The bronze coinage was not well accepted. Minted value of the bronze was 20,000 marks with 2000 marks being brought to the colony in 1895. Virtually all the remainder was melted down; 13,000 Marks in 1900 and 3068 Marks in 1904. Australia occupied the German Colonies in September 1914 allowing the coinage to circulate briefly alongside Australian coinage. The currency was to be replaced with Australian coinage by the time the first force left in January 1915. The proclamation was dated March 11 1916 made absolute in 1920 by another.
The German coinage was shipped to Australia. Silver weighing some 106,873,05 ounces of .900 fine silver were refined and converted into Australian coinage in 1921.
So I make this about ten years circulation at most!
