Words of love - Australia, March 1954

Edith Eriksen - to her Mother

It was 1954 and Meta was getting old and increasingly frail. She wrote to her daughter about wanting peace. This letter is Edith’s moving response - in which she declares her everlasting gratitude and love for her mother. It was written one year before Meta died.

A letter home from boarding school - Australia, 1950

Marie Eriksen- to her parents

At age 14, Marie went off to boarding school at Presbyterian Girls College (PGC) in Warwick, Queensland. This was a big change for Marie - changing from living at home and attending a parochial local school, to boarding at a school recognised for academic achievement. As is apparent in this letter, she tackled the challenge with great joy gusto This letter was transcribed by Edith to share with her family in Germany. It includes words that she translated into German for them.

Corrupt doctors and communism - Australia, 1950

Edith Eriksen - to her Mother and family in Germany

It is 1950 and the communist scare dominated public debate in Australia. A local rumour that the family were members of the communist party reached Edith and she reached out to the local police for advice. Meanwhile Marie was ill at boarding school in Warwick, with the local doctor recommending she visit an expensive private doctor in Brisbane.

A day in the Maternity Ward at Royal Women’s Hospital - Sydney, 1936

Edith Eriksen - to her family in Germany

An excerpt from a letter describing the daily schedule in the maternity ward when her daughter Marie was born in October 1936.

Music in Murwillumbah - Australia, 1934

Edith Eriksen - to her Mother and family in Germany

In late 1934, Sverre and Edith had moved to Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales to start a business as a builder. They rented a spot of land were they built a temporary cabin. While the country was beautiful, Edith certainly missed life in Europe. And then there was the music festival

Early years in Australia - 1931 - 1932

Edith Eriksen - to her Mother and family in Germany

This is an collection of edited letters that cover 18 months of life in Australia. The letters describe life at a worker’s camp at Burrinjuck, NSW, during the depression era in vivid detail. There are descriptions of daily chores, challenges from not having access to money because banks had limited withdrawals, and encounters with lively characters. They also describe Sverre and her relationship with the Chaffer and Hindwood families whom they had befriended through their interest in birdlife. The letters were translated and edited by Marie, Edith’s daughter.

Travelling to Australia - 1929

Edith Eriksen (then Brandenburger) - to her family in Germany

These letters cover the Edith’s final preparations for her journey to Australia, her journey on the steamer Largs Bay from Southampton to Sydney and her arrival and marriage to Sverre in Sydney. The translation is available as a PDF file only. You can also see pictures from this journey.

A Christmas poem - Germany, 1922

Richard Brandenburger - to his daughter Edith

It was Christmas 1922 and Edith was about to leave home. They were living in Zittau, near the current border to Poland. Her father wrote this poem to take with her as she left to work in Helsinki.

A teenage letter - Edith - Norway, 1916

Edith Brandenburger (later Eriksen) - to her brother Leo

Edith was never religious, but in this letter to her older brother Leo from December 1916, it is clear that she enjoyed her confirmation and the gifts she received in Larvik, Norway.

A short history of the origins of the Brandenburger family - Germany

Meta Brandenburger - to her children

Meta wrote a short history of the origins of the Brandenburger family - sharing their life struggles and move from Germany and Estonia to Russia, how her grandfather was the illegitimate son of an Estonian nobleman, the tragedy of the death of her mother and Richard loosing siblings and his father to illness.

Guiding words from father to son - Norway, 1915

Richard Brandenburger - to his son Leo

This letter was written by Richard to his 16 year old son Leo after he had left Norway to study in Germany. In the letter he encourages him to live a virtuous life and warns him of the dangers of alcohol and, with some trepidation, the dangers of sex with women who make a living from selling it. At a later time he joined the emerging German airforce and became an engineer.