They were Lutherans who left Prussia in the 1840s, migrating to South Australia in a wave of souls seeking religious freedom without interference from the state.

In early October 2009, Evan Klemke and his family celebrated 125 years of farming at Hillview, Alma Park.

His great grandparents Gottfried Julius and Maria Klemke had moved to Edgehill in 1884. From this time, the Klemkes were active in the Lutheran congregations at Edgehill and Pleasant Hills. Gottfried and Maria built a church at Edgehill and are buried there in the old church yard.

Evan and Rosslyn- Klemke’s son Adam and his wife Megan are the fifth generation of Klemkes to farm Hillview.

He attributes their staying power and achievements to generations of Klemkes “putting God first in their lives.”

“We still have faith in God and attend church each Sunday,” Evan Klemke said.

The first of his ancestors to reach Australia, Johann Gottlieb and Anna Rosine Klemke and their three children took their first steps on Australian soil, on October 28, 1841.

After settling in as a church Elder and landowner at Bethany and later Light Pass, the senior Klemke, his wife and adult children made the decision to uproot and find more suitable farming land in NSW.

Poor crop harvests and the high price of buying more land had persuaded him to take action. He had checked out the farming lands around Jindera on a previous visit to NSW. The farmers trekked across country to NSW attracted by the availability of larger land parcels at cheaper prices.

The Klemkes settled on the western side of Petries Creek in 1869 over a kilometre away from where the township of Walla Walla is today.

Father Klemke as he was known had been ordained to administer sacraments and fulfil the role of spiritual adviser during the trek.

As thousands of acres of good farming land were locked up in the Walla Walla Station, his son Johan Gottfried and Mary Klemke moved further north to the Henty district.