AUSTRALIANA Family History Genealogy Local History South Australia –
The Fielke family has deep roots in South Australia, with a documented history tracing back to Prussian immigrants who arrived in the region in 1857. Over the generations, the family has contributed significantly to local agriculture, sport, and business across the state.
Key Historical & Notable Figures
- The Pioneer Generation: Johann Gottlieb Fielke (born 1829 in Prussia) migrated to South Australia aboard the Peter Godeffroy in 1857 and farmed in the Dutton and Wheal Barton areas.
- Cricket Bat Making: The Fielke family is renowned for a historic Adelaide Hills German tradition of hand-crafting cricket bats. Laurie Fielke was the state’s only bat maker until 1987, a trade continued by his son Ron and grandson Noel (a former state cricketer for South Australia).
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Part One: The Fielke family history with a focus on the origins and early history of the Fielkes who settled in South Australia. The book has been divided into four parts. Part One deals chronologically with the lives of Gottfried Fielke, his wife, and their three children who came to South Australia. The other three parts describe genealogically the lives of the 25 grandchildren and 95 great grandchildren of Gottfried Fielke.
Includes brief historical information about the village of Guntersberg near Crossen on the River Oder in Prussia (Germany), and some South Australian towns such as Mount Torrens, Blumberg, Truro, Dutton, the Murray Flats and the Loxton district in South Australia, which all form part of the “Fielke cradle”.
Part Two : the Family of Wilhelm and Dorothea Fielke [local history] Robert J. Fielke.
Annotation. Two sons and a daughter of Gottfried and Maria Fielke, Wilhelm, Gottlieb and Ernstine Fielke, emigrated from Prussia to Australia in the 1880s and settled at Mount Torrens in the Adelaide Hills.Wilhelm Fielke established himself with his family at Mount Torrens, while Gottlieb Fielke and his family made their home at Dutton near Truro and Ernstine Quast, nee Fielke, and her family settled on the Murray Flats.Part Two of The Fielke Cradle focuses upon the lives of the six children and 23 grandchildren of Wilhelm Fielke and his wife, Dorothea nee Hennig. Children of Wilhelm and Dorothea Fielke married and ventured from their home at Mount Torrens to Tablelands, Dutton, the Murray Flats, Loxton and Murray Bridge in South Australia and Broken Hill in N.S.W. The eldest returned to Mount Torrens. Several of the grandchildren went further afield to Western Australia and New South Wales.The 130 pages of Part Two are illustrated with 108 photographs and six maps. They are followed by a list of 1367 names in the family tree of Wilhelm and Dorothea Fielke and an index.
Part Three: “Describes the lives of the six grandchildren and 30 grand children of Gottlieb and Wilhelmine Fielke. Descendants in subsequent generations are listed in the family tree at the end.” pp. 185
Part Four:” Describes the lives of the 13 children and 42 grand children of Ernstine and Wilhelm Quast. Descendants in subsequent generations are listed in the family tree at the end.”
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