Cambrai Agricultural Museum Inc.

Location: 110km (approx.) north east of Adelaide

Population (in town): 95

District: Mid-Murray Council

Postcode: 5353

These pictures were scanned courtesy of Michael Severino, Cambrai Area School - 1995-1998.

Cambrai Agricultural Museum Inc.

St John's Lutheran School

On 6th August, 1911 the St John's Lutheran Church was dedicated and during that year the Rheinthal Lutheran school (situated about 3 kilometres north of Cambrai) shifted to the new and larger church vestry. Eventually the Lutheran school was closed in 1916 with the closure of all German church schools, and students were forced to attend the Rhine Villa Day School. (In 1918, due to anti-German feeling, the town's name was changed from "Rhine Villa" to "Cambrai".) In 1935 the Lutheran school re-opened and for various reasons it closed in 1955 and has not been re-opened. Following this the students attended the Cambrai public school. (During the same year the school became a "Higher Primary School" and in 1961"Cambrai Area School".)

After 1911:

~ 1916 - the school closed due to order of the government

~ 1922 - Pastor W. Westermann came and left for a "secular calling"

~ 1923 - Pastor T. Goessling was called

~ 1931 - Pastor Goessling died & Friedensthal ceased to be centre of parish

~ 1931 - Pastor E. Fischer took care of parish until 1935,

~ 1931 - the Lutheran day school re-opened teachers - W. Jansen, E. Ziersch, N. Hoff, R. Krieg, J. Pietsch, M. Liersch, E. Jericho, E. Burger & N. Klein

~ 1936 - the present manse was built - £585, [Main Street, Cambrai]

~ 1936 - Pastor Max Mueller called & resided in manse - Rheinthal then became centre of parish

~ 1952 - the church renovated - new pulpit, altar, font, lectern & chair installed

~ 1954 - Pastor Max Mueller left for Katanning [19 years]

~ 1955 - the school was closed & was never re-opened & Pastor C. A. Temme arrived

~ 1957 - Pastor Temme left after two years & H. Noack arrived

~ 1961 - more repairs done - laying cement, rebuilding of shed for Sunday School

~ 1967 - Pastor Noack left for evangelistic work on the railways & waterfront.

~ "St John’s, ELCA" merged with the "Church of Hope, UELCA" to form "St John’s Lutheran Church Cambrai Inc., LCA"

This crude structure is also part of the "Cambrai Agricultural Museum Inc." It was built in the early pioneer period in the 1850’s, and originally stood three km SE of the "Melrose Rhine Station" home. In 1845 George Melrose bought land near the Marne River. It then became the home for one of his shepherd families. Eventually, the government reclaimed it under a type of exchange deal, so Melrose was able to enlarge his property. The story is told that it originally had an iron roof, which was stripped off in 1860 before the Government terminated the lease on it.

In the early 1870’s the ownership changed over to J. S. Heinrich Pietsch when he bought the land. On 2nd October, 1890 he married Maria E. Vorwerk and they raised a family of eight; (one girl - Lydia - died in infancy) Martha, Heinie, Mary, Ernestine, Elizabeth, Ben, Hannah and Walter. In 1928 a lime stone concrete kitchen was built. The house was lived in until the mother died 1st August, 1939. Due to the "Government’s closer settlement scheme" many small farms proved to be unprofitable, which meant that many small acreages were deserted.

The three-room cottage is more than a century old and was originally a pug and pine "structure, with a flagstone floor base and an ironstone masoned chimney". It was also close to stock yards so would probably have been situated on a stock mustering centre.

In September 1972, it was dismantled by the members of the Cambrai Agricultural Museum and re-erected next to the current museum ‘church’.

Pug and Pine Cottage

Today the museum is operated and maintained by the Cambrai Agricultural Museum Inc. Committee and several members who are committed volunteers. The Archives hold a large amount of historical artifacts and documents relating to this area, dating back to the turn of the century. Most of the material would be of great value to anyone making a study of pioneering families and life styles of the Federation era. It is open to the public by appointment only.

"St John’s Rheinthal" by Philipp Scherer (a son of Pastor Philipp Scherer, a former pastor at Rheinthal), August, 1991, Tanunda.

"Pioneer Family ‘Way of Life Story’" by J. Walter Pietsch (a descendant of J. S. Heinrich Pietsch), January, 1978, and added notes.

"A Collection of History for the ‘Back to Cambrai’ Celebrations Held On 23rd September, 1967" by Martin Dunston (a former council clerk in Cambrai).

"64 Years With The Church of Hope Cambrai" by Jack Starick (a former member of "Church of Hope", Cambrai), 1967. Miscellaneous notes from special celebrations

"A Short History of Education in the Cambrai District 1888-1988" compiled by Michael Dunn (former principal of Cambrai Area School)

"Centenary Celebrated Cambrai Hall, November 16th 1991, A Brief History of Rhine Villa Institute 1891-1913" by the Archives Committee: - A. Hodges, G. Muller, H. Payne, J. Schirmer, C. Pietsch - collation, Linda Schmidt - typing.

"Once There was a very old Gum Tree", by David Herbig, Lutheran Publishing House, 1968.

(Some of these book can be purchased at