Izidorius Jonaitis

Seventh and nineth President of the Australian Lithuanian Community, Sydney, 1959 - 1960, 1963-1964

Izidorius Jonaitis was born on 3 May 1909 in Paežeriai Šeduva, into a large farming family of five brothers and two sisters. With the support of his elder brother, he completed his primary and secondary education in Radviliškis and Šiauliai before enrolling at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, where he graduated with a degree in civil engineering and architecture.

From an early age, Izidorius was deeply inspired by the ideals of scouting. His enthusiasm continued during his university years, culminating in the founding of the scout corporation “Vytis” at Vytautas Magnus University, of which he served as president in 1931–1932.

After completing his engineering studies, he also graduated from the Military School and served for a time in the Lithuanian Air Force, where he learned to fly. Later, he worked professionally as an architect and construction contractor, and for a period he was employed in the Ministry of Education in Vilnius within the engineering department.

In 1944, Jonaitis was forced to leave Lithuania due to the war. He moved to Austria, and from 1945 to 1949 lived in a displaced persons camp in Ravensburg, Germany. There he taught at the Lithuanian Gymnasium and conducted construction courses for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA).

On 31 May 1949, Izidorius and his wife Whilemina arrived in Australia aboard the Skaugum. He first worked for the New South Wales Railways in Sydenham and, from 1951 to 1971, served in the New South Wales State Architect’s Office, where he helped design hospitals and other public buildings.

Jonaitis remained deeply committed to community life. He served twice as Chairman of the Regional Board of the Lithuanian Community of Australia, dedicating great effort to restoring unity and harmony within the organisation. He was also a long-time member of the Advisory Editorial Board of “Mūsų Pastogė,” an avid chess player, and an active scout leader. Through his initiative, the “Vytis” academic circle of scouts was established in Sydney.

One of his most enduring contributions was the organisation of the first Australian Lithuanian Days in 1960 — a milestone cultural event that strengthened the bonds of the Lithuanian diaspora in Australia.

Izidorius Jonaitis passed away on 7 June 1995, leaving behind a legacy of leadership, service, and dedication to Lithuanian culture and community life.

Stepas Kovalskis - a true aristocrat of spirit

 

Fifth President of the National Council, Sydney 1957 – 25 October 1958

Stepas Kovalskis was born on 28 May 1905 in Bern, Switzerland. After graduating from Ukmergė State Gymnasium in 1925, he studied law at the Faculty of Law, Vytautas Magnus University, in Kaunas. During his studies, he was an active member of the Lithuanian student organisation L.S.T. Korp! "Neo Lithuania."

Upon completing his legal studies, Kovalskis began his career as a bailiff in Kaunas and later worked as a notary in Molėtai, Panevėžys, and Šakiai.

In October 1944, the turmoil of war forced him to leave his homeland. He lived in various German cities—Dresden, Ravensburg, Ulm, Schwäbisch Gmünd, and Stuttgart—before emigrating to Australia in 1949 with his wife, Gražina, and their children. They arrived aboard the ship Nelly in November 1949.

Initially, the family settled in Sydney, later moving to Canberra, where Stepas spent the last seven years of his life.

Stepas left an enduring mark on the Australian Lithuanian community. A man of great administrative talent and exceptional intellect, he served as President of the National Council from 1956 to 1958. Under his leadership, the National Board revitalized the community by launching new cultural initiatives. One of his most significant achievements was the establishment of the Council of Culture and its inclusion in the Community Statute. He is remembered as the founder and chief architect of the Council’s activities and as one of the most devoted supporters of the first Lithuanian Art Days in Australia.

Kovalskis was known for his forward-thinking vision in both social and cultural spheres. His guiding principle was: “Everything needs to be planned at least ten years ahead.”

Those who knew him admired not only his intellect and deep erudition but also his integrity, tolerance, and genuine kindness. As Izidorius Jonaitis, a long-time colleague, once said: “He was a true aristocrat of spirit.”

His untimely passing was a great loss not only to the Lithuanian community in Australia but also to Lithuanians around the world. He left behind the example of a noble personality and a creative Lithuanian who deeply believed in the immortality of the nation. His life was guided by respect for others and love for his fellow human beings.

More than 150 friends and relatives gathered to pay their final respects when Stepas passed away on 5 November 1964. His funeral took place in northern Sydney, where an open casket allowed mourners to bid him farewell. His ashes rest in the Lithuanian section of Rookwood Cemetery, inscribed with the words: “Respect for others was your strength.”

His beloved wife, Gražina, passed away on 21 April 1995 and rests beside him.

References

Mūsų Pastogė 9 Nov 1964 p1
Mūsų Pastogė16 Nov 1964
National Archive of Australia
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Vytautas Skrinska

Fourth President of the National Council Sydney 1955 – 56

Vytautas was born on 24 June 1917 in Poltava, Ukraine. He completed his secondary education at Rygiškių Jonas High School in Marijampolė. After earning the rank of junior lieutenant in military school, he entered university and graduated from the Faculty of Law. He went on to work as a qualified lawyer at the Kaunas City Municipality and later at the Kaunas District Court.

A talented public speaker, Vytautas also worked for a time as an announcer at the Kaunas Radiophone. He married Kaunas ballet dancer Tamara Pagodinaitė, and they had two sons.

During the second Sviet occupation of Lithuania, Vytautas and his family fled the country. They first lived in Austria, where their second son was born, and later moved to Germany, residing in a displaced persons (DP) camp in Reutlingen. There, Vytautas actively participated in Lithuanian community and cultural activities.

On 13 April 1949, the family arrived in Australia aboard the General Stewart and eventually settled in Sydney. From the Uranquinty transit camp, Tamara and the children were moved to the Scheyville family camp, while Vytautas worked in a Sydney factory under a two-year contract with NSW Railways at Darling Harbour. After saving enough to begin a new life, the family settled in the suburb of Homebush. Vytautas later secured permanent employment at the Sydney Central Post Office, where he worked until his retirement.

From his earliest days in Australia, Vytautas became an active figure in the Lithuanian community. He was a member—and later president—of Šviesa Sambūris, a Lithuanian youth organisation, and a member of the Sydney Lithuanian Feather Club. Known for his eloquence, rich voice, and dignified presence, he was often invited to lecture both publicly and privately. Between 1956 and 1966, he served on the Australian Lithuanian Community National Council, including two years as chairman and several as vice-chairman.

Vytautas was also a writer and cultural contributor. He published several short stories and collaborated with Mūsų Pastogė, the Sydney Lithuanian newspaper, where he wrote on literary and cultural topics. Fluent in five languages, he occasionally translated works from foreign authors.

Tragedy struck when his son Sigitas disappeared in Australia. Deeply affected, Vytautas withdrew from public life and spent his later years in solitude.

Vytautas was known for his warmth, calm temperament, and respect for others. In conversation and debate, he was logical, fair-minded, and always considerate of differing opinions. He appreciated art and maintained close ties with painters, writers, and musicians. Though life often tested him, he remained kind-hearted and dignified.

On 20 February 1981, at the age of 63, Vytautas passed away suddenly. He is buried in the Lithuanian section of Sydney’s Rookwood Cemetery.

Leonardas Karvelis

Leonardas Karvelis

Third President of the National Council

Sydney, 1954 – June 17, 1955

Leonardas Karvelis was born on 11 March 1907 in Šiauliai. During the First World War, he attended the Martynas Yčas Lithuanian Gymnasium in Voronezh, a city on the Voronezh River in southwestern Russia. By the end of 1917, Voronezh had become a cultural and educational centre for Lithuanians living in Russia.

In 1925, Leonardas graduated from the Šiauliai State Gymnasium and went on to study economics at Vytautas the Great University in Kaunas for four years. After completing additional examinations, he qualified as a lawyer.

From 1934 to 1940, he served as the legal affairs representative for the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. Between 1941 and 1944, he worked as a legal advisor for the General Directorate of Forestry in Kaunas.

After the Second World War, Leonardas settled in Freiburg, Germany, where he joined the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association. He also served as head of affairs for the Lithuanian National Committee and as secretary of the gubernatorial government under the French occupation authorities.

On 27 June 1949, Leonardas arrived in Australia aboard the Skaugum, together with his wife Halina and their son Kęstutis. From his earliest days in Australia, he became actively involved in Lithuanian community life.

Between 1951 and 1955, he served in several key roles: Member of the Court of Honour of the Sydney District (1951–55), Vice-Chairman of the Regional Board (1953–54), and Chairman of the Regional Board (1955). Beginning in 1957, he was repeatedly elected Chairman of the National Control Commission of the Australian Lithuanian Community.

Beyond these national roles, Leonardas was deeply involved in a number of community organisations. He was a long-standing elder of the Sydney branch of the Lithuanian Lawyers’ Association and a legal advisor to various Lithuanian groups. He drafted constitutions for the Sydney sports club Kovas and the Women’s Social Welfare Society, and also prepared the working rules for the Cultural Council of the Australian Lithuanian Community.

Leonardas was well known among Sydney Lithuanians as a charming gentleman, an eloquent speaker, and an engaging conversationalist — particularly on political subjects. A proud and conscious Lithuanian, he was a staunch anti-communist, a defender of conservative values, and a passionate advocate for the restoration of Lithuania’s independence.

When some within the community questioned the relevance of celebrating 16 February — Lithuanian Independence Day — given the realities of the time, Leonardas firmly rejected such views. He reminded them:

“The Lithuanian nation declares to the whole world, to all mankind, to its friends and enemies, that it will not agree to the enslavement of Lithuania. The Act of the Sixteenth of February is a sacred and final decision for a free and independent life, and the independence of the state is essential for the development of national culture and the survival of the nation.”

Leonardas Karvelis passed away suddenly at his home in Bankstown on 28 March 1987. He is interred, together with his wife Halina, in the Lithuanian section of Rookwood Cemetery.

References

Mūsų Pastogė No. 14 1987. 4. Page 13 obituary by J. Véteikis
National Archive of Australia
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Vytautas Simniškis - Second President of National Council - Sydney 1953 – 1954

 Second President of National Council - Sydney 1953 – 1954

Vytautas Simniškis was born on 2 October 1918, in Marijampolė, into a large family of a wealthy farmers. 

Like many Lithuanians, Vytautas ended up in the Seedorf camp after the end of the war in Germany.  He did not rest here but took up work and was appointed warehouse manager.

Vytautas arrived in Australia on the first transport at the end of 1947.  He served his government required employment in the brown coal mines of Yallourn, Victoria.  At the beginning of 1950, he moved to Sydney, where Vytautas put down his roots and devoted himself wholeheartedly to Lithuanian activities.  He bought a grocery store, which he modernized and expanded.  It was his livelihood until he retired.

In 1955, Vytautas married a fellow Lithuanian.

Since the beginning of 1953 to 1958 Vytautas was a member of the board of the Lithuanian Community of Australia, serving for three terms, and in 1953-4 he was elected chairman of the board. During his leadership, the board established close links with exile organisations of other nations and with Australian political parties. The case of Lithuania was raised everywhere.

In his position as head of social care, he called together the more active women of Sydney in early 1956 with the aim of establishing an aid society.  From this nucleus grew the registered and capable Sydney Lithuanian Women's Social Care Association of which Tanja was a member and served as President.  In the third term of the board, as the treasurer, Vytautas many efforts to improve the difficult financial situation of Mūsų Pastogė, the Sydney Lithuanian newspaper.  Vytautas was the initiator of establishing a united Baltic committee.

For the next two terms, Vytautas served in the National Control Commission. His acquired practice in trade and his extraordinary endurance and stubborn personality, which makes the impossible possible, gave us the community the registered Lithuanian club and one of the most beautiful Lithuanian houses in the entire diaspora. In 1960, Vytautas was elected to the board of the Lithuanian House of Sydney and was immediately appointed to be chairman. He remained in that position without any break until 1983, when he retired from the board.

The path from the old Club at Redfern to the newer licensed club with new buildings was winding and full of obstacles. It was necessary to go to courts with lawyers, handle municipal bureaucrats, construction workers, and to study mainly the laws of this land.  Vytautas overcame all this.  He had neither magical power nor supernatural abilities, but he was straight-thinking, and after patiently listening to mutual arguments, he said with light humour: "...let's get back to work, men, because we have to do it now."

On 8 July 1987 about two hundred Sydney Lithuanians gathered in St. Joseph's Church, in Lidcombe, to accompany Vytautas Simniškis, on his last journey on earth.  Mass was offered by Fr. Povilas Martūzas and after, a long motorcade escorted the coffin to Rookwood Crematorium.

Chairman Vytautas Bukevičius spoke on behalf of the Board of the Lithuanian Club. He urged those present to continue the work of the deceased by committing to maintain the Lithuanian Club and leave it for future generations as an eternal monument. 

Vytautas, you deserve our greatest thanks. Rest in peace, far from your birthplace, and at the same time rejoice in being so close to the creation of your earthly life.

References

Mūsų Pastogė 1978, 10 September, V. Siminiskis, 50 years

Mūsų Pastogė 1987 July 20, Obituary by Anskis Reisgys p,3

National Archive of Australia

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