Caroline Friedericke Alwine Schirmeister
3 June 1818 — 30 November 1894
Caroline Friedericke Alwine Schirmeister (13‑25‑6)
Carl (Charles) Franz Alexander Schirmeister was born on 22 July 1814, near Eberswalde, Prussia and died on 8 October 1887. He was for 30 years the pastor of the “German Evangelical Lutheran congregation of North Brisbane” which came to be known as St Andreas after 1881.
A talented musician, he was educated at Halle University and became a Pastor of the Prussian Union Church. He trained in the Gossner Mission Society in Berlin and in 1842 he, and others, were sent to the Chatham Islands and arrived there in 1843. When the mission came to an end, he worked as a tutor for the Hunt family on Pitt Island for 2 years. In poor health he went to New Zealand, then Sydney, arriving in Brisbane after the mission at German Station had closed.
The first Lutheran service was held in the city in May 1857 where he secured Crown Grants of Land for the church. He was the first registered Lutheran minister in Queensland after separation. Fluent in English, he traveled far and wide to minister to people and conduct services. He became the first President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Queensland.
His wife, Alwine, née Gehricke, (3 June 1818 - 30 November 1894) trained at the Elizabeth Deaconesses’ Home and Hospital in Berlin. With two other deaconesses she went to the Chatham Island in 1846 where she married. She became the first woman to be naturalised in Queensland on 21 June 1864. Alwine worked faithfully alongside of her husband. Her funeral service was conducted by Rev. E. O. Maier. Buried here is also their daughter Johanna Albertine Elizabeth Sachse. The headstone was erected by the congregation.