Many German settlers have moved into the Western District of Victoria since the arrival of the first group near Hamilton in 1853. Because they were predominately Lutherans, the communities they established reflected the importance of their Christian faith in their lives. This book tells the settlement story of the Western District Germans, beginning with their arrival in Warrnambool and Portland, and moves on to examine the German communities of Hochkirch, Gnadenthal, Tabor, Byaduk and Warrayure. As Hochkirch was the only German village to be established, its history from its beginnings to present-day Tarrington has been examined in some detail. The treatment during World War One of the Australian-born Germans in the Hamilton area has also been examined. A biographical index of German born people who lived in the Western District is contained in the latter section of the book. It will be of interest to genealogists in general, and especially to descendents of German families who settled in the area, as well as to the descendants of the many families who moved to the Wimmera and southern New South Wales in the 1860s and 1870s..