tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48063454462276979262024-03-14T02:51:59.535+10:30Australian Lithuanian HistoryThe events of WWII forced many Lithuanians to flee their country. Unable to return, over 10,000 came to Australia. This is their history.
We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this land and commit to building a brighter future together.Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.comBlogger376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-33739972424181350912024-01-26T20:24:00.001+10:302024-01-26T20:24:07.630+10:30The songs my father sangPaulius Rutenis
(Rutkauskas)
19
March 1919 – 28 August 1983
Singer,
soloist, actor, director, journalist.A
man who was seen on and off stage in Adelaide, Melbourne and later Sydney.
He
was born in Liepaja, Latvia, to Lithuanian parents who travelled there to
work. When he was around three years
old, the family returned to Lithuania.
His father loved to sing and would encourage theDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-48174762018329585282023-11-04T17:23:00.006+10:302023-12-12T13:19:27.021+10:30Agnė Lukšytė-Meilūnas Agnė Lukšytė-Meilūnas 1920 - 2007The writer Agnė Lukšytė-Meilūnienė, born in 1920 in the village of Subačius wjere she grew up with two older brothers. When Agnė graduated from Subačius elementary school, she moved to Panevėžys girls' high school. After graduating in 1939, she entered Kaunas Vytautas the Great University to study Lithuanian language and literature. After the Faculty ofDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-67040205220461035352023-09-11T20:13:00.001+09:302023-10-24T16:11:52.976+10:30Picking pears for AustraliaThe first transport of Lithuanians to Australia, made their way to
Bonegilla Migrant Camp. The new migrants
were required to work two years wherever the Australian government required
workers. One hundred Baltic migrants from
the first transport were employed as fruit pickers in the Shepparton district
between January and March 1948. The
District Employment arranged for the Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-44130528708860321332023-07-13T18:13:00.001+09:302023-07-13T18:13:00.133+09:30Building a homeLinas and Elena arrived in Australia in 1948. They had two young children. Linas worked in the
Bathurst camp for 18 months assisting new arrivals. Accommodation at that time was scarce and he had
heard there was accommodation available in Adelaide. The accommodation being a caravan at
Semaphore. He requested permission to
transfer to Adelaide. It was granted so Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-16942541450800382732023-06-16T14:05:00.004+09:302023-09-11T20:03:18.133+09:30The Arane MysteryIn March 1947, Lithuanian Jew, nineteen-year-old Judith Arane arrived in Sydney. Already residing in Australia was her brother, John born in Kaunas 28 December 1920 arrived in Australia in 1938 and was naturalised 12 July 1945.Tragically Judy died on 22 February 1954 after the car she was in plunged into the surf from a cliff top at Tamarama, Sydney with Dr Joseph Blank.Dr. Blank's body wasDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-30709963886833169442023-03-17T14:52:00.005+10:302023-03-17T14:52:40.374+10:30Fruit pickers needed in SAFresh
off the ships after docking in Perth, the migrants were placed onto trains, arriving
in Adelaide. The Deputy Director of the Commonwealth Employment Service (Mr. F.
Dwyer) met Baltic migrants with the Rev. Father Wilfrid Ryan, President of
United Lutheran Church (Dr. Stolz) and president of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church (Dr. C. E. Hoopmann). Father Ryan
told the Balts they would be Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-7406245955231667572023-01-07T12:26:00.006+10:302023-01-07T12:26:52.187+10:30First Australia Lithuanian Community HouseFor two
years, the Sydney Lithuanian Community called 5 Young St, Circular Quay home. The
building was owned at the time by St Vincent de Paul and housed a hostel for
destitute men, cafe, chapel, chaplain to migrants. In 1951-1952, the community
used some of the premises from which it ran Mūsu Pastogė and Catholic activities.
The
building is known as Hinchcliff House and still stands, a Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-20499490326265724752022-11-14T20:43:00.000+10:302022-11-14T20:43:07.564+10:30The Homeless Doctor The book Benamiai (Homeless) written in Lithuanian recently found its way into the Archives. Because it was published in Buenos Aires, 1954 I gave it some attention. To my surprise the book was about Australia. It begins in the DP camps of Germany, the ship to Australia and then the next few years as a new migrant. A few Google searches later, I found that it Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-65057370743193079462022-09-02T11:35:00.006+09:302022-09-02T11:35:55.961+09:30Lithuanian Sword Swallower & Fire-Eater, Otto Butkus Otto was born 21 May
1929 in small town of Rėzgaliai. He arrived on the ship Goya, 26 May 1950. He worked as a cabinet maker in Adelaide before becoming a professional sword-swallower and fire eater. While living in a DP camp
in Hamburg, he began a correspondence course.
The books didn’t tell him about sword-swallowing, so he threw them away
and began to teach himself.&Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-5091522703443697712022-08-06T19:49:00.005+09:302022-08-06T19:49:46.049+09:30Lithuanian DP Doll makes a trip around the worldI received notification that a handmade Lithuanian doll made in DP camp in Dillingen Germany would be coming to the Archives. The doll was found at an antique warehouse in Mulgrave Melbourne in 2018 by a Latvian, who recognised the doll as Lithuanian and purchased it. She had presumed the doll was handed into the warehouse from family upon the death or cleanup of Statkeviciute’s Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-64536921694702472362022-04-15T19:21:00.003+09:302022-04-15T19:21:59.946+09:30The first Lithuanian to make an Australian basketball team Vytautas Šutas was born on 5 April 1925 in Dusetos. He grew to over six foot, giving him an advantage in basketball, a sport he excelled in. He began his basketball career in Lithuania. At the end of WWII, with his parents and brother the family left for Germany. While in Displaced Persons Camps, he began to study medicine. His free time was spent in the English zoneDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-74713327924721250702022-03-01T21:08:00.005+10:302022-03-01T21:08:33.858+10:30Ceramicist, Eleonora MarčiulionisEleonora Lukštytė was born in Tauragnai in the region of Utena
on 12 April 1912. She graduated from the
Kaunas School of Art in 1937. To further
enhance her skills, Eleonora attended the School of Ceramics in Bechynė in the Czech
Republic. Returning to Lithuania in
1938, she was appointed ceramics instructor at the Kaunas School of Fine Crafts
until 1944. She
married Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-42362917073964520532022-01-16T07:00:00.003+10:302022-01-16T07:00:00.256+10:30Albinas Pocius, the Lithuanian Minor ActivistAlbinas was born on December 13th 1918, not far from Sėda. His parents were farmers. He finished Sėda Primary school and then the Sėda middle school. He first joined the scout movement in 1930, as a 12 year old, an interest that he retained throughout his life. Albinas attended high school in Mažeikas, but finished high school in Klaipėda. He studied journalism at the Vytautas Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-43880095098582680312021-12-21T20:39:00.004+10:302021-12-21T21:07:57.803+10:30Tracing your Lithuanian AncestorsWhen I began my family history research it consisted only of what my grandparents could remember. I always thought I came from a very small family. Well 25 years later, I know that is not the case. Tracing your Lithuanian ancestors may seem daunting at first, but it is possible to do so from Australia. The hardest part is just knowing where to start. This resource aimsDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-12047731693749062272021-12-06T20:41:00.002+10:302021-12-21T21:15:06.307+10:30The Wolf ChildrenVolks kinder, Vilko vaikai, the children of the wolfI had previously read an article about wolf children, German orphans from East Prussia who ended up in the Baltic States after WWII. I had no idea that our family had wolf child story. Recently I have been going over my family history notes, rereading everything. I found a letter addressed to my grandmother. I must of Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-43151848964369476862021-06-20T22:06:00.002+09:302021-06-20T22:06:21.531+09:30Celebrating Lithuanian Independence Day, 1950 A long road to Freedom was the headline detailing the celebration of the 32nd Lithuanian Independence Day in the small town of Bridgetown, south of Perth in 1950. Lithuanians as well as other new migrants were employed in a range of jobs in the surrounding area, undertaking their compulsory two-year contract. Newly married couple, Birutė and Jurgis residing in Bridgetown Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-47766734941474337702021-05-13T11:41:00.000+09:302021-05-13T11:41:49.405+09:30Sir Jack, the table tennis championVic SirjataviciusHis
greatest year in table tennis was 1953, when he became the first player in
Australia to beat Michael Sabados, who had held 78 national titles and 13 world
titles.
He
was known as Sir Jack due to his unpronounceable name to Australians. He later
went by the surname of Sirvic. Born Vytautas
on 2 July 1930 in Kaunas to Aleksandras and Barbora Frostas. He was a civilDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-3842740827072535902021-04-16T19:58:00.000+09:302021-04-16T19:58:06.374+09:30I was always with youUpon arrival in Australia, Česlovas Dubinskas, was sent to Woomera to work. He ended up working there for ten years. In 1992, he published a book entitled, I was with you all time. Written in Lithuania, these are some extracts from his time in Woomera. 50 Lithuanians flew to Woomera. The plane landed on site, near Philips Pond camp because the airfield in Kulemilka was not Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-82515395052056100922021-03-04T17:42:00.001+10:302021-03-04T17:42:02.356+10:30Two Year Contracts Part IV (Final)Tasmania
Railton, Goliath Cement Company
Teodoras Šurkevičius
Henrikas Šurkevičius
worked as labourer for 18 months then as a professor of technology.
Also here worked, Vacys Morkunas Juozas Kriaučiunsas, Vladas Kozakas, Ceslovas
Vistokas
Vytautas Kuncaitis, Mindaugas Petras Šumskas
Rossarden, Tasmania
Rossarden is an old mining town in north-east Tasmania,
located 19 km from Avoca. TheDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-28396390572931546682021-02-19T17:42:00.005+10:302021-02-19T17:42:34.961+10:30Two year contracts part III Western Australia
Bunbury, Western Australia
Main Road Board
Ten Lithuanians and two friendly Estonians. Living near the Bunbury forest in tents. Repairing roads, the work is not hard.
Fortnight wage is around 14 pounds.
Everything they do themselves, cooking and cleaning. Vytautas is the cook who also has a
radio. The evenings are spend listening
to the radio, Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-29906083637379548192021-01-25T13:57:00.001+10:302021-01-25T13:57:00.499+10:30Two Year Contracts part IIQueensland
Tully Queensland
Many of the DP workers arrived on the third and fourth transports
to Queensland to cut sugar cane.
Resident in private houses with sperate rooms.
1948 900 Balts engaged in cane cutting. Allocations were:
Hambledon110. Mulgrave 40, Goondi 32,
Mourilyan 20, South Johnstone 43, Tully 90. Macknade 61,
Victoria 48.
Queensland Forest
Forests belong to the ForestDaina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-22654427566411739382021-01-10T13:55:00.000+10:302021-01-10T13:55:11.776+10:30Dr Juozas BriedisDr Juozas Briedis was an agronomist
who worked in Alytus, Seiniai, Ukmerge and Biržai before WWII. He specialised in the economics of animal
husbandry, deciding the most suitable type of breeds of stock for varying
conditions. He always had an interest in
music and singing, such that he studied singing from 1937 – 8 at Kaunas Music
School and later at the University of Bonn.
He Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-82134746060334396962020-12-28T10:30:00.001+10:302020-12-28T10:30:11.540+10:30Two Year Contracts Part IThe Australian Government had an agreement with the International Refugee Organisation to settle at least 12,000displaced persons a year, from camps in Europe. In exchange for free passage and help on arrival, new post WWII migrants agreed to work for the government for two years.Between 1947 and 1953 the Australian Government assisted over 170,000 Displaced Persons to migrate to Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-7387210261804404422020-12-16T15:10:00.001+10:302020-12-16T15:10:05.777+10:30Jonas Žilinskas the man with the iron jawJonas Žilinskas (sometimes Žilinskis. He was known as Jonaas in Australia) was born in 1919 in Kretinga. As a young man he became a trainee
acrobat with a troupe that spent World War II entertaining soldiers. At this
time, Žilinskas developed the “strongman” aerial act that he later brought to
Australia. Jonas was part of the first transport of DP's arriving on the Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4806345446227697926.post-65164807342785262452020-11-26T12:02:00.001+10:302020-11-26T12:02:04.204+10:30A Shared HopeFrom the speech of the book launch on 15th November 2020, by Daina Pocius.South Australia is the state of Lithuanian
firsts; the first newspaper, the first theatre<!--[if supportFields]>
XE "Theatre" <![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><![endif]--> group,
the first and only museum and archives, and the first soccer team, just to name
a few. We have a lot to be proud of and
Daina Pociushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11749490215124052045noreply@blogger.com0