Australian Lithuanian History

The 1951 season was Vytis’ best.  Last year they lost only three games throughout a 23 game championship, plus the Adelaide Baltic Cup tournament, plus the championship of Australian Lithuanian clubs and plus interstate friendly matches. In the championship Vytis started with a loss to OBI, which left the Lithuanians trailing a new ALS (Latvian) team until the end of the first round, when they met ALS and beat them. In the second round the Latvians turned the tables and let the field until the last match of the third and final round with one loss only. In a dramatic last round match Vytis defeated ALS by one point.  Vytis trailed for most of the game but won by paralysing burst of attack in the last 10 minutes, a feature which has characterised many of their matches against first class opposition. Even on wins with ALS (19-2), Vytis was declared minor premier on percentage of won and lost goals.  During the minor round Vytis shot 1103 points (a record fo...

Most of the Vytis players have known each other since 1947, when they played in Wuerzburg, Germany. Stasys (Stan) Urnevicius, the captain (who at 31 is the oldest of the team), learned basketball in Lithuania in his early teens, played in his college team, later for the Vilnius University and finally in the renowned LFLS team. In Germany he lived in Wuerzburg, where Kestas Jaciunskis (born 1926) was captain of the junior team.  Virgilius Gurskis (now 21) was also there, but just learning to play.  Later Algimantas (Algis) Ignatavicius (now 20), from Schweinfurt, joined the juniors. In Adelaide those four, although having arrived at different times. Met each other again and formed a team. By 1951 they had been joined by Nikolaj (Nick) Brovcenko (22), Vitas Merunas (30), Edvardas Kurauskas (32), Anatolijus Kitas (25) and Eugenius Pyragius (20). The first five are; Urnevicius (right forward), Ignatavicius (centre), Jaciunskas (Left forward), Gurksis (left guard)...

Did Lithuanian's change the shape of basketball in South Australia? This article, written in Sport Novel in 1952, may answer that.  Its quite long so I will post it in parts. New Australian Stars Give new life to SA Basketball Since the war ended not only the popularity but also the standard of men’s basketball has risen steadily throughout Australia. Considerable influence has been exercised by European players who began settling in this country late in 1947.  South Australia has received its share of them and the standard of basketball in Adelaide is only slightly behind Victoria and NSW, the traditionally strong eastern states. Among the ablest exponents of the game in Adelaide are Lithuanians.  Their club, Vytis has won the premiership twice, in 1950 and in the SA Men’s Basketball Association an in 1951 in the Adelaide Basketball League, the recently formed body. Will they be able to make it a hat trick?  It is quite possible, b...

New Years Ball, Adelaide. from left; B. Lapsys, Bachunas, A. Linkuvicius The next day the Bachunai rose early so they could fit in meeting more members of the community. The first visit of the day was to Vladas Požela , who was with the Lithuanian Ministry of Home Affairs during president Griniaus time in Lithuania.  They visited Pozela’s son-in-law Vytas Kmitas who works in one of Adelaide’s largest firms, O’Connor and Sons heating and cooling specialists. He also met Juozas Gučius, an actor and manager of Lithuanian Theatre group.  He worked for many years at the Kaunas radio station, as director an actor.  His wife, Gučiene Binkevičiutė, is also a professional singer and singing teacher.  Gučius showed him several programs of past performances, that were held in Lithuanian and English.  The theatre group has performed Henri Devernois, The Bronze lady and the Crystal Gentleman, and Box and Cox, the Proposal, the school for wives.  All the actors...

December 30th Bachunas spent some time with members of the Adelaide Lithuanian Women's group. On March 1, 1952 a Lithuanian Women’s group was formed. The groups role was to generate social occasions where Lithuanians can meet. Another function was to visit the sick in hospitals. The women would take food, sweets or special dietary food and have a chat to the sick. The group would send money twice a year to German sanatorium in Gauting. The women have instigated several new traditions in Adelaide. The Christmas ‘Eglutė’ for children, where Father Christmas visits and gives each child a gift, followed by a communal meal. Each New year or Mother’s day, women over 70 are honoured and presented with a gift. The women assist in preparing lunch each Saturday for the children attending Lithuanian school. Children who take first communion do so in a decorated church and partake in a meal afterwards prepared for by the women. Not one newborn into the community did not receive a gift...

On December 27th they were invited to lunch at Lapšys, who drove them around. They then attended the children’s Christmas celebrations organised by the Women’s guild. The children all received presents and presented the Baciunai with a song, that they had rehearsed. The choir had around 30 children organised by Vasilauskienė. The children also danced, taught by Grėbliunienė and Lapšiene. Many of the children were born in Australia. That evening there was a party at Vytautas Linkus house at Port Adelaide. Linkus has his own business a food products shop at Port Adelaide, “Linkus World Food”. He was then invited to visit Vasilauskas at 36 roomed hotel at Semaphore . Vasilauskas owned several other properties, used for holiday rental. Sunday December 29th, Dičiunas drove them to church where over 300 Lithuanians had gathered. After mass Father Kungys said a prayer for Lithuania independence. After the service had finished Father Kungys drove them to Dičiunas’ home for lunch....

With an occupied Lithuania, the President of the Lithuanian World Community was as close as anyone would get to  Lithuanian royalty.  In 1958, Juozas Bačiunas or Bachunas was elected in this role and in 1958/59 he and his wife journey to Australia. He visited most capital cities and met with many in the Lithuanian community. They arrived in Adelaide on December 26th and were greeted at the Adelaide airport by members of the Lithuanian community with flowers and girls in traditional costumes. Povilas Lūkošiunas organised the Adelaide leg of their holiday. Lūkošiunas treated the couple to tea where the priest Kungys and other members of the community gathered. On the 27th they went to Lithuanian house where the house was full. Being a hot day, it was like a sauna inside. President of the community S. Kibiras gave a talk on the community and its organisations. The number of Lithuanian community groups made an impression on Bachunas.