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The Nielsen Family, Hobart, 1872 The Nielsen ancestors left Denmark via Germany for
Australia aboard the good ship "Eugenie",
departing from Hamburg on 29th October 1871. The trip was
longer than normal as the ship was becalmed on 9th January 1872
off South America. There were 362 passengers on board, of which158
disembarked at the German colonies in Brazil. The "Eugenie" continued on
to Hobart, which is the capital city of the state of Tasmania, Australia,
arriving on Palm Sunday 24th March 1872. Hans Nielsen was born in 1805 and died in Denmark 24th
August 1863. His Widow Ane Sorensdatter-Nielsen, born also in 1805, along
with her children to Hans, Karen Kirstine, Niels Peder (Peter) and Soren
Christian left Denmark and migrated to Australia on the above voyage. Soren married Caroline Pedersdatter (Petersen) on 19 February 1865 and
Niels Peder married Johanne Pedersdatter (Petersen) on 3 December 1858.
Both couples were married in Copenhagen, creating the unusual relationship
of two brothers marrying two sisters. The brother of the two Petersen
sisters (Jens) also made the journey, with his wife and children, thus
making this journey a real "family" affair. The immigrants on the 1872 trip of the "Eugenie" mostly
settled in Bismarck, a small community in a valley on the northwestern
slopes of Mount Wellington. Bismarck was renamed Collinsvale at the
request of the Danish community there, as they didn’t want to be
considered as German when the First World War started. Ane Sorensdatter-Nielsen died in Hobart, Tasmania on 8th
June 1876. The descendants of the "Eugenie" Nielsens are now
scattered throughout Australia. Some remain in Tasmania and others
live on the mainland. A large group of descendants can be found in
the state of New South Wales, mainly in the capital city of Sydney, the
host to the 2000 Olympic Games.
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