GERMAN MIGRANTS

Shannon News, 9 November 1926, Page 3

GERMAN MIGRANTS

- FIRST SINCE THE WAR. FIFTY ARRIVALS AT SYDNEY. INAUGURATING A SERVICE. SYDNEY, Oct. 29. Easily the most interesting arrival in the shipping world of Sidney during the last few months was*the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer Crefeld, of 9573 tons, from Bremen, which reached here early this week. There were on board about 50 German migrants, and the vessel is the forerunner of others which will run a regular service to Australia, should the first few voyages prove successful. It was the first German migrant ship which had arrived in Australia since the war broke out. The master of the Crefeld, Captain Thele, had a command in the German Navy during the war, and he has an interesting souvenir of the international conflict on his writing desk. It Is a paper weight of pig tyon- —part of that which formed ballast of the famous cargo submarine Deutschland, which ran the gauntlet of the Allied Fleets from B,remen to New York and back -durinf the war. The paperweight was a gift to Captain Thele from Captain Konig, t master of the Deutschland, who is now one of the heads of th*e Norddeutscher Lloyd line.. , Fares Paid by Relatives.

Captain Thele said that most of the 50 migrants on his ship had had their fares paid by relatives now in Austria. The working class in Germany had not the money with which to.migrate, though hundreds of thousands longed to settle overseas. With heA colonies gone, Germany had no .official migration policy, and those •leaving ,the country were lost to her.

The Crefeld was. specially fitted for the run to i Australia. It has accommodation for 34 cabin passengers and 90 third-class, but provision can be made for 700 migrants. The sailors and stewards are paid about £5 per month. In every inch of the vessel there was the mark of German thoroughness, and her appointments attracted considerable attention among the habitues of the waterfront, both here Melbourne. There were pot-plants- decorating the companionways, and from stem to stern the veasel shone with polish. The deck cabins were large and airy, but more surr prising was the good accommodation for third-class passengers. There were well-equipped saloons and an operating theatre. Every man on the ship spoke some English, though it was stated that some of the younger migrants did not know a word of the language when they boarded the vessel at Brerpen. SOme of them had picked up enough during the ! voyage to make their needs understood when they arrived here. ' An Interesting Reunion. An' interesting meeting at Melbourne was that between a man, his wife and three sons, approaching manhood, and the first-named's brother, who is a naturalised Australian. The brothers had not met for 20 years. The Australian brother could hardly speak a word of German and the German could hardly speak English. They did their fraternal greetings with large-handled glasses of beer in the, ship’s saloon. ©This family was bound for the Australian brother’s farm in Western Victoria, and no doubt in a few years’ time will own a farm of their own.