Born and raised in Adelaide, Ian is a third-generation German after his grandfather migrated to Australia in October 1882. However, he moved to Germany between 1960 and 1967 as he felt he ‘did not fit in’ by the local community; he did not feel comfortable with his German name as he was a target of abuse during his school days as Australia was at war with Germany.
“I was influenced by the ill-treatment by fellow Australians during my school days in the second world war and this shaped my future,” he said.
“SA has proportionately three times as many people of German descent than any other Australian state and their vilification during the war left many deep scars.
“The contribution of Germans to SA society had been swept under the carpet during the world wars including the changing of 69 SA German placenames.”
This lead him on a journey to search for his German roots in north Hamburg, where he taught English. On returning to Australia he received an MA on his work on German migration to SA from Hamburg and in 1987 he completed a PhD looking at the assimilation of Germans in SA.
Languages teach culture as well as language, he said. Organisations such as the MCCSA, whom he has been a member since 1999, have an impact on the wider Australian perspective; more people of Anglo background are often not aware of the contributions of non-English speaking persons and background.
A long-term contributor in the field of ethnic affairs, both in the academic and administration aspects, he has widely published on migration and multicultural positions in SA. He is a respected authority on the German contribution to SA and has lectured at The University of Adelaide, and taught overseas including United Kingdom, Italy and Germany, including the American Air Force School System, in Germany.
Ian was awarded the BVK, the German Order of Merit for his contribution to German-Australian understanding. He is currently the vice Chairman of the MCCSA and the immediate past Chairman of the German Speaking Aged Care Services. Ian has previously been President of the SA German Association, Chair of the School for the German Language and a member of the Multicultural Education Coordinating Committee.
