The LUTHERAN CHURCH is the largest and oldest Protestant denomination in the world, with approximately 80 million members.
MARTIN LUTHER was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century,
and his followers were given the name of LUTHERAN.
TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH - T.L.C. - is an outreaching and caring congregation which seeks to understand and be accepting of the special needs of all people:-
the needs of divorcees and single-parent families, welcoming parents with young children at our services, the worship preferences of young people, the needs of the elderly and the needs of people who wish to make a new start in life.
Our Pastor is Lloyd Boughen who has recently come to us after serving as Director for Mission, Victoria and Tasmania. He believes in "Open Ministry' - giving everyone a fair hearing. He has a special interest in Urban and Ethnic Ministry and in his rare spare time, fuchsias and bromeliads. Pastor Lloyd and wife Alison have three children. His office phone number is 848 1257.
Trinity Doncaster, forms a Parish with, Holy Trinity Ivanhoe.
History: Congregation
Trinity Lutheran Congregation is one of the oldest congregations in the City of Doncaster & Templestowe. Several German families migrated to this district in the early 1850's and purchased properties of twenty to thirty acres. Timber was cleared from what was known as the "Stringy Bark Ranges" and it was from the sale of this timber as firewood that the first income was earned. Fruit trees were planted as early as 1854. The name of the settlement was originally named Breslau but later known as WALDAU - "a clearing in a forest". The people had strong religious convictions, and from the time of settlement, services were held in private homes.
As early as 1856, an organized congregation existed with weekly morning and evening services held firstly in Mr. J.F. Straube's home and then later in the home of Carl Samuel Aumann (Carl Aumann Snr.).
FIRST CHURCH BUILT IN DONCASTER - 1858 - "WALDAU HILL", VICTORIA STREET.
Victoria Street was formerly named Bismarck Street.
On the 30th April,1858, a meeting was held in the home of Carl Aumann Senior, with eighteen of the settlers attending and it was there resolved to build a house of worship. This was to be 40 feet by 20 feet by 12 feet high, built out of wood and plaster with a shingle roof. Mr. J.F. Straube donated one acre of land around the German Cemetery for the church property. Total cost of the building was £48. The contractor for the building was carpenter Mr. A.C. Lenkersdorf. Voluntary work was done on several days by most of the members. The completed church was dedicated to the Glory of God by Pastor M.Goethe on the 26th December,1858. This building which was the first church built in Doncaster, became the centre of activity of the district, for on Sunday afternoons, settlers of English descent used the church for Services and Sunday School.
Two years later a bell tower was built at the north side of the Church to house a bell. The bell became an important part of the life of the community being rung at sunrise, sunset and midday, so that the congregation working on farms would know the time of day. The bell was pealed at weddings and it was tolled at funerals once for every year of the deceased's life.
The caretaker, who lived at the rear of the church, in addition to ringing the church bell performed many duties in the interest of the Congregation for the payment of £4 a year, plus four collections.
Church School
In April 1860, the members again met in the Aumann home, and decided to found a school, and invited Max Von Schramm to become the teacher. He was to be reimbursed from the fees paid by the scholars, but prior to his induction as teacher he was examined by Pastor Goethe to test his suitablility for the position and duly inducted on the 17th May,1860. Messrs. C. Aumann Snr, F. Meyer & G. Thiele were chosen to act as a school committee and were charged with the duty of inspecting the school every month. Fifty children attended the first picnic, held on Boxing Day.
The school, more spiritual than secular, remained until 1865, when the Church was replaced as the educational centre for the children, by a new school on Doncaster Road, a two-story brick building designed by Max von Schramm himself. This school became a "common school" owned by Schramm, but under the control of the Common Schools Board who paid Mr. Schramm and set the curriculum. The new Education Act of 1873, stressing "free compulsory and secular" education, abolished religious teaching in class. This made it impossible for Max von Schramm to continue as teacher in the Common School, and he established a congregational school in the single-story stone house he owned next door which is the building now known as "Schramm's Cottage". The Schramm family moved into this house at the end of 1875, and the school was dedicated and opened on the 6th November, 1876, by Max von Schramm, now Pastor Schramm. His two-story stone house had been sold to the Government in 1875, to become a state school. (No longer standing).
MAX VON SCHRAMM:
In December 1864, Max von Schramm married Miss Kate Pickering, (He was nineteen years her senior) daughter of Joseph and Eliza Pickering. Kate's father was the first Postmaster in Doncaster, and founding member of the Church of England Congregation in Doncaster Holy Trinity. Kate and her mother ran Sunday School at Holy Trinity Church and Max von Schramm was the Church Secretary.
Max von Schramm also led the group of men who built the Athenaeum Hall in Doncaster.
After teaching in the district for sixteen years, Max von Schramm was approached to be the first resident Pastor to the newly formed Lutheran Parish of Doncaster. Following the appropriate examination he was ordained and inducted by Pastor H. Herlitz on the 5th November, 1876. Besides caring for the Doncaster Congregation, Pastor Schramm conducted monthly services at Bayswater (Scoresby) and visited remaining members of the one-time flourishing Berwick Harkaway and Narrewarren congregation.
Pastor Schramm retired in 1907 and died in 1908. He was laid to rest in the Box Hill Cemetery; the Waldau Cemetery having closed in 1888.
Kate Schramm died in 1928, at the age of eighty -one.
NEW CHURCH - 1892 - 51 VICTORIA STREET, DONCASTER.
By 1891, the cost of keeping the Old Church in repair was so great that it was decided by the congregation to build a more substantial Church, and a piece of land,
300 metres south of the first church was purchased from the estate of the late Carl Aumann Snr. So strong was the attachment for the old church, and so many had become used to climbing the hill each Sunday, that there was a desire to see the new Church erected on the old site, but through the efforts of Messrs. Winter and Zander, it was eventually agreed that the new plan should be adopted. The new Church being built very near to where the first services were held. Pastor Max Schramm was the first resident pastor, having been accepted for that position in 1876. Prior to Pastor Schramm, the previous men who had served the congregation faithfully were:- Pastor M. Goethe (1858-1867) and Pastor H. Herlitz (1868-1876,).
One of Melbourne's leading architects, Mr.J.A.B. Koch was engaged to design the church which was built by Mr.G.W.Freeman. Total cost of the building, furnished, was £1303/4/4, and great was their joy that the building was opened free of debt. President Pastor H. Herlitz, officiated at the dedication ceremony on the 21st April, 1892. The procession from the Old Church to the New Church was led by the brass band (See Photo) of the congregation which also accompanied the hymns in the Church.
A white picket fence with two sets of gates was erected along the Victoria Street, boundary.
Baron Ferdinand von Mueller (Later Sir), Government Botanist and Director of the Botanical and Zoological Gardens, made a gift of some European trees to the Congregation. Two of these trees were planted at the front of the Church (See Photo), but as one remained stunted they were cut down and replaced by the existing Canary Island date Palms (Phoenix Canariensis) (Palm trees planted circa 1916.)
MANSE - 1909-53 VICTORIA STREET, DONCASTER.
Following the retirement of Pastor Schramm in 1907, the question of building a Manse became one of great importance. Mrs. Mary Fromhold presented an half acre of land which was adjacent to the Church and on the north side. This land formed part of the late Carl Aumann's former property, the Manse occupying the place where his old residence had stood, in which some of the first congregational services were held. The oak tree in the yard is the last exhibit of those early times. Mr. J.A.B. Koch was again commissioned to prepare the plans and the manse was ready for its first occupant, Pastor J.A.R. Held of the Basal Mission Society, Switzerland, in 1909.
The cost of the building was £750. An extension to the kitchen in the form of a family room was added to the Manse in 1977, with renovations and improvements to the existing building being done when necessary; the latest work being completed for our new Pastor, John Juers in 1988.
NEW ORGAN - 1917.
In 1917, the old organ (now on display at Schramm's Cottage) was replaced by a Spencer University, three manual and pedal organ and installed in the Choir gallery. This unusual organ has interested many organists, including the renowned, the late Dr. A.E. Floyd. The hand pumpers have since given way to electricity, and it continues to serve the Congregation today.
CHURCH HALL - 1932
As more adequate accommodation was required for the Sunday School, as well as the need for a meeting place for other Church groups, it was decided that a Church hall should be built. Architect, Mr. P.J.W. Murfett was called upon to design the building and it was erected by Mr.S.F. Hunt, at a cost of £645 (again debt free). District President, Pastor A.Jericho dedicated the hall on the 2nd October, 1932.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION CENTRE - 1976.
In 1958, when the Congregation celebrated its Centenary, a number of major alterations were made to the Church, costing in the vicinity of £2,000. However, in the late 1960's and early 19709s a need was felt for better facilities for the Congregation as suburbia expanded into Doncaster. After deliberation and planning it was decided to proceed with the building of a larger hall and a 'Kindergarten. This building costing approximately $90,000 was designed by Architect, Mr. V. Ziersch, and built by a high proportion of voluntary labour under the supervision of builder Mr. G. Orgill. The Foundation Stone was laid on the 29th June, 1975, and the completed building was dedicated in 1976.
Trinity Lutheran Kindergarten operates from this centre and the hall area is used by many community groups The hall was planned and constructed during the ministry of Pastor Paul Zweck.
SCHRAMM'S COTTAGE - VICTORIA STREET, DONCASTER - 1976.
In 1971, when it was learned that Schramm's Cottage, which had stood on Doncaster Road for almost a century was to be demolished, the congregation decided that the site of the former church (Waldau) with its burial ground should be returned to the Crown, under the trusteeship of the City of Doncaster and Templestowe, and this site should be reserved for historical purposes. Volunteers from the Doncaster and Templestowe Historical Society co-ordinated by the late Cr. Mrs.Muriel Green, and with the aid of Council and other interested people, dismantled the building and moved it to the new site. Architect engaged was the late Mr. Mark Wierzbowski. The stone house Schramm's Cottage" was opened as an historic centre on the 14th February, 1976. Since that time, the Doncaster and Templestowe Historical Society in conjunction with the City of Doncaster and Templestowe Council, have administered the project. Reconstruction of the original kitchen was organized by the Doncaster and Templestowe Historical Society with financial assistance from the Australian Bicentennial Authority and the City of Doncaster and Templestowe, and the official opening was performed on the 6th February, 1988.
Of special interest was the bread oven which was built on the outside of the chimney to keep smoke out of the kitchen, for it was warmed by lighting a fire inside the oven; it had no flue and the door was left slightly ajar to let air to the fire and let the smoke out.
The fire was lit with light wood and took about an hour to heat up. When hot enough the ashes were raked out and the oven swept clean ^ The dough being ready when the oven was hot enough. The bake oven was found by members of the Doncaster and Templestowe Historical Society, in an
old hut being demolished in George Street. The original hut was built by Mr. Wilhelm Zander in 1858. (Mr. Zander was a founding member of the Waldau Congregation).
All food cooked in Schramm's kitchen had to be carried along the verandah, through the front door and down the passage to the dining room.
DAWN SERVICE
Each easter day at dawn under the auspices of the Doncaster and Templestowe Historical Society, the Trinity Lutheran Congregation conducts a celebration service in the grounds of Schramm's Cottage, near the old cemetery. This service has now become quite popular and is attended by many non-Lutheran members of the community.
In keeping with past tradition the hymn singing is accompanied by a brass band and this adds a triumphant note to the greeting of "He is Risen- He is Risen Indeed".
WAR SERVICE
Men fromTrinity Lutheran Congregation served this country in both world wars. In World War 1, Ferdinand Thiele, Harry Fromhold, Hermann Zerbe, Walter Rieschieck and Fred Zerbe enlisted in the Army. Of these, Walter Rieschieck paid the supreme sacrifice. In World War 2, Allan Rieschieck and James Aumann joined the Air Force and Olaf Soderlund, Ray Simpendorfer and Victor Thiele served in the Army.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT.
It is interesting to note that the bond which existed between Holy Trinity Anglican and Trinity Lutheran in the days of Max von Schramm when he was secretary of the Church of England (Holy Trinity) is evident today with members from Trinity Lutheran, participating in the community project for homeless youth - Trinity Youth Housing Association Inc., - which was initiated by Holy Trinity Anglican. Congregation represented on the Doncaster and Templestowe Inter-Church Council.
Doncaster and Templestowe Community Nursing Home and Day Care centre - members of the congregation join the Pastor when a Service is conducted at the Centre.
CONCLUSION: PRESENT AND THE FUTURE.
Today, very little remains to remind us that this was a prime fruit growing area. The residential subdivisions which now occupy the sites which were once orchards frequently contain street or place names to remind us of previous names or ownership and we find:- Aumann Drive, Thiele Street, Lauer Street, Rieschieck's Reserve, Schafter Drive, Zerbe's reserve, Schramm's Reserve, Waldau Court, Waldau School, Fromhold Drive, Zander Court, Winter*s Way, Beavis Court and Old Orchard Wav to name a few.
Trinity Lutheran Congregation still includes descendants of the original settlers but apart from their name, there is now little to connect them with their German origins.
We are members of the Australian Lutheran Church. Trinity Lutheran Church - T.L.C. - though small in membership, covers a wide range of occupations and age groups, comprising people of many different nationalities e.g, American, German, Malaysian, English, Dutch South African, and of course, Australian.
Members are encouraged to be involved in telling others about Jesus Christ and what he has done for us and what we can do for others.
- SERVICE TIMES: - 11.am. Sunday.
- Sunday School - 9.30.a.m.
- Prayer Group - 10.45 a.m. Sunday
- Bible Study Group Fortnightly
- Ladies Fellowship - 2nd Thursday in Month - 1.15pm
- Family Fun Nights Saturday - Fortnightly
- Congregational Life - Caring for Members
- Pastor John Juers - Phone: 848.1257
- Elder Paul Keppler - Phone: 848.5183
- Publicity Delma Haack - Phone: 842.6546.
197 DONCASTER SCHOOL
Doncaster, originally a denominational school (1860-63) and later Common School No.197 (1864-74) was constituted a State School on the 1st of January,1875. The Lutheran controlled school opened on Waldau Hill (Victoria Street, Doncaster) under the superintendence of Pastor Mathias Goethe; the first HT, Max Schramm, later became the Lutheran Pastor.
On the 1st October, 1860, the school had an enrolment of 23 pupils. In 1864, the school was moved to Main Road, (now Doncaster Road.) occupying a brick building erected at Schramm's expense. Known as Common School No.197, this stood on portion of the land purchased by Max Schramm on 20th April, 1864. After its change of status to SS197, it remained on this site until 1886 when the land was exchanged for an adjoining block owned by Richard Serpell. The existing school has operated on this land since November 1886, but the area has been enlarged by the addition of land in 1954 from the Council Recreation Reserve. When the new brick building with accomodation for 158 pupils was being erected in 1886, HT A.0. Thiele (1876-96) asked the Department to transfer the bell from the old building to the new school. Habits die hard: "The residents of Doncaster have from their childhood been accustomed to the ringing of the bell on the old building... The bell served a practical purpose, for the people of Doncaster had no such thing as a post office, or railway clock in their district, and were consequently, dependent on the school bell for the regulation of their time-pieces.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Doncaster & Templestowe Historical Society Newsletter. Vol. l 1. No.l. August, 1977 - Trinity Lutheran Church.
- Historic Buildings No.36 - Irvine Green.
- Newsletter, Schramm’s 10th Anniversary Issue, March 1986.
- The Story of Schramms Cottage 1975 to 1986.
- Petticoats in the Orchard - Kate Schramm - Printed 198 7-Irvine Green.
- Schramms Kitchen - 1988 Irvine Green.
- DONCASTER a Short History by Eric Collyer and Ken Smith. Doncaster & Templestowe Historical Society 1981. PirstCliurdies.
- 75th Anniversary - Trinity Lutheran Congregation -1933.
- Centenary- Trinity Lutheran Congregation 1858-1958 Pastor H.Pech.
- History of Trinity Lutheran Church, Doncaster, Order of Service at unveiling of Commemorative cairn and plaque to mark the site of first Church building, and first Lutheran Church Doncaster. Donation of acre site to the City of Doncaster & Templestowe to be preserved for historical purposes. One hundred years of local government, the Centenary of the City of Doncaster & Templestowe. The commencement of a new Christian Education Centre for Trinity Lutheran Congregation - Pastor Paul Zweck, 29th June, 1975.
- Landscape Australia 2-1988 MAY Name and Title of Baron Sir Ferdinand von Mueller, whose remarkable career added more to botanical science in Australia than was ever achieved, before or since, by one person.
- Graham Butler, Architectural Historian - J.A.B.Koch, Architect. Designer of many notable buildings and in particular a house designed for the Cobb & Co., founders -"La Bassa", Caulfield (Nat. Trust)
- Visions and Realisation Vol.l. - A Centenery History of State Education in Victoria, by LJ.Blake.
WITH THANKS TO:-
- Irvine Green, President of Doncaster & Templestowe Historical Society. Pastor John Juers, of Trinity Lutheran Church.
- Graham Haack, Ruby Keppler (nee Aumann),
- Jan Keppler and Hilda Kuhne (nee Schafter), for their interest and guidance. Don Bertrand - Cover Preparation.
- Irvine Green - Photographic reproductions.
PASTORS WHO HAVE SERVED TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH.
- Hermann Herlitz 1868-1876
- Max von Schramm 1876-1908
- Richard Held 1908-1912
- Gottlieb Hegelau 1912-1915
- Albrecht Fehlberg 1915-1920
- John Simpendorfer 1920-1947
- Phillipp Scherer 1948-1954
- Herman Pech 1955-1965
- Dr.Maurice Schild 1965-1969
- Paul Zweck 1970-1975
- Edwin Koch 1975-1982
- Noel Uebergang 1983-1986
- John Juers 1987-1993
- Lloyd Boughen 1993-
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