among them there are 29 female domestic servants and 144 farm laborers, the remainder being made up of mechanics of different trades.  Although the passage has been a lengthy one -- occupying 110 days -- the newcomers have enjoyed excellent health, and appear to have been well cared for.  The hearty manner in which they commenced cheering and singing before reaching the wharf shows at least that they arrive in good spirits, and with an evident determination to appreciate their new home.

(A later edition of the Brisbane Courier revealed that the Friedeborg sailed from Brisbane on August 20 1871 bound for Batavia).