Sunday 12 April 2009

Deadly details

One of the best places to gain information about Lithuanian people in Adelaide is from the fortnightly newspaper that was printed. It sounds very morbid but upon a death of a member of the community a In Memoriam was printed with details of the persons life. For example:

Domas Kalikas died on 3 June 1001 at Noarlunga hospital, aged 75 years. He was born in Palanga in 1926 and had a twin sister Magdalena. Their mother died when young and the children where placed in different homes. Their father remarried. Domas sister was in a convent until she was 17 and became a seamstress. The second world war came and the German occupation of Lithuania. Domas joined the Lithuanian army but was later taken to Germany and ended up as a captive in Belgium. He was 21 years old and came on the first transport to Australia. His two year government contract was spend working ion the railroads and as a house painter in Adelaide.

In 1955 he married Genovaite Varoneckaite. They had two boys and two girls. The last two are twins. Domas was able to meet his twin sister again after 63 years apart.

Domas died of cancer. His funeral was on Wednesday June 6th. He was buried in Centennial Park.
ALZ 2001.VI.17 (136)

Combine this information with details from he National Archives, we can learn that;
Domas arrived in Fremantle on the 28 November 1947 aboard the General Stewart Heintzelmann.

If we search the database at Centennial Park we can also learn where he lived, died and age.
Domas Kalikas from CHRISTIES BEACH
Date of Death: 03/06/2001
Age: 75 Years
Interment Details: Cremation
ww.centennialpark.org.au

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