1852 Modra Moves -The Start : Matthes and Christiana emigrate

The settlement pattern around Werben ,

First in a series . All Modras are related . As far as we know there are no other Modras even though in the Spreewald area in West Germany where Matthes came from in 1852,  there were people with longer names that include the prefix "Modra "and Modri .  Modras were tenant farmers who lived in small towns like Werben and took their cows out to paddocks and land worked nearby.
The Modras were part of a strong minority community of faith called the Wends ( or Sorbs )  who were deeply affected  by major changes to the  land ownership situation in their area at the time. Despite their poverty ( took them years to pay back their fares ) and sense of displacement ( they chose to leave ) this group of hard working peoples , with nothing much but their very own sense of identity celebrated life and faith in a way which was evident in the stories from the ship (Koch 1854 ), the focus of Christiana's celebration of her 90th in Kangaroo flat in 1908, and the response of  those who stayed back.  Across  the doorways in the area some years later you could  find "Bog dal Zognowane"  which means in their own unique language  " God gives his blessing ".These signs were put there  to celebrate the good news back from Australia and their own history. These free speaking Wends or Sorbs, as they known today ,weren't really typically " German " ; their unique sense of identity was an annoyance to both old and new Prussians for centuries  ( Hitler sent them to the front line and would not allow them to speak their own language ) . One of the earliest pieces of their literature was a translation of the New Testament into Sorb in 1548.   Their art ( pictured ) and music is a source of considerable interest in Europe today.

Matthes family were part of a large group of Wends who left the area in the 1850's to settle together( in not quite as close a fashion ) in  the Barossa area of South Australia.

Matthes and Christiana and their 7 children eventually settled at Kangaroo Flat  near Gawler in SA . 4 more children were born to the couple in Australia  . The family history was published by Lutheran Publishing House in 2004 with  children B2- B11 (ref Theo Modra) included. Great grandchildren's families are the main contributors to the book and the subject of the most detail of its 366 pages.-includes reunion photos, tours and sites.
Notable reunions of the families  occurred in 1908 (Christiana's 90th), 1937 ( August and Johanna's 60th) at the Kangaroo Flat homestead  and Tanunda in 2004 .Published accounts of the hardy pioneers reputation for many things , including the reality of  "Watermelon Town " were recorded  in The Bunyip Newspaper of Gawler in 1937. Many of us today still share the basis  for the excitement and enthusiasm that has brought the best out of them over the years .