Captain Dirk Meinerts Hahn brought a group of almost 200 'Old Lutherans' to Adelaide aboard his ship Zebra in 1838. Hahn was greatly impressed with the faith of the German religious refugees, who had experienced eight years of religious persecution in their homeland. He wrote, 'even a stone would be moved to pity at the sight of a whole deck of people on their knees beseeching God's blessing and help.' In South Australia Hahn assisted the group to obtain 150 acres of land near Mount Barker from William Hampden Dutton. In gratitude the people named the settlement after him - Hahndorf.