Collection UQFL26 - Jacob Donges Papers

Identity area

Reference code

UQFL26

Title

Jacob Donges Papers

Date(s)

  • 1873-1970 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

3 boxes.

Context area

Name of creator

(1889-1973)

Biographical history

Jacob Donges was born at Drayton, Queensland on 29 September 1889, the twelfth child of the fourteen children of German settlers, Christoph Donges and Ernestine Wilhelmine Donges (nee Dunemann). He married Fredericka Augusta Bruggeman on 22 September 1915. They had four sons and three daughters. The Donges family moved to Glenarbon in 1932 to grow tobacco. Jacob and Fredericka Donges were foundation members of St. Paul's Lutheran churches of Oakey (1928) and Glenarbon (1949). Jacob Donges was actively involved in Lutheran church and was an elder, trustee, lay reader, choir member and secretary for St. Pauls. Jacob Donges was a Labor candidate for the Drayton electorate in 1915, member of Drayton, Oakey and Glenarbon State School committees, member of the Queensland Production Association at Drayton, member of the Queensland State Tobacco Board, wrote for newspapers, was a Justice of the Peace and member of the Toowoomba and District Historical Society. Jacob and Fredericka Donges retired to Toowoomba in 1954. Jacob Donges died on 27 September 1973.

Archival history

Collection previously titled as: Papers, 1873-1970
Collection alternatively titled as: Jacob Donges Collection.

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Articles and lectures on historical subjects, 1911 to 1970; biographical notes on Heinemann, Luck and Volker families; manuscripts on history of Lutheran churches at Glenarbon and Toowoomba; personal correspondence; papers relating to tobacco production on the Darling Downs; Lutheran Settlers' Committee letterbook.

Box 1
File 1: Donges, Christoph, 1842-1914: Account book, income and outlay, 1906 to 1910. Small leger book 32 cm; Personal papers, including family tree. Invoices and receipts, 1874 to 1903. Also typescript biographical notes of Christoph Donges and his large family. He was the father of Jacob Donges, qv
File 2: Family correspondence, all written in German, mostly from Germany, 1873 to 1914
File 3: Donges, Paul: Letter to his parents Christoph and Ernestine Donges, written from Narrabri where he and his brother August were farm labourers, 14 Jun 1894. Details of wages and conditions of employment.
Donges, Nicholas: Letters (12) to his mother Ernestine Donges wife of Christoph Donges, 1907 to 1932 He worked initially in suger mills, but then joined the police force. Slight reference to the Shearers’ Strike 1931
File 4: Donges, Jacob: Letters to Jacob Donges and family from relatives and friends on the death of Christoph Donges, 1914
File 5: Letters to Jacob Donges from family and friends in Germany, 1947 to 1953. Also family tree of German branch of the Donges family, and lists of food parcels sent during World War II, with some correspondence from Postmaster General’s Department re food parcel regulations. Names and addresses of German relatives listed.
File 6: Letters to Jacob Donges and his wife [marked letters of appreciation and thanks], parish and personal, 1921 to 1972
File 7: Lohe, Rev. M: Letters (4) to Jacob Donges, personal. With two letters from Donges to Lohe, 12 Jul 1966 to 23 Aug 1968
File 8: Waterson, Duncan Bruce: Correspondence with Jacob Donges re research for his book: Squatter, Selector and Storekeeper: A History of the Darling Downs, 1959-1893, published 1869, and other historical interests, Jan 1962 to Oct 1969
File 9: Donges, Jacob: Correspondence with Queensland Women’s Historical Association, Brisbane, 1965 to 1970
File 10: Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia, Queensland District, Glenarbon Parish: Parish diary, 1912 to 1916, 1932 to 1957, Brief typescript entries 11 per annum.

Box 2
File 11: Donges, Jacob: Notebook with headings: Income Donges Bros Rec by J.D. [1920 to 1921] Gives figures of wages paid, returns from crops etc.
File 12: Lutheran Settlers’ Committee: Letter book, secretary J. Donges, 1921 to 1927
File 13: Donges, Jacob: School copy book, in German, c1899 (missing?)
File 14 – 15: Articles and lectures on historical subjects, as arranged and listed by author, 1911 to 1970. 26 titles listed. Also a list of talks delivered to the Toowoomba and District Historical Society, with dates and dates of publication.
File 15a: Talks and articles on Toowoomba and district [mss] 1962 to 1967
File 16: Correspondence with members of the University of Queensland, 3 Mar 1967 to 21 Nov 1969 (Glen Williams, University of Queensland, Fryer Librarian)
File 17: Martin, William: Letter to Jacob Donges giving particulars of area, stock and equipment of a farm he is offering for sale at Kungurri, via Mackay, 30 Jan 1926
File 18: Pech, Margaret: Letters (7) to Jacob Donges re Lutheran missions in New Guinea, 4 Apr 1961 to 18 Dec 1967
File 19: Tardent, Jules L: Letters (2) to Jacob Donges re his father, H.A. Tardent and the Austral Association, 3 Mar 1966, 10 Dec 1971
File 20: Bedwell, Kempton: 'The Birth of Industry'; 'Over the Range'; Historical articles on Darling Downs
Goener, Baldwin: 'Adventure' [Portions of an autobiographical diary]
Grounds, Sir Roy: 'Horsepower waiting to be used: how can you build community support for the travel industry?' An address given to Australian National Tourist Association, Sydney, May 6 – 8, 1969
Jones, Hettie: History of Drayton Post Office, 1950
File 21: Donges, Jacob: Miscellaneous historical material re Austral Association, Toowoomba and District Historical Association, Methodist Church history on the Darling Downs, some notes on wheat industry.
File 22: Biographical notes on Heinemann, Luck and Volker families, and historical notes on Westbrook station, Darling Downs. Includes some correspondence with descendants
File 23: History of St Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Glenarbon
File 24: History of St Pauls' Evangelical Lutheran Church, Toowoomba: notes, correspondence material extracted from newspapers and other sources in preparation for a centennial history, dating from 1957 to 1963
File 25: Letters to Jacob Donges renaming of new suburb and establishment of the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, Apr 1962 to Nov 1971

Box 3
File 26: Queensland Council of Agriculture: Minutes, agenda papers, circulars sent to District Agents, Correspondence relating to J. Donges' work as an agent, 1923 to 1952
File 27: Glenarbon Estates: Papers relating to Glenarbon Estates production 1946 to 1954 in which Jacob Donges had an interest. Includes stock returns, crop yields, production statistics, financial statements. Glenarbon was a cooperative, producing mainly tobacco.
File 28: Queensland Tobacco Leaf Marketing Board: Agenda Papers, copies of minutes, correspondence and other miscellaneous material relating to tobacco production in Queensland, 1948 to 1953
File 29: Southern Tobacco Growers Association: Agenda papers, copies of minutes, annual reports records of tobacco auction sales and other related material, 1948 to 1963
File 30: Photographs

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Arranged into 30 files by processing archivist.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Unrestricted access.

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

  • English
  • German

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Material from this collection has been cited in:
Thorpe, B. (1996). Colonial Queensland : perspectives on a frontier society. University of Queensland Press.

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Alma MMS ID

991003614519703131

Millennium Local System Number

.b19736411

OCLC Number

222660718 ; 1096595324

Libraries Australia ID

21260440 ; 63004949

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Revised

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Revised, outdated finding aid removed and descriptive data added to Scope and content, AM, 14-Jun-2022.
Revised, AM, 04-Mar-2020.
Migrated from LMS: April 2019, P.A.

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

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Physical storage

  • Box: UQFL26 Box 1
  • Box: UQFL26 Box 2
  • Box: UQFL26 Box 3