Lutheran Church Records in Australia

Archives
Lutheran Archives 27 Fourth Street Bowden SA 5007 Australia E-mail: lutheran.archives@lca.org.au Telephone: 08 8340 4009
 * Lutheran Archives
 * Genealogy and Family Research: The parish registers contain information on births, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, deaths and burials of people who were associated with the Lutheran Church. These are extremely valuable for family history research. To assist researchers a Church Records Computer Database Index has been prepared. A printout of the surname provides the researcher with an index to entries with that surname in the parish registers. This enables the researcher to quickly locate those records which may be useful. There is an additional charge for this service.
 * Computer printout of surnames in church records database: $5 per surname searched, plus $1 per page
 * Transcription of church register records: $6 per record (e.g. baptism record)

Societies

 * The Society of Australian Genealogists, based in Sydney, provides an expert and specialist family history service, and holds microfilms of records of churches of all denominations throughout Australia and overseas. The SAG sells copies of their microfilms to family history societies, historical societies, and libraries. Of those church and parish registers which have been deposited into the Sydney Diocesan Archives, the Society of Australian Genealogists has microfilmed the baptism, marriage & burial registers up to approximately 1930, and in some cases up to more recent dates. This was part of the "Joint Copy Project" records in conjunction with the National Library of Australia and the Mitchell Library (State Library of NSW). They have also borrowed registers directly from parish offices.

Writing to Local Churches
Birth, marriage, and death registers are kept at the current individual churches. Contact the current minister to find out what records are still available.
 * Lutheran Find a Church
 * Make an appointment to look at the records. Or ask the minister of the church to make a copy of the record for you.
 * To find church staff available, you might have to visit on Sunday.
 * Ask for small searches at a time, such as one birth record or a specific marriage. Never ask for "everything on a family or surname".
 * A donation ($25-$40) for their time and effort to help you would be appropriate.
 * If the church has a website, you may be able to e-mail a message.
 * See the Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy for help with composing letters.

Historical Background

 * The first Lutherans to come to Australia in any significant number were the immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in 1838 with Pastor August Kavel. This period in Prussia was marked by a persecution of "Old Lutherans" who refused to join the Prussian Union under King Frederick Wilhelm.
 * In 1841, a second wave of Prussian immigrants started, with the arrival of Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche. He settled with the migrants in his group in Lobethal and Bethanien (now Bethany) in South Australia. The Lutheran church of this period is referred to as the Kavel-Fritzsche Synod.
 * A split occurred within the South Australian Lutheran community in 1846, and two separate synods were established. The followers of Kavel founded the Langmeil-Light Pass Synod, and those of Fritzsche the Bethany-Lobethal Synod.
 * These two groups came eventually to be named the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia, which derived from the Bethany-Lobethal Synod, and the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia which was of the Langmeil-Light Pass Synod, and a number of other synods that had developed. These two denominations joined to form the Lutheran Church of Australia in 1966.
 * A significant influx occurred after World War II and migration also brought a number of Lutherans from other European countries.
 * As of 2009, the church had 320 parishes, 540 congregations and 70,000 baptised members in Australia and 1,130 baptized members in New Zealand.