Australian Lithuanian History

This portrait of Raginis painted by Neliubsys hangs in Adelaide Lithuanian House A testimonial life to Lithuania Vaclovas was born to be a public figure. He was born in the middle of winter on 5th February 1910 in Vilnius. After the first world war he attended Švenčionių school where he was active in literature and sport clubs. At only 14 years he was producing a fortnightly school newsletter “Vienybe’ (Unity). He spoke several languages, as well as Lithuanian he spoke Polish, Russian and German. His activeness in Lithuanian activities, instigated the Polish government calling for his removal from high school. At this time Vilnius region was occupied by Poland. In 1926 he was able to enrol in Vilniaus Lithuanian seminary and later to Vytautas Didysis school. In 1929 he organised the famous Ažusilės Lithuanian song festival where 2000 people participated. Sensing that his Lithuanian activities were coming to an end he fled to independent Lithuania. Here he enrolled in the...

A novel by former Adelaide resident, Jura Reilly, Circle of Amber.   Set in Lithuania and Australia, " Circle Of Amber" explores the themes of murder, vengeance, loss and betrayal against the back drop of two World Wars. The main characters are forced to make decisions that wrench them from their families and friends. A recipe section has been included at the back of the novel.   Kristina's life in the tiny village of Ventuva, northwest Lithuania, seems idyllic until her husband Romas is brutally murdered. Forced to raise three young children on her own, she relies on the ancient gods and her mother Elena for guidance. Trying to retain her country's traditions during two world wars, Kristina battles to overcome poverty and the villagers' suspicions. On the other side of the world, in Australia, Gaila fights her own demons. Then she finds a small leather bound book amongst her mother's possessions. Does it hold the key to a family mystery? Bonus reci...

This appeared in the Advertiser on Saturday 6 September 1952.  Her surname is spelled incorrectly, it should be Kulisauskas.  This article appears twice but there is no follow up as to is she was found.  Tragically her father had been killed 18 months previously when the motorcycle he was travelling on collided with a bus at Largs North.    I wonder what happened to her?