Arrival in New Brunswick
On 31 May 1872, approximately 27 Danes, a much smaller number than promised, boarded an Allan Line's steamship in Copenhagen for the voyage to Liverpool. Here they caught the Caspian for Halifax, where they scrambled aboard the Empress for Saint John. From the port city, the settlers travelled upriver to Fredericton, arriving there on 17 June. They had only a short time to rest before boarding the steamer, City of Fredericton, along with Surveyor-General Benjamin Stevenson, Deputy Surveyor-General for Victoria County J. A. Beckwith, and Captain Heller for the trip to the mouth of the Salmon River, a tributary of the St. John. On 19 June, weary from their travels, they arrived at Hellerup, the name initially given the new settlement.
The Danish settlers then made their way two miles inland to the nearly-completed immigrant house, which would serve as a temporary shelter. Here they were crowded together for the first few months while their new homes were being constructed. Families slept on the floors in a large dormitory and prepared meals in a common room. Later this building would be used as a church and a school.