Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest

Q is for…… .Quilts
When I started working on the posts for this years A-Z Challenge I wondered what I could use from my own experiences or research to cover the letter Q. 
I sat and pondered back to a day when I visited Parliament House in Canberra and to the experience of viewing The Great Hall Tapestry. 

The tapestry is incredible and took the weavers two and a half years to create it. Halley’s Comet was added to the tapestry in order to date it, as the comet was passing through during the time the tapestry was created. 
The thoughts and reminiscence of the tapestry lead to me my think of the Rajah Quilt which was sewn by a group of convict women as they sailed to the Colony.
From the brief research I have done and email communication with a descendant of someone who sailed on board the vessel, I have gleaned that the quilt was returned to England after it had been completed by the women. It was obtained by the National Gallery of Australia in 1989. It is now in a very delicate condition and is shown just once a year in order to protect it for future generations.
In 2010 The Victoria and Albert (V & A) Museum in London hosted an exhibition Quilts 1700 – 2010. As part of the exhibition the Rajah Quilt made a rare appearance. A application of the event including photos has been produced and is available from iTunes. Having purchased the application it runs quite happily on both my iPhone and iPad.

Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia

There is a rather nice video of some close up shots of the quite via the National Gallery of Australia’s website – HERE
The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE

P is for…… Prussia
Continuing the family of my late Cousin’s wife. You can read earlier posts that connect to this family HERE, HERE & HERE.
The Hartwig’s, Hohnberg’s, and Noack’s migrated from Prussia. This was apart of Europe that I actually knew little about and the first things I did were to locate a map of the region.

Courtesy of the Wendish Heritage Society of Australia

1. Religion – Government Policy stopped the population from being able to follow their chosen Religious Worship in their own way. There had been migration because of this issue from the 17th Century and the destinations of choice at that time was the UK, USA and Russia. The Old Lutherans from the Prussian provinces of Silesia, Bradenberg and Posen who migrated to South Australia in the 1830s. They opposed King Friedrich Wilhelm  III enforced union with the Calvinist Church and disagreed with the new prayer book.
2. Economics – Following the end of the Napoleonic War there was an increased workforce as soldiers returned home and their became a shortage of land and work. Gradually prices started to increase, yet the wages did not.
3. Political – There was compulsory military service which is was ultimately disagreed with by the masses. In 1848 there was a failed Revolution. The masses wanted to create a United German nation with an Emperor. The masses also wanted a democracy and to have an elected Government that would be responsible for Parliament. 
4. Social – Changes to social standing within a community was instrumental. Changes occurred due to a selection of reasons, farmers because of the economic climate becoming labourers, sons of wealthy farmers inheriting a proportion of the estate as it was shared amongst family members. Whilst individuals could do OK, there were curious whether they could do better in another land. Many Germans migrated in the Gold Rush period.

O is for…… .Orlando
In 2002 I registered the surname of Orlando with the Guild of One Name Studies. A name which has great presence in Italy as one would expect. The most occurrences of the name outside Italy is in the United States, some occurrences in the United Kingdom, and then across the globe. Australia is no exception.
At the start of the study it was important to have a general understanding of the geography of Europe and where European borders changed. An example of this is the population of Italy in the area that lies adjacent to Switzerland in fact became Swiss. This behaviour is not uncommon and the same happened in parts of Germany and Poland. 
Furthermore, Italians have been known to walk across Italy into neighbouring countries. Some remained in those neighbouring countries such as France, others travelled onwards to board boats to England, others boarded boats in Italy and sailed to the United Kingdom or to the United States. Some travelled as far as their legs and money would take them. Then they made a choice of whether to work to save for their initial plans or remain where they were. Post the Second World War, there was a real influx of migration from parts of Europe; especially Germany, Poland and Italy. 
One of the things that really stands out, as I research an Italian name is how the nationality is recorded. An example of this is from the National Archives of Australia. It reveals an individual who sought refuge in Australia with the surname Orlando. His nationality is recorded as Swedish. 
The links that Australia has had with the United Kingdom, meant that as the United Kingdom entered into War with Germany and her allies in the Second World War, there would be repercussions of how immigrants were viewed. Therefore we had people who had left Italy, Germany and alike prior to the war, being interned. The same happened in the United Kingdom and of course the same happened in Germany. Some choose to amend their name, so a Giuseppe Orlando, might become Joseph or Jo Orlando. Tweaks to surnames happened too and therefore Giuseppe Orlando becomes an Joseph or Jo Orland. 
For those reasons it is important to have an understanding of the history and geography of Europe as this might explain the sudden disappears of an individual and the emergence of someone apparently new.
The link for the A-Z Challenge 2011 post is HERE