Flashback: Von Fahland’s Pottery restaurant, Sarina

House specials included homemade strudel, Black Forest cake and ice cream made with the family recipe

Renate Von Fahland and Dieter Von Fahland at their pottery restaurant at Sarina in the 1970s. Picture: Contributed

ON A ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Renata Von Fahland learned there was a fire in the engine room.

The date was March 31, 1958 – her 31st birthday.

She was migrating from Germany to Australia with her husband Dieter and their two-year-old daughter Winka.

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Mrs Von Fahland said they were evacuated into lifeboats and rescued by the British hours later.

“We lost everything,” she said.

But rather than abandoning their travel plans, they boarded another ship to Australia – first living in Melbourne before building a house at Mount Convenient, 3km out of Sarina, in 1965.

A few years later they opened the Von Fahland’s Pottery Shop restaurant, which ran from about 1970 to 1979, Mrs Von Fahland said.

“It was a family affair,” she said.

Von Fahland's Pottery restaurant at Sarina c. 1970s. Picture: Contributed

Catering for up to 24 people, Mrs Von Fahland said her specialities included homemade strudel, Black Forest cake and ice cream with flavours of banana, vanilla and strawberry – prepared using her great-grandmother’s recipe.

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The restaurant also featured her paintings and Dieter’s pottery – a craft he had learned at boarding school in Germany.

“It was a nice atmosphere,” she said.

“Outside we had a big log, people came with their guitar … and sat there for a little while until dinner.”

Do you have memories of the restaurant? Email me at [e-mail]

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