Kudirka gifts Australian Doctor his artwork

 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 understand that Algirdas Kudirka is remembered as suffering from alcoholism. With the poker work dated 1963, he was probably a patient at Hillcrest Hospital at that time.
 
The poker work’s dimensions are 63cm x 50.5cm x 1cm. It is very striking with the adoption of Aboriginal motifs, the curious shaping of the continent of Australia (with the artist’s name worked into Tasmania) and the inversion of fishes over the landmass.
 

I would love to know whether anyone in the Lithuanian community has knowledge of Algirdas Kudirka’s time/s at Hillcrest (or Yatala). This could be by commenting on this post or sending me information privately via Daina. It could add to the story of the artwork as well as my father’s legacy.

The songs my father sang

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 to Austria where he joined the Innsbruck Opera. He then moved to Stuttgart where he sang on radio and would perform for Lithuanians in Displaced Persons Camps.  He was able to sing in five languages.

 Migrating to Australia, he arrived in Adelaide having traveled on the General Black on 3 June 1948.  He was sent to work on the railways at Peterborough, South Australia.  While in Peterborough he gave a concert at the Peterborough Town Hall with two other Baltic artists, a classical ballet dancer from the Berlin Wintergarten, Borys Schinkow, and Stasys Liaksas, piano  accordionist formerly of the American Army Officers' Club band.

 He actively involved himself in the Adelaide Lithuanian community and local music scene.  He could often be heard singing on the radio.  He organised the Lithuanian theatre group, where he acted and directed numerous plays.  He studied at the University of Adelaide for two years, leaving to move to Melbourne.  From 1966 he joined the Australian Opera where he had minor roles and sang in the Opera Choir. He retired in 1981.

In 1977 he moved to Sydney and joined the Sydney theatre group, Atžala where he acted and directed plays.  Shortly before his death, he formed the Sydney Lithuanian women’s ensemble Sutartinė. He commenced teaching them the songs he had learnt as a child from his father, long forgotten folk songs.

References

Australijos Lietuvis December 6^th 1948 Nr.7

The Argus Thu 17 Jun 1948, page 3,  Three Baltic artists to give concert

Agnė Lukšytė-Meilūnas

 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 the America Dirva prize for the short story Zefirantės, in 1994 - the prize of the Society of Expatriate Lithuanian Writers for the collection of short stories "White chrysanthemum".

The novel, Prošvaistė šešėlyje (A Gap in the Shadow) depicts the people of a small Australian town, their life, and their environment.  

• Kalnų velnias, novelės. Belmore, Meiliūnas, 1970 m.

• Kavinė "Po kadagiais", Cafe "Po Kadagiais 4 veiksmų drama. Vilnius, Centrinio pašto dėžė 150, 1993 m.

• Baltoji chrizantema, novelės White chrysanthemum. Vilnius, Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla, 1993 m., Standartų spaustuvė, 2006 m. 

• Prošvaistė šešėlyje, romanas. Vilnius, J. Nainys: Visuomenės informavimo priemonių valdyba, 1996-1997 m.

Agnė passed away on 23 November 2007 and is buried in the Woronora Memorial Park with her son. 

Picking pears for Australia

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 Baltic migrants arrived by special buses from the Bonegilla Migrant Camp.  The Australian farmers agreed that migrants an excellent type of migrant and are well satisfied with the selection. The migrants have been distributed among 30 orchards in the Shepparton and Ardmona district.  At the end of the season, they will be free to accept employment as permanent orchard hands if they so desire. There were some instances of difficulties involving the new migrants, such as intoxication but on the whole they worked well.

Sixteen recently arrived Baltic migrants, including five married couples, have taken up permanent residence in the Goulburn Valley.  Six women have commenced employment at Mooroopna hospital as wards maids and pantry maids while the 12 men are being employed on orchards, chiefly at Ardmona.  Another 12 men are shortly expected to take up orchard work in the district.

Not all orchard owners were being fair to the new migrants.  Some workers in the Shepparton district are kept in isolated groups and are working a 48-hour week for the same pay as Australians receive for a 40-hour week.  Some of the Balts threw in their jobs and returned to Bonegilla. One proposal by CSR monopoly was to alter buildings at its Yarraville works to house workers employed on a two years' contract.  Discussion at the Building Trades Federation agreed it would not build hostels for their segregation. Housing material would be better used housing Australians already suffering an acute shortage of homes.