Nothing like seeing the Best things in life being celebrated

 Ploughing the peat for all those centuries must have left some impression other than dirty marks on the psyche of us Wends

Wend all our crops failed , they gave us land, but we had no money SO we wend off to wonderful Australia . .

We Lou Modras had no really effective tractors (A steel wheel monster and another with only a drawbar and no linkage arms -- all Fordsons ) when our dad died on the farm in an accident with machinery in 1970 . It appeared to some that we ( the 6 young kids and mum) had nothing , but in reality we had everything we needed . .

Eventually we bought a brilliant Australian made road machine called a Chamberlain ( has a boomerang symbol still on the panels ) .

We yearned for relief and finally it came in the form of that beautiful mechanical beast with 2 seats , power steering ,remotes and three point linkage. Maybe you/yours yearned for relief too ?

Last year I

fixed it up and sold it - to whom I did not know

Last month it came hurtling at 60km /hr towards us on the Hamilton highway towing a new gypsy caravan .

What a double joy- to see it regenerated as i left it ( same paintwork ) for a new purpose and with the ancient Abrahamic promise of "the no home but here" promise over the barge board ( very Wendish ) .

The motto on the caravan ( Its in Latin and follows the emperors line ) reads " I came I saw I tented". Man it was travelling fast . Not bad for a 70 year old !

A sign of things to come .Less cars and a more versatile outdoors area

Repairing and repainting our unit in Ashwood has highlighted some of the sort of changes likely in cities in the future .
1. Being close to everything means many of the Unit holders no longer need cars   86 YO Les in unit 4 can, on his wheelie shop at Chadstone and get into and out of Woolworths ( 3 blocks away)quicker than he would if he had a car . No lugging of shopping bags - it all goes into the rack ( front and back) Car parks now a premium anywhere, even the younger owner of Unit 5 didn't bother replacing her car as she can catch  a bus then train or tram to anywhere she wants to go.

2. Outdoors areas need to be easy to use. By part roofing and raising the floor level,  the outside area has multifunctional features and can be easily accessed in any weather , which means  even the washing can be put out without worrying about it getting wet while you are away.

the sloping block in sound soils means there is space on the lower end for expansion into roof or under bedroom . Repainted inside and out this Unit requires little maintainance. Guttering done some years ago. New roof section

We own our inheritance to learn to celebrate it

Love the way the Queen ( who visited Australia in October 2011) symbolizes and practices things tangible and real - the commonwealth, encouragement and mutual respect ( including for our limitations ) .
I say this  to justify the following loose labelling in the picture  . My antecedents ( Sorbs ) come from the centre . Overrun by cabbage ,boring ,egoists,huns and with risk of permanent numb they found freedom and faith by accepting,  as possible,  all parts of their inheritance.

1959 Louis purchased land at Gruyere

1948 Louis B7C1D4 married Adrienne

You'll have to read the book for more

1946 Alf's family move to Melbourne

After the four boys came back from the war, son Louis and Tilly invested in a small poultry farm/orchard in Nunawading, Vic.  Tilly provided a new home for her sons while they explored new opportunities in Melbourne.  She and her sons became foundation members of Box Hill Lutheran Church and she served there in the Ladies Guild, in particular.

1944

Alf  B7C1 died unexpectedly of appendicitis in 1944, just as the government had decided to enlarge the properties in this very dry Mallee area .  Unexpectedly, though, for these innovators and conservation cup winners, they were not chosen to have an expanded area.  Along with others, they lost their farm.  Some of the older brothers naturally sought to retain the farm and their investment in it..  Compensation was meagre.  Alf’s family got less for the property after twenty years hard work than the amount they had brought into the area twenty years earlier. 

1930s The War Years

Four of Alf's B7C1 boys went off to War to defend Australia . When they came back they each added their savings to the dwindling kitty.  Some of them came back changed men, one never to return to work again, returning home to full time care of his mother.  

1927 Alf B7C1 and Tilly selected 790 acres in the Mallee

 For seventeen years after they were married in the Lutheran church in Gawler , Alf and Tilly worked on land near the family homestead area west of Kangaroo flat, raising up one girl and six boys, lots of flowers, yeast streusel kuchen, pasties and watermelons.

By the early 1900’s, though, the Modras had outgrown their small allotment, and were looking for new opportunities for growth and development. Many of Alfs brothers were seeking to make a living on 100 acres of very sandy and "poor ground" to the south of the main homestead . While it must have been tough for these families in this dry country ;-they were used to gardening, but in the more sustainable environment of the Spreewald. However as the 60th anniversary of their Dad's wedding showed in 1937, these families continued to relish the new opportunities in their new homeland. 
Not to be deterred by more mere hard work, this mature age couple, and their large teenage family, moved off to clear some more mallee scrub in the tradition of their father and grandfather. 

Their youngest son Max has compiled a outline of their life on an even drier farm of 800 acres in a booklet titled "On the Farm at Bambill ( July 2006)  You can read more in the Modra family book about the next move to Melbourne in 'Below the white blossom and abundant fruit " by J.L. Modra.   

1920

Something happened you tell me

1915

Something happened you tell me

1910

Something happened you tell me

1908 Birthday celebrations for Christiana

A large crowd of family and friends  turned up at Kangaroo Flat to help celebrate the blessings and life of Christiana on her 90th birthday . (Back page of the Modra book)

1903 Adolph B10 married Elizabeth

1900

something happened, but you tell me

1885 Fred B6 moves to Horsham, Victoria

1881 Will B9 marries Lena

1877 August B7 marries Johanna

August, the then baby of the family, spent his first night on the trip to Australia in an old boiler at the Port, his mother Christiana stuffing clothing into the rusted holes to keep out the piercing wind.  He was twelve months old..

In 1877 he married Miss Johanna Wilhelm of Mount Torrens, the ceremony taking place at Lobethal   A couple of years later, with a son of 15 months , the family took up land (131 acres) at Kangaroo Flat, where they remained. 

Strain and difficulty faced the young pair, for they had taken fortune in their hands and tackled the mallee scrub with just their own power -no horse, no vehicle; not even the ubiquitous barrow.

you can read more of their great story in the Modra Book (2004) The material courtesy of the  Bunyip News  

1876 Freiderich B6 marries Maria Domaschenz

1868

something happened not sure what - you tell me

1867 Christiana B5 marries Matt Lucas

1867 Martin B3 marries Louisa

1866 Christian B2 marries Catherine sets up feed and fertilizer business

Phosphorous imports started early at Christians siding at Port Adelaide

1865 Anna B4 marries Martin Kuhlmann settles Freeling

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 .

New premises for cutting

The northerners will have their work cut out this christmas- in more ways than one . Let's hope they get some time to share in some recreation like this

She's a big girl now

The scene was dramatic - what else would you expect from the davy babes. The entrance was magnificent and the dancefloor built to bounce and project - and all in their backyard .

April in Angelsea

What were the things you most enjoyed about celebrating together ?
- sharing
- the personal reflections
-Pastors and Mum's reflections
- getting to know each other again
- having communion together
- the volleyball
- the music
- the reminder of all things good

Agenda for Angelsea

Everybody - don't forget to bring one page/ picture of YOUR recent WORK/ family to be included as a momento of the day.
Programme

Friday 13th

from 5.00pm Arrive & Settle In
7.30pm A Special Celebration
9.00pm Supper

Saturday14th

8.00am Breakfast
10.30am Morning Tea
11.00am Volleyball Competition
(sign up for a team on the Notice Board)
12.15pm Lunch
2.00pm Gather for Birthday Afternoon Tea
3.00pm Birthday Formalities
3.30pm Recollections & Items for Grandma
6.30pm Tea
8.00pm Concert with Comps
9.00pm Supper

Sunday 15th

` 8.00am Breakfast
10.00am Morning Tea
10.30am Worship Service
12.15pm Lunch
By 5.00pm Clean Up and Head Off