When the 'Shakespeare' arrived in Maryborough, with Jens Peter Jensen on board, it was reported that the passengers were all 'Germans'. Looking through the passenger list, it's clear to see that a majority of those aboard were from Denmark, with significant numbers from Germany and Switzerland and a smaller number from Sweden. I read somewhere that on days when ships from Hamburg arrived, it was difficult to hear a word of English spoken in town as farmers from the surrounding area came in to meet up with their countrymen and potentially hire someone for a job of work.
On August 10, 1871 the Mayborough Chronicle described the passengers this way: "The immigrants per Shakspere prove to be as fine and well-conditioned a lot of people as evere arrived here [...] Their healthy, sturdy, clean, and comfortable appearance speaks for itself, and from what we hear many of them possess the additional recommendation of adding in some degree to the available capital of the colony. We are told that quite a considerable amount has been deposited by these new chums during the day at our local banks. These are the right people to send out to Queensland, and we are glad to hear that there is a prospect of more of the same sort from where they came."
It's hard not to hear Australia's contemporary immigration priorities echoed in those sentiments: healthy, clean and comfortably off. Many of those on board this ship were agricultural workers, destined to be part of the farming district stretching out from Maryborough. They were described (perhaps not as ironically as I would hope) as 'more acceptable "material"' in the Brisbane Courier of 9 August.
Image reference: Adelaide Street, Maryborough, 1880 - Image Number: qmar00063 State Library of Qld collection
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