Kakoschke Australia
The story of the arrival of the Kakoschke family in Australia
From Prussia to Australia
The story of the Kakoschke family in Australia begins on the 4th of September 1851 in Eastern Europe, in what was then the Kingdom of Prussia. On that day in 1851, in a small hamlet called Rädnitz on the north bank of the Oder River, Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Kakoschke was born. He was the second son of Johann Georg Kakoschke and Johanne (nee Redlich).
Regrettably, very little is known about the family in “The Old Country”. It is known that Johann senior was a farmer and that he was born in 1817 near the town of Groß Blumberg, some 14 kms to the east of Rädnitz. His wife Johanne Redlich was born in 1823 in the village of Briese, which is 17 kms east of Rädnitz.
Map showing the area surrounding the village of Rädnitz (c1850)
This region has been a part of several different countries over the centuries. Nowadays it is part of Poland, roughly 35 kms to the east of the German/Polish border. Rädnitz is now known as Radnica, Groß Blumberg is now called Brody, Briese is Brzezie and Crossen (an der Oder) is Krosno Odrzanskie, Poland.
Rädnitz and vicinity in the 21st century
No doubt some of the farmland depicted in the map was worked by Johann and his ancestors. The land may well have belonged to the family for quite some years. Although several attempts to find any official written records of Johann senior and his family, in either German or Polish archives, have thus far proved almost fruitless, it is known that a Michel Kakoschky was living in Groß Blumberg in 1718, when King Friedrich Wilhelm I had a census taken. Michel may have been an ancestor of Johann. Coincidentally, there was also a Michel Redlich living in Groß Blumberg in 1718. Perhaps he was one of Johanne’s ancestors.
To give an idea of the size of the town of Rädnitz, the population in 1880 was 841 inhabitants living in 115 houses. It was part of the Standesamt (registry office) Kahmen in the Kirchspiel (Parish) of Rädnitz.
The only official record found so far in German Archives is of Johann’s departure from Hamburg. It’s worthy of note that the clerk at the emigration office spelled his surname as Kakoschki (there is a significance to this spelling which I shall explain later). The record is quite brief, but does also give Johann’s age as being 27 and his occupation Landarbeiter (literally “Land worker”. i.e. Farmer)
Along with 204 other souls, Johann set sail from the port of Hamburg on the 25th of February 1878 aboard the SS Edvard. The Edvard, under the command of Captain Halenbeck, arrived safely 4 months later at Port Adelaide on the 18th of June.
This page is still “under construction”. If you are a descendant and would like to help out, please contact me. Your help would be much appreciated!
