Transcripts

There are thousands of letters dating from 1914 until 2016. Transcribing them all will take time.

The letters are being transcribed and added to this site in stages. They will be grouped into collections. Summaries have been added to indicate the scope of content and the overarching narrative contained in them.

A selection of letters is available in English on the Letters page.

Note:

The transcripts are in the original language and spelling used by the authors (mainly in German, Norwegian and English) have not been edited.

Summaries have been added to indicate the scope of content and the overarching narrative contained in them.
Most of the letters are written by hand, with earliest letters written in Sutterlin script and later in cursive. Some typographical errors will be the fault of the transcriber and not the author. Any text that cannot be read by the transcriber is copied into the transcription.

Collections of transcripts:

1928 - 1940: Coming to Australia

Edith was living in Helsinki when she prepared for her moved to Australia. She worked in an office, enjoyed the cultural life of the city and was a member of the Helsinki Balalaika Orchestra. The idea of moving to Australia to join her great love, Sverre Eriksen, was both exciting and made her a bit anxious. These letters describe the final preparations and her trip to Australia, her marriage and experience in workers camps in Australia during the depression, the birth of her daughter Marie, and finally finding home in northern NSW as Sverre starts to establish himself as a builder. You can see pictures of the journey and early days in Australia.

1939 - 1946: Journal of life in Germany

The start of the second world war meant it was impossible for Meta Brandenburger to correspond with her daughter Edith in Australia. That didn’t stop her from writing. Throughout the war years she kept a journal of everyday life which she later sent to her daughter.

1946 - 1954: Letters from Australia

The war ended and Edith was finally able to connect with her family in Germany again. In her letters, Edith tells her family about her daughter Marie’s experience in school (locally in Coolangatta, Presbyterian Girls College in Warwick and St Peters Lutheran College in Indooropilly), continuing financial woes, and plans to move to Norway and be closer to the family.