Australian Lithuanian History

  The Australian Lithuanian War Veterans Association ( Ramov ė ) comprises of former members of the previously independent Republic of Lithuania (1918-1940) armed forces.  The purpose of the organisation is to encourage the camaraderie traditional among ex-soldiers and to maintain and foster Lithuanian heritage, customs and culture. Canberra veterans chose to construct a monument dedicated to honour the victims of terror of communism for wanting to rebuild independent Lithuania.  It was built in the garden of the Canberra Australian Lithuanian Club, when it was located at 64 Wattle Street, Lyneham, an inner northside suburb of Canberra. The initiator and designer of the monument is Feliksas Borumas, who personally executed the construction work with major assistance by LKVS Ramov ė Canberra branch secretary, Liudas Budzinauskas and other LKVS members of Canberra Ramov ė organisation.  The intention was that it would stand indefinitely as a witness and proof ...

Simas Narušis Born 13 March 1899 – 23 December 1969 Born in Karališkiai, not far from Jurbarkas. In 1927 he finished Kaunas school and in 1930-31 studied at Vytautas Didysis University , law faculty.   He married Vanda. They had no children. Simas volunteered for the newly formed Lithuanian Army.   In 1933, Simas rose to the rank of Major.   During the second world war he organised and led separate military units in the east and fought with Lithuanian enemies. From his first arrival in Australia, Simas joined in with Lithuanian activities and was a member of the Sydney Lithuanian Society Committee, where he tirelessly organised community events. From 1965 until his death five years later, he served as the President of the Australian Lithuanian community.   He visited every Lithuanian community around Australia, even the small branches.   He maintained strong links with scouts, youth and sports clubs.   He encouraged Lithuanians to work not for the...

  Our 28 February post about artist Algirdas Kudirka, 1915–1980, caught the eye of Beth Robertson in Adelaide, who has shared this photograph and information. This poker work ‘Australia’ by Algirdas Kudirka has had pride of place in our family home for 60 years. It is dedicated to my father ‘Dr. S. Robertson’,  Thorburn Stirling Brailsford Robertson, 1925–1966.   My father was a doctor who achieved sobriety after being admitted to Northfield Mental Hospital (later Hillcrest Hospital) in 1960 as a certified patient for alcohol and drug addiction. He came under the treatment of Dr Bill Salter, whose therapeutic approach included an Alcoholics Anonymous group at the hospital. Dr Salter supported my father’s appointment as a medical officer and he worked with addicts and AA groups at both Hillcrest and Yatala for the six years until his death aged 40. He was known as ‘Doc Robbie’ to most people.   My late mother told us that the artist was one of our father’s patients. I...

Paulius 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 the whole family to sing together.   They would open the windows and hear the applause from their neighbours.   His father was tenor, his brother was a strong bass, his mother an alto and sister soprano, in a word, a full choir.   Friends, all singers would gather and sing, Lithuanian folk songs in their home.   Paulius finished Kaunas Aušros boys school and then studied at Vytautas Didžiojo University.  He became a soloist with the Kaunas National theatre.  In 1943 he moved to Vienna where he studied at the Theatre Wissenshaft, then the following year moved t...

 Agnė Lukšytė-Meilūnas  1920 - 2007 The 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 of Humanities was moved to Vilnius, Agnė also moved there - she studied Lithuanian and German languages.   In 1944, she moved to Germany and settled in Dresden.  In 1949, she sailed to Australia with her young son Haroldas, settling in Sydney.   Her first book is a collection of short stories Kalnų velnias published in 1970 in Australia. The second book, Café Po kadagiais, depicts the bombing of Dresden on February 13-20, 1944.  Following this a collection of short stories White chrysanthemum which was published in 1993 in Lithuania.  In 1981, the writer won th...

The 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 migrants to assist in the fruit harvesting subject to certain conditions, including that they be employed in batches of at least five and that satisfactory board and accommodation must be provided by the growers.  The Goulburn Valley had only a small available quantity of labour which would have been totally inadequate to harvest the crop, which could lose thousands of pounds worth of fruit.  Most of the migrants whose average age is 24 years, were employed in the Ardmona district for the harvesting of fresh fruit, canning fruit, and dried fruits. On Wednesday, 10 December 1947, 193 Balt...