Community & Business
14 October, 2025
The Imhoff family dynasty
At the tender age of 19 years, German immigrant Phillip Imhoff stepped ashore at the struggling Moreton Bay settlement from the passenger ship ‘Diana’ after a voyage lasting 173 days. His arrival in 1858 was a full year before Queensland was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales. Young Phillip Imhoff tied his future to the state of Queensland.
Phillip spoke no English and as far as we know had no friends or relatives in the colony but was keen to start a new life in this pioneer land.
His motivation for immigration was possibly to avoid army conscription as the German state of Prussia was becoming an aggressive militaristic state.
The major asset the young man arrived with was an adventurous spirit and a desire to work hard.
His ship carried 380 other immigrants, a clear sign that Europeans were eager to find opportunities in the pioneer land where gold had only recently been discovered.
It seems Phillip had no interest in prospecting for gold but he did find something more valuable, a young German girl, Caroline Zeyher.
As it turned out, Caroline was an excellent choice as a bride for a young man intent on establishing his future in an isolated settlement with out the comforts of city life.
Caroline proved to be as tough and hardworking as her husband.
Phillip and Caroline were married in a Lutheran Church in Toowoomba in 1862 but Caroline’s parents were not in favour of the relationship.
They felt their daughter had made a poor choice of husband as she was highly educated and he was not, being listed as a labourer on their marriage certificate.
Phillip’s solid work ethic saw him take on tough labouring work as he set about proving himself.
He worked as a Navvie on the Brisbane to Toowoomba railway in 1864 while also working shovelling blue metal at a Toowoomba quarry.
Clearly he was not afraid of hard physical work.
Later he worked driving bullock teams with one job taking six months as he drove a team from Brisbane to Charleville.
It seems Caroline was equally tough as she often accompanied Phillip on the bullock trips and her second baby was born under a bullock dray at Middle Ridge.
Despite the reservations of Caroline’s family about Phillip they had sixteen children and celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary in 1922.
By 1866, at 27 years of age, the ambitious Phillip was ready to purchase his own farming land.
When the Clifton Station was broken up for subdivision, Phillip acquired Portion 75 at Spring Creek and so the rest of his life was devoted to farming.
Over the next few years Phillip acquired more land working hard to eradicate prickly pear and placing 100 acres under cultivation of mainly lucerne and wheat while the remaining land carried a dairy herd.
In 1910 Phillip and Caroline retired to Clifton and bought a house, “Melrose” in Kates Street where they would see out their remaining years.
Phillip died aged 83 years and is buried in the Clifton Cemetery alongside Caroline who died in 1927 aged 86 years.
Phillip and Caroline had sixteen children, 61 grand-children and 38 great grand-children and so established the Clifton Imhoff dynasty.
The misgivings of his in-laws had been long forgotten as he proved to be a successful husband and farmer.
Colin Phillip Imhoff
Many descendents of Phillip and Caroline have remained in the Clifton District as have descendents of Phillip’s sister, Elizabeth, who followed him to Australia years later.
Colin Imhoff is one of those descendents who became a well known identity in the Clifton area.
Colin was the second son of Arthur and Annie Imhoff and was born in the Clifton Cottage Hospital in 1928.
Colin attended school at Elphinstone but left after Year 7 to help his father on the family farm.
While visiting Warwick, Colin met Patricia O’Brien and they were married in 1956 at St. Mary’s Church in Warwick.
The couple share-farmed for a few seasons in Cambooya before moving onto their own farm where they raised six children, Phillip, Judith, Lynn, Sue, Anne and Kay.
Colin and Patricia were heavily involved in the Clifton community with their children attending St. Francis de Sales School where they regularly volunteered and donated lambs for school fund raisers.
Colin had a love of horses and became an instructor at local Pony Clubs teaching young people the skills of horsemanship.
He was a highly skilled horseman and became an exceptional polo player winning the Queensland Gold Cup four times and representing Queensland at the Australasian Gold Cup in Maitland.
Colin was a familiar figure at the Clifton Races where he volunteered for many years.
He ran sheep for much of his farming life, winning champion lamb prizes at the Clifton and Warwick shows.
He lived a long and healthy life still running sheep into his 90s.
He died at the age of 92 a well respected farmer, family man and valued community member.
Many generations of the Imhoff family have remained in Clifton and are well known in the district.
When nineteen years old Phillip Imhoff arrived in 1859 and married Caroline Zeyher the young, ambitious and courageous couple had no idea how influential the Imhoff family would become in the Clifton district over the next 166 years.
They established the family on the back of hard work and a sense of optimism in the future of the Clifton District.
Descendents of the young Imhoff emigrant couple have built on the solid foundation they established.
This story of success has been replicated across the nation as immigrants from every corner of the world have made Australia their home since the first convict settlement in 1788.
The Clifton Courier would like to recognise the help of Rob Imhoff and the Clifton Historical Society in supplying research materials for this article and the excellent historical text, Spring Creek; a look at yesteryear on the Downs, compiled by Joy King.
Next week the Clifton Courier will follow the story of another young courageous and adventurous German immigrant who established a family on the Downs with many descendents still living in the district.
