Anna Hundrack (born Rentsch)

The Hundrack family were amongst the first german settlers to migrate from South Australia to Portland in Victoria in 1852-53. Johann Hundrack and his wife Anna and their eight daughters had arrived in 1852 from Germany on the Helene together with the families of Burger, Rentsch and Mirtschin, these four families being a very close group. Anna Hundrack was Johann Rentsch`s sister. All these families were Saxon-Wends. On April 26, 1852 nine families left Rosenthal and nearby districts in South Australia to travel to Portland, Victoria where they had been told by one of the Henty brothers that there was good land available to be taken up. The Mirtschin family travelled by boat with the goods and equipment and the other eight families travelled overland. The passengers and flour on the boat arrived safely at Portland but the furniture and equipment were lost. Travelling overland took four weeks, averaging 20 miles per day. The older children and men walked. They took with them 52 head of cattle and 11 wagons. The group rented land at the Fitzroy River, near Heywood, about 35 km north of Portland. They had originally intended buying land there but found that all of the land had already been snapped up by the squatters or reserved for the township of Chiltern. The Huf and Petschel familes were first to make to move north to The Grange (Hamilton). They were followed by the other families during the following months. Land was purchased in the area near Chatsworth Road and the Glenelg Ballarat Highway and the Hamilton Highway area of Hamilton. Because of the high prices, properties were purchased by three of the settlers, Wilhelm Petschel, Johann Hundrack and Michael Deutscher, a total of 230 acres for which they paid a total of Pounds 1,359/17/-. The land was then divided between six settlers, one of them being Johann Hundrack. The Hundracks built the historical homestead `Poplar Valley` in 1852, situated on the Penshurst Road, on Hamilton`s outskirts. The homestead is believed to be the first built in the area. A book published to celebrate the centenary of Tarrington`s St. Michaels Lutheran Church Congregation, said the settlers bought some 92 hectares which included the present lot of 10.9 hectares. The land, later named `Poplar Valley` originally also included the site of the Lutheran Cemetery in Chatsworth Road. Before leaving South Australia, Johann Hundrack had been one of the nine signatories who signed the call sent to Pastor Schurmann for him to administer their spiritual needs in the new settlement in Victoria. Towards the end of October 1853 Pastor Schurmann and his family were transported in a wagon belonging to Johann Hundrack, from Portland to Hamilton.