South Australia was settled in 1836 on the basis of voluntary colonization and the principle of a nondenominational and Christian civilization. The first German settlers accommodated their traditional farmlet villages within the established 80-acre subdivision pattern of the colony. Their first dwellings were simple slab huts, but these were later replaced by more substantial houses based on those they had known in their homelands. The successive phases of the naturalization of the German settlements in South Australia are clearly illustrated in the physical settlement pattern and buildings of their villages and farms. The areas occupied during the first 30 years of settlement include a high proportion of buildings which utilize traditional German plans, (e.g., through-hall kitchen and black kitchen plans), and building techniques, (e.g., the extensive use of beautifully crafted timber-framed houses and barns). After this time, the German farmhouse design was increasingly influenced by the typical South Australian house forms of the period, and existing buildings were modified by the addition of villa ends, while new houses were built entirely in the contemporary style.