Nine Serendipitous Meetings

Video of the presentation by Frank Olivier  from the 2018 German-Australian History and Heritage Conference in Adelaide.

A powerful presentation covering three generations of the Olivier/Wall family history, including the Olivier's German lineage, Frank's early childhood, his very strong determined mother who had a binding love for her four children, the tragic loss of her husband towards the end of WWII, her loyalty to an Australian pen friend, the need to escape the destruction of a bomb blasted Berlin and a downtrodden country, the invasion by the Russians into East Germany and the occupation by the Allies.

Follow the chances, coincidences and 6 degrees of separation that entered their lives with Frank's family's migration to Australia, the reunion with the pen pal and Frank's mother's determination that her family would assimilate into the Australian culture.

About the Speaker

Frank Olivier was born in Berlin in 1943 and his family escaped the city in 1945, just weeks before the Soviet occupation. They arrived in Australia in 1949.

He is member of Ku-Ring-Gai Historical Society (German Special Interest Group) and is also President of the Fellowship of First Fleeters (FFF) Eastern Farms Chapter. He currently has two family history books ready for publication - Mutti's Story about his mother, and one about Carol’s First Fleet convict, William Wall.