"Taschen-Wörterbuch
Für Deutsch Sprechende Immigranten"
This pocket-sized dictionary was published in most of the Australian state capitals early in the 1960s. It included introductory information about Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne (public transport, CBD maps, sights etc), and advertisements from a variety of companies. The production of the book was financed by these companies. Many advertisements started off with a welcome to the immigrants. Housing companies, insurance companies, car sales companies, and companies seeking workers were featured in many of the ads. The dictionary also contained metric-imperial conversion tables and information about Australia's preparations for changing its currency to dollars and cents. Everyday expressions were also provided. The dictionary's long word list consisted exclusively of nouns, names for everyday practical things. Among the important words listed that any immigrant in Australia should know were: dagger (Dolch), pop gun (Knallbüchse), cartridge belt (Patronengürtel), rapier (Rapier), sleigh (Schlitten) and javelin (Speer).
Advertisements:
Chrysler car factory, South Australia
"Australia's most popular hat"
Spelling error in the German text: Autraliens should be Australiens.
J. Mott Motors, Western Australia
Info on the switchover to decimal currency in Australia
Two open pages from the dictionary for immigrants from German-speaking countries
(Percival Publishing Co. Pty Ltd. Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth [no date])