Members Of German Religious Group To Settle In Australia

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27196, 27 September 1949, Page 5

Members Of German Religious Group To Settle In Australia

NZPA—Copyright CANBERRA, Sept. 26. Some hundreds of members of the Temple Society (a German religious group from Palestine) have settled in Australia as migrants on the express condition that they do not form large alien colonies.

Announcing this in the House of Representatives, the Minister of Immigration, Mr A. A. Calweli, introduced a Bill to administer and distribute a fund of at least £3,500,000, representing Templar assets transferred from Palestine.

Mr Calweli added that the Templars were a religio-economic society, the original members of which migrated from Germany to Palestine between 1860 and 1870, and by means of communal funds established town and rural colonies. Because they remained predominantly of Gorman race and retained their German nationality, they were deported from Palestine when it became an important strategic area during the war. The Commonwealth Government accepted 574 of them as internees. After the war they were unable to return to Palestine and did not wish to go back to Germany. They applied to settle in Australia, and after an inquiry Mr Justice Hutchins, of Tasmania, recommended that 504 be allo’wed to remain and that 70 be deported or repatriated to Germany. This report had been acted on. Another 270 Templars, who had been interned in Cyprus during the war, had also been allowed to migrate to Australia. A great deal more valuable property remained to be liquidated in Palestine. Mr Calweli said that the farming skill and experience of the Templars would be of great value to Australian economy.