Harmonie German Club – Narrabundah, Australia - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

AO Edited

Harmonie German Club

Narrabundah, Australia

The largest piece of the Berlin Wall in the Southern Hemisphere sits outside this German social club in a Canberra suburb. 

View all photos
A little slice of Germany carolcooke2013 (Atlas Obscura User)
20
66
Top Places in Australia
Twelve Apostles March 2019
The Twelve Apostles
Princetown, Australia
Big Miner's Lamp
Bowenfels, Australia
Manly Quarantine Station
Manly, Australia
 See All

In 1992, the German Harmonie Club committee—led by the club’s longest-serving president, the late Guenter Koerner—decided to create a memorial to the reunification of Germany on the club’s grounds.

“With help from friends in Berlin, they managed to get hold of a section of the wall—weighing 2.6 tons and standing 3.2 meters tall—for 500 Deutsch Marks,” Harmonie German Club president Kevin Bramboeck, said. The large concrete slab is believed to be the largest piece of the Berlin Wall in the Southern Hemisphere. It arrived in Sydney a few months later on board a Russian container ship and was officially unveiled on October 3, 1992—the second Day of German Unity, and the 28th anniversary of the social club’s opening. 

The Harmonie German Club is a social club founded by German migrants in Canberra. It dates back to the early 1960s, after an influx of immigration in the 1950s had nearly doubled the population of Australia’s capital city. After being contracted by the government to build homes to accommodate the new residents, the construction firm AV Jennings recruited around 150 carpenters from Germany. When their two-year contracts were done, most of the so-called “Jennings Germans” elected to remain in Australia. Many of them were among the founding members of the German Harmonie Club.

A plaque near the graffiti-covered concrete slab reads: “This section of the Berlin Wall reminds us that no man-made barrier can repress the spirit of freedom. May we all unite to live in harmony ensuring peace for generations.”

berlin wall clubs immigration
Nearby
National Gallery Sculpture Garden
2.81 miles
Australian-American Memorial
2.87 miles
'The Astronomer'
3.00 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
"Heads from the North" (Dadang Christiano).
Canberra, Australia

National Gallery Sculpture Garden

Dozens of large-scale, creative, evocative curios from prominent artists dot the calm outdoor space around this major museum.
Australian-American Memorial.
Canberra, Australia

Australian-American Memorial

From a distance, this statue of an eagle looks like a giant chicken on a stick.
'The Astronomer'
Parkes, Australia

'The Astronomer'

A stargazing sculpture made from the ruins of an iconic telescope.
Deakin, Australia

Deakin Anticline

This fascinating and unusual geological formation dominates a suburb of Canberra.
Related Places
Yokohama, Japan

‘Shake Hands With Lima-chan’

Commemorating the Japanese migration to Peru, this statue has a sister standing across the Pacific.
Tirana, Albania

Postbllok Memorial

A memorial to the atrocities of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.
Winnemucca, Nevada

The Martin Hotel

It may no longer take overnight guests, but the Martin still makes out-of-towners feel at home—just like it has for the past century.
Aurora, Colorado

Mango House

At this multicultural hub, refugee chefs serve the foods they miss most from home.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web