Some people may find content on this website distressing.
Read more
Northern Territory - Organisation
Hermannsburg Mission (1877 - 1982)
-
School house, Hermannsburg Mission, Finke River, Northern Territory, 1947 [picture], 1947, courtesy of National Library of Australia.
DETAILS
- From
- 1877
- To
- 1982
- Categories
- Lutheran, Mission Boarding School, Mission, Home
- Alternative Names
-
- Finke River Mission Station
The Hermannsburg Mission was established on the banks of the Finke River by Lutheran missionaries from the Hermannsburg Missionary Society and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia in 1877. The missionaries established a school and dormitories for children in the late 1890s. It operated under Lutheran control until 1982 when the land was returned to the local Arrente people.
Read more
Less
The Hermannsburg Mission was established on the banks of the Finke River by Lutheran missionaries from the Hermannsburg Missionary Society and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia in 1877. It was the last and longest-running Mission run by the Lutheran Church in Australia.
A School House was built at the Mission in 1896 and separate dormitories for boys and girls erected during the period 1894-1904. Children were rewarded for attending school via the distribution of rations. Missionaries learned the Arrente language and translated much of their spiritual and other educational materials, to ensure that their teachings were understood.
In the 1930s the Mission fully maintained approximately 100 children.
Hermannsburg Mission operated under Lutheran control until 1982 when the land was finally returned to the local Arrente people. The Hermannsburg Historic Precinct was included on the National Heritage List on 13 April 2006. The database record for the Precinct provides a detailed history of the Mission.
The buildings that were the School House and boys' dormitory were still standing in 2014. The girls' dormitory was destroyed by fire in 1954.
Locations
- 1877 - 1982
- Location - Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission was situated at Finke River
- Item Title
- Copies of review inspection reports - Hermannsberg [Hermannsburg], Oenpelli, Yirrkala, Elcho Island, Groote Eylandt, Finke River, Roper River, Milingimbi and Port Keats (1959)
- Date Range
- 1959 - 1959
- Reference
-
E763, R2
[National Archives of Australia Reference Number]
- Contact
-
Please contact National Archives of Australia - Darwin Office:
Postal Address: PO Box 24, Nightcliff NT 0814
Phone: (08) 8924 7666
Email: archives@naa.gov.au
Website: https://www.naa.gov.au/visit-us/northern-territory
DETAILS
- Collection Title
- Family database for Aboriginal Lutherans of Central Australia (1900s - 1980s)
- Date Range
- 1900 - 1980
- Reference
-
-
- Contact
-
Please contact the Archivist at Lutheran Archives:
Address: 27 Fourth Street, Bowden SA 5007
Phone: (08) 8340 4009
Email: lutheran.archives@lca.org.au
Website: https://www.lca.org.au/departments/ministry-support/lutheran-archives/
DETAILS
- Collection Title
- Records held by the Lutheran Archives (1838 - )
- Date Range
- 1838 -
- Reference
-
-
- Contact
-
Please contact the Archivist at Lutheran Archives:
Address: 27 Fourth Street, Bowden SA 5007
Phone: (08) 8340 4009
Email: lutheran.archives@lca.org.au
Website: https://www.lca.org.au/departments/ministry-support/lutheran-archives/
DETAILS
Hermannsburg Mission
School house, Hermannsburg Mission, Finke River, Northern Territory, 1947 [picture]
Find out what these words mean