The first Lutherans to come to Australia in any significant number, were the immigrants from Prussia, who arrived in 1838 with Pastor August Kavel. This period in Prussia was marked by a persecution of “Old Lutherans” who refused to join the Prussian Union, under King Frederick Wilhelm. In 1841, a second wave of Prussian immigrants started, with the arrival of Pastor Gotthard Fritzsche. He settled with the migrants in his group, in Lobethal, and Bethany. The Lutheran church in this period, is referred to as the Kavel-Fritzsche Synod.