Unwritten history: Louise Flierl's everyday life on mission stations in Australia and New Guinea

A feminist history of Lutheran mission work in Australia and Oceania still remains to be written. Sources concerning the missionary wives are scarce and for the most part recorded by men; documents written by the women themselves have rarely been preserved. The present contribution aims to unravel the unwritten history of Louise Flierl, nee Auricht (1861–1934) from Tanunda in South Australia, who worked as a missionary wife in Australia and New Guinea for 48 years. To date, letters and writings of her husband, pioneer missionary Johann Flierl, have been our main source of information about her life. New evidence from 32 hitherto unknown letters offers insight into Louise Flierl's everyday experiences, thoughts and beliefs. Writing from a family perspective, I emphasise a German perception of missionary activity in Australia.