whilst adelaide was to be a city of fine buildings and a refined populace, set free from the constraints of convict influence, george muller's stepney was to bear a strong resemblance to its less refined namesake, replete with slums, near the city of london. the early settlement of german settlers in stepney was, however, somewhat unusual. though not as well known as the prussians who settled klemzig, hahndorf or tanunda, they were there in sufficient numbers to develop schools for their children. notable members of this community were hans heysen and carl laubman of laubman and pank. during 2008 the last three cottages in nelson street, described as "built by haken linde, a successful member of the german community," were marked for demolition by the norwood payneham st peters council. significant calls were made for the cottages to be preserved and the cottages were retained.