A new local history book has been added to our collections. One of which will be preserved in the local history collection at Mill Park Library. Särka to Westgarthtown by Robert Wuchatsch has been a long time in the making.
This 525-page book tells the story of the Wuchatsch family in Germany and Australia from the early 1700s. Profusely illustrated, it covers in narrative style the lives of Johann, Hanna and Magdalene Wuchatsch; their children; grandchildren; and greatgrandchildren. Subsequent generations are included in family tree form. Parts of the book are in German as well as English so Wuchatsch relatives in each country can read them.
In his Foreword, George R. Nielsen, Ph. D., Professor Emeritus, Concordia University, Chicago wrote:
If by chance this book, in addition to informing you, inspires you to become involved in your own heritage, look not only for the details, but also the excitement of the search. Like Rob, pay attention to your feelings and experiences … Sensing apprehension while crossing the Iron Curtain at Friedrichstrasse or at Checkpoint Charlie may no longer be possible, but imagine the loneliness one feels entering a rural isolated graveyard in the late afternoon with a pen and notebook reading headstones while the raucous kookaburras in the eucalyptus trees surrounding the cemetery find your efforts entertaining. I hope as you read this book you are motivated to go on a quest of your own and see places you never thought you would see or experience … See how Rob did it and plot your strategy.
Westgarthtown is an historic dairy farming settlement established in 1850 by German and Wendish immigrants, located with within the residential suburbs of Thomastown and Lalor in the City of Whittlesea.
