Bethany (postcode 5352) is a small village in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

about 2 km south-east of Tanunda in the

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major list of wine-producing regions, wine-producin ...

. It was originally named Bethanien or sometimes Neu Schlesien – New Silesia, but was changed during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in an attempt to remove all German place names from Australia. Similarly, the German-language school was forced to close by the state government in 1917, with 60 students at the time. Bethany was the first German settlement in the Barossa Valley area. It was settled in 1842, by

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

immigrants who had leased land from

George Fife Angas George Fife Angas (1 May 1789 – 15 May 1879) was an English businessman and banker who, while residing in England, played a significant part in the formation and establishment of the British colonisation of South Australia, Province of South ...

. The large portion of these initial settlers arrived in 1841, with Pastor

Gotthard Fritzsche Gotthard Daniel Fritzsche (20 July 1797 – 26 October 1863)The gravestone has birthdate as 20 June 1797, not July ("''Geboren'' 20. Juni 1797"). was a Prussian-Australian pastor who became instrumental in furthering that religion in South Aus ...

on the '' Skjold''.

References

External links

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History of Bethany
{{authority control Towns in South Australia Barossa Valley Populated places established in 1842 German-Australian culture Silesian diaspora