Names
Australian Placenames of German Background
Altona, Victoria
Sign at Altona Beach, Victoria.
In 1841 24-year-old Robert William Wrede bought a pastoral licence (i.e. to run a farm and graze livestock) for land close to the water at what is now known as Altona Bay. At that time his homestead was one of only two farms in the area. He built a house there for himself and his wife, Mary Anna Hodgson, whom he married in Melbourne in 1843. A year later birth notices reported the birth of their first child at their home named Altona, on Port Phillip Bay. This is the first mention of an Australian Altona.[1] It was not unusual for the name of an early house to become the European name of the area itself.
R W Wrede was born in London in 1817 as the son of merchant Herman Wrede and his wife Mary Ann or Agnes. It is thought that Robert Wrede named his house Altona because of his father Herman’s connections with the area around Hamburg in Germany – specifically with the village of Altona on the bank of the River Elbe, and which is now a borough of the city of Hamburg.[2] The historian Susan Priestley wrote: "Although Herman Wrede was living in London at the time of Robert's birth, the German connection remained strong."
The 'German connection' is a suitable expression, despite the fact that Altona in northern Germany belonged to the Danish crown when Hermann Wrede lived in the area. From 1640 to 1864, Altona was under the administration of the kings of Denmark, in their role as Duke of Holstein. Nevertheless, although under Danish influence (e.g. currency), Altona remained culturally German and the language of official business, books and newspapers was German and the language of everyday conversation was German or the Low German dialect (Plattdeutsch).[3]
'Hamburg-Altona' sign on a platform at the railway station of Altona, Hamburg, Germany.
♦ Notes:
1. Priestley (1988), p.34
2. Priestley (1988), p.33, 35
3. Podolak, Martin. (2002). War Altona dänisch? Altonas Verhältnis zu Holstein und Dänemark vor 1864. In: Beiträge zur Altonaer Geschichte.
<https://altona.ws/beitr%C3%A4ge/war-altona-d%C3%A4nisch>
♦ Reference:
Priestley, Susan. (1988). Altona: a Long View. North Melbourne (Vic.): Hargreen Publishing Company in conjunction with the City of Altona.