August Ludwig Christian Kavel (3 September 1798 – 12 February 1860) was a founder of Lutheranism in Australia. Training and early ministry Kavel was born in Berlin, where he attended the Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster school and went on to study theology. In 1826, he was ordained and installed as the Pastor at the church in the village of Klemzig, located near the city of Züllichau (Sulechów) in what as then the German state of Prussia and is now Klępsk, Poland. Between 1798 and 1840, the Protestant churches in Prussia had been subjected to a number of changes, brought about by the decrees of King Frederick William III. These decrees were intended to unify the Lutheran and Reformed Churches into one Evangelical Christian Church. By 1826, there was some opposition to the intentions of Frederick William. This escalated in 1830, when Frederick William announced a number of changes that outlawed the traditional rites of the churches and prescribed a form of worship which many Lutherans believed was against the Will of God. It was in this environment that dissent against the decrees of Frederick William arose. Pastor Kavel was not initially one of this group, who had come to be known as the Old Lutherans. Frederick William's revised edition of the worship agenda, which was released in 1829, was voluntary for usage in congregations, as was the first edition. Pastor Kavel used this worship order until 1834 when, under the influence of the writings of Johann Gottfried Scheibel, he ceased and joined the ranks of the dissenters. Kavel wrote to the King in January 1835, informing him that he would no longer use the worship agenda. On Easter Monday 1835, Kavel was removed from the ministry and was prohibited from practising as a pastor. His congregation likewise were prohibited from using the church premises, and participating in any worship services presided by suspended Pastors. Emigration to Australia 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. In early 1836, Kavel travelled to Hamburg to enquire into the possibility of migrating to Russia or the United States; however, both of these options were not possible. While in Hamburg, Kavel was informed of the possibility of migrating to Australia. He travelled to London, England, to meet with George Fife Angas, the chairman of the South Australia