Menge, a geologist and linguist, was born at Steinau, Hesse, Germany. He became an associate in the business of Privy Councillor Carl Casar von Leonhard, who collected and sold geological specimens. Menge was elected a member of several scientific societies, and became chair of Geology at Munich in 1816. In this capacity he travelled extensively, including to Iceland and Siberia. He also became a passionate Christian and theologist under the influence of the evangelist, Dr J. Geibel, and as a result mastered several languages, leading to an honorary professorship at Lubeck and a chair of Hebrew at Oxford. Menge published a number of linguistic theological works.
Menge married in 1810 and had three sons, all of whom became missionaries. When his wife died in 1830 he moved to England where he taught languages and worked as a translator. In August 1836 he began working for the South Australian Company as mine and quarry agent at Kangaroo Island. His increasing eccentricity led to his dismissal from the company in June 1838.
Menge remained in the area, and gathered a large amount of knowledge about the soils and minerals there. His advice - dispensed free of charge - was sought by land buyers and speculators with varying success. In 1840 he published his findings in Mineral Kingdom of South Australia. Menge had a wide range of interests, and his many other projects included the introduction of plant seedlings, deep interest in the Aboriginals, editorship of Adelaide's first German newspaper in 1848, the use of irrigation and fertilisers, teaching Hebrew at the Lobethal Lutheran seminary, and the settlement of the Barossa Valley by German immigrants.
Menge's belief that sickness was caused by evil spirits and could only be cured through motion led to him undertaking a long walk to the Victorian diggings in 1852; after notifying the lieutenant-governor of his arrival, he went to Forest Creek near Bendigo, where in the winter he died and was buried at the foot of a quartz hill.
Source: D. Van Abbé, 'Menge, Johann (1788 - 1852)', Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au, accessed 8 April 2009.
