This work provides an understanding of the large worldwide migrations of the German-speaking people from the seventeenth to twenty-first century. By examining cultural aspects of the German-speaking diaspora such as art, music, literature, and work practices, a complex case is presented to understand 'wanderlust' as it exists in the German mind, and its capacity to stimulate migration. The work also investigates the transfer of culture from the country of origin to the settler culture through the migrant and demonstrates the positive benefits of migration and the subtlety of cross-cultural transfer. The study uses the diary of Adolph Wurfel to provide a detailed insight into the mind of one individual, his education and the culture he brings with him from Europe to his new country, Australia, in 1876. It shows in detail, with concrete examples, how the transfer of culture occurs between the confines of Wurfel's own life and his new country over a forty-year period.