August Ludwig Christian Kavel was born in Berlin, Germany on September 3, 1798. In 1826 he became Pastor at the church in Klemzig, Prussia (Germany), and was Pastor at this ___location until 1835. He died February 12, 1860 in South Australia. Pastor Kavel was a founder of Lutheranism in Australia.
In the period that Kavel was Pastor of the church in Klemzig, the king of Prussia, King Frederick William III, had made decrees which offended Lutherans in general, including the Lutheran congregation at Klemzig. In the years following 1934, the church along with other Christians in Prussia defied the decrees made by the king. The State in turn, applied increasing pressure on the churches to obey the decrees of the king.
It was in this environment that Pastor Kavel began to look for avenues to lead his congregation in an exodus from Prussia, to a place where they could worship in freedom. Knowing of a similar oppressed group of Mennonites that had emigrated from Prussia to Russia, Kavel made inquiries into the possibility of doing likewise. However, due to an uprising in Poland at that time, this option became impossible. Other groups had migrated to the United States, and so Kavel traveled to Hamburg to investigate this possibility. Due to a lack of funds, Kavel was unable to cover the fares of the whole congregation and so emigration to the United States was not possible either.
On his trip to Hamburg however, Kavel was informed of the possibility of migrating to Australia. In 1836, Kavel traveled to London, England to meet with George Fife Angas, the chairman of the South Australia Company, which was searching for emigrants to settle the large land acquisitions it had around the area of present day Adelaide, South Australia. Angas personally provided a loan to Kavel and the oppressed Lutherans from Klemzig, in a chartering of four ships; Prince George, Bengalee, Zebra, and the Catharina, on their behalf. The Prince George and the Bengalee, left Hamburg in July 1838, and arrived in Port Adelaide in November. The Zebra left in August 1838, and arrived in December. The Catharina left in September 1838, and arrived in January 1839. In all Kavel and the group traveling with him, numbered approximately 400.
On arriving in South Australia, Kavel began land negotiations for a settlement for his group, and he succeeded in securing land in the Barossa Valley