Welcome to the Wend/Sorb Society of South Australia
We are a society dedicated to assisting Australians of Wend/Sorb heritage to have a greater knowledge of their culture, heritage and history in Europe and Australia.
Who are the Wends/Sorbs?
The Wends are a Slavic race of people who lived in eastern Germany. In Europe they are also known as Sorbs, the smallest of the Slavic races which inhabited Eastern Europe in past centuries. They have their own language, culture and customs.
When German migration to South Australia occurred from the 1840s, many Wends/Sorbs also migrated. The Germans called them Wends, and only that name was used in Australia.
Altogether about 2000 Wends in 400 families came to Australia, mainly between 1848 and 1860. (About 30,000 Germans came in that same period.)
Within two generations most of the Wendish language and culture had been abandoned in Australia as they intermarried and assimilated with the larger German and British populations in South Australia and around Australia.
Other Wendish societies in Australia:
Our sister society in Victoria is the Wendish Heritage Society Australia Inc. Its website is: www.wendishheritage.org.au.