There have been Lutheran schools in Australia for more than 170 years. This book examines the first 80 years of that history through a series of biographies of the patriarchs, those educational leaders who established the rich traditions which still influence the church and its approach to formal schooling in the twentieth century. The eight profiles in this book not only cover the broad sweep of Lutheran educational history from 1839 to 1919, but also explore the personalities of people who were leading players in its development.