Guests traveled from Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and many parts of South Australia to attend and make acquaintances with relatives.

The morning thanksgiving service was conducted by great-great-grandson Pastor David Eckermann, of Semaphore Park, accompanied by organist Rosemary Turner along with readings from Alistair Turner, Joyleen Miller, Beverly Mickel, Matthew Turner, Jennifer Clark, all Moller descendants.

Local farmer and member of the reunion committee Greg Schmaal, a descendant of Freidrick Moller, greeted his many cousins at the gathering, and read the apologies and messages of good wishes he had received for the occasion.

The unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the grave site of the pioneer couple in the adjoining cemetery was performed by Lewis Moller, the eldest living male carrying the Moller name. Lewis and his wife Audrey have now relinquished their farming activities and are enjoying retirement living at Saddleworth

The release of the family history book “The Mollers of Carlsruhe” was written by John Turner, also a family descent who previously lived and farmed in the area.

He said he had a deep attachment to the area and the church with many family functions being celebrated there. He is now retired and resides at Reynella.

John, who loves family history, visited the family home site in Gaarzer Hof, north Mecklendurg in Germany in 2007 in order to attain first hand information of the ancestors’ early lives.

After collecting all the relevant stories from the various families, John spent many hours diligently compiling the information with the assistance of son Alistair who helped created the format for the book.

Also adding to the books significant is the early origin of the township of Waterloo that coincided with the Moller family’s arrival from Gaazer Hoff to Waterloo in 1866. The area became the new home to many early settlers of different nationalities who were encouraged by the rich agricultural land and opportunities in the Waterloo district.