The first German settlement area in Victoria was known as Westgarthtown.
Formed in 1850, it was located where the Melbourne suburbs of Thomastown and Lalor are now. Captain John Stanley Carr and Melbourne merchant William Westgarth bought this area of land with the aim of bringing out German immigrants who would lease the land until they had become naturalised and had enough money to buy their property. At the time, immigrants from countries other than Britain could not own land in Australia unless they were citizens.
William Westgarth believed that as German immigrants had already made a success of settlements in South Australia, they would be equally successful in Victoria.
Join me on this tour of the remaining original buildings of Westgarthtown and discover the stories of the families who lived and died here.
Figure 1. Author's own image
Figure 2. www.westgarthtown.org.au
