Lithuanian Businesses in Australia

Jonas Kedys wrote this article in Musu Pastoge in 1955 about trying to start businesses in Australia. 

Many will have read the article "On the Path of Independence" in the August 10 issue of Musu Pastoge. If we had to draw conclusions from this article, it would seem that we have already achieved something in the business field over the past few years. However, when I recall the information from the same "Mūsų Pastogė" about setting up businesses, already three or four years ago, then even then there were probably no less than all kinds of companies, workshops, stores and other businesses among Lithuanians. Unfortunately, we must admit the fact that now only a few of the previously established businesses, of which there were already a dozen at that time, remain, and others, due to their inability to adapt to the market, had to close. Thus, we come to the conclusion that it is difficult for the vast majority of us to set up businesses. Only a small part is able to overcome all the obstacles and difficulties. Where do the main reasons for this failure lie? 

Those starting a business should first of all know that we live in a country where trade and industry are well-developed, this country is full of industries and trade branches, the centers of which are usually abroad: Great Britain, America, Germany and elsewhere. These large companies dictate prices not only for Australia, but also partly for the whole world. So, in order for a newly established company to break into the market, it is necessary to maintain the competition of old companies - to produce goods not only of no lower quality than those already existing, but perhaps even cheaper. And this is not easy to achieve, and therefore many newcomers cannot jump over this competitive barrier. So, when starting a business, two main conditions are necessary: a) sufficient capital for the start-up and b) good theoretical or practical knowledge of the business branch in which one wants to start. Capital is needed to purchase modern machinery, if it is a manufacturing enterprise, or suitable premises in a good location, if a trading enterprise is being established. Production in a primitive way, or trade in the outback — in the conditions of this region, does not promise a good future for an entrepreneur.

Since our people have not yet saved up a large amount of capital, there is only one option left for creating any company: for a few or a few to throw all their resources into a common pot and only with sufficient capital to start trade or production. However, even such a company must have at least one specialist among its members who would understand both the theoretical and practical side of the envisaged business. No one will achieve good results by creating any business with the goal of "helping compatriots". Here I mean the existence of business only for Lithuanian affairs. There are so few Lithuanians in Australia, and they are so scattered over the vast country that no business can survive from them alone. It seems that our first, and indeed Europeans in general, were not successful in business only because they were based not on the majority of the country where they lived, but only on a small minority of their own. It is difficult to say what businesses to pursue more. This depends a lot on local conditions, available capital and the theoretical and practical preparation required to create the intended business. It is worth trying to go into business, because if you succeed, you can create a brighter future for yourself.

J.P. Kedys

Musu Pastoge, Thursday 8 September 1955, page 3

Lithuanian Bread in Benalla

The Mozūras family - owners of Baltic Bakery (Benalla)(Enhanced with AI from image in MP)

 An article written by Dr P Bačys, titled 'Delicious Lithuanian bread' was written up in Musu Pastoge 1956.

Lithuanian Bread in Benalla

While travelling around Australia, I passed through Benalla many times. It is a small town in Victoria, known for its family camp. Driving through in haste, I never noticed the modest sign on Bridge Street bearing the words “Baltic Bakery.”

One day, while attending a service, I met several Lithuanians at the family camp. They mentioned that a few Lithuanian families still lived in the town, among them the Mozūras family. I joked that a Mozūras could hardly be Lithuanian. In truth, Albertas Mozūras proved to be a sincere Lithuanian and a true compatriot.

Alvika Mozūrienė woke her husband, and we spoke warmly about life in Australia. Mr Mozūras rises at three o’clock each morning, resting briefly in the afternoon so he can begin baking again before dawn. From Albertas Mozūras’ bakery, I brought home black Lithuanian bread for the first time in Australia. Made from genuine rye flour and naturally leavened, it carried the unmistakable sour aroma of village bread from Lithuania.

Albertas was a modest man of medium build, with dark eyebrows meeting at the bridge of his nose and lively black eyes. He was forty-five years old when he told me his story, and with it, the story of Lithuanian bread in Benalla.

The Beginning of a Life

Albertas learned the trade of baker and confectioner while still in Lithuania, a craft whose secrets he fully mastered. After arriving in Australia in 1949, he worked for a time at Bandiana, in an army kitchen. His wife and children were sent to Benalla, and Albertas soon followed, finding work with a local baker, Mr Hide.

The work was hard, but he remained employed full-time while nurturing a dream of independence. Bakers were always in demand, but establishing one’s own bakery was another matter entirely. At first, Albertas had no home of his own. His wife was often unwell, and they were raising three children. Still, in 1952 he managed to buy a small house on Bridge Street, paying only a deposit.

As he settled into his home, the idea of opening his own bakery grew stronger. Many plans were made, only to collapse under financial and bureaucratic obstacles. From conversations with his employer, Albertas learned that to open a bakery he would need to join the Bakers’ Union and pay compensation to the baker operating in the same territory. This seemed an insurmountable barrier.

Yet hardship often carries its own solution.

Permission to Open a Bakery

One day, weighed down by worry, Albertas met a Benalla city official and spoke candidly about the difficulties faced by newcomers. The official explained that the government supported migrants seeking to establish themselves and suggested that Albertas apply directly to the city council for permission to open a bakery. Encouraged, Albertas submitted his application.

Some time later, the local morning newspaper announced that the council had granted him permission. That same morning, his employer paid him two weeks’ wages and dismissed him, warning that unless Albertas paid compensation of six hundred pounds, his bakery would be shut down within months.

Albertas returned home disheartened. There was no income, no wages forthcoming, and yet an oven still needed to be built. What was to be done?

A Lithuanian proverb came to mind: “Kas bus, kas nebus – dar nežinai.” Whatever will be, will be. And so Albertas resolved to try.

With his family’s support, he began building the bakery himself. A sawmill owner supplied timber without demanding a deposit, bricks were gathered where they could be found, and Albertas first constructed the oven. Before long, a modern, German-style baking oven stood in the yard.

Until the bakery was ready, his wife baked biscuits in the household oven and sold them at a nearby camp. The family survived on that modest income. Finally, production began in the real oven. There was no signboard, no advertising, and no customers. The first day’s takings amounted to five shillings. The first week brought only three shillings and faith in God’s judgment.

But good bread speaks for itself.

Anyone who bought bread or pastries once returned again, bringing neighbours with them. Soon, without signs or advertisements, people flocked to the bakery. Demand exceeded supply, yet the struggle for survival was far from over.

The Fight for Yeast and Flour

When Albertas refused to pay compensation, the Bakers’ Union declared him a “black baker.” All bakers and millers were ordered to boycott him. Once again, ingenuity prevailed. Having worked in the trade, Albertas knew which millers had themselves fallen out with the union and began purchasing flour from them. Grateful for his custom, the millers supported him.

The Bakers’ Union intervened, forbidding the millers from supplying flour. One miller advised Albertas to take the matter to the Victorian Parliament, even drafting a petition on his behalf. Albertas signed it. Parliament ruled in his favour, ordering that flour be supplied or a commissioner appointed to enforce compliance. The flour problem was resolved.

Yeast soon became the next obstacle. Albertas sourced yeast from Melbourne until the union traced the supplier and cut him off. Undeterred, Albertas prepared to produce yeast himself, planning a small factory. When Melbourne manufacturers learned of this, the yeast supply was suddenly restored.

Following these victories, the Bakers’ Union lifted all sanctions and permitted Albertas to bake and sell freely. Though inspections continued, checking weight and quality, Albertas needed no defence. His skill spoke for itself, and the people of Benalla defended him openly.

“Thanks to you,” they told him, “we now eat good bread. Before, bakers gave us what they pleased, and we had no choice. You brought competition, and with it, quality.”

An Untimely End

Mr Mozūras later rebuilt his home, opened a shop, and modernised his bakery, hoping to ease his workload and expand production. Fifteen months after this account was written, tragedy struck. Albertas and his wife were involved in a car accident. Albertas was killed; Ludvika survived. They left behind four children.

His bread, his perseverance, and his quiet courage remain part of Benalla’s history, a testament to the endurance of a Lithuanian baker who refused to give up.

 Musu Pastoge December 20, 1956, No. 45

 

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.

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

Find a grave

Arlosen Archive

First Australia Lithuanian Community House

For two years, the Sydney Lithuanian Community called 5 Young St, Circular Quay home. The building was owned at the time by St Vincent de Paul and housed a hostel for destitute men, cafe, chapel, chaplain to migrants. In 1951-1952, the community used some of the premises from which it ran Mūsu Pastogė and Catholic activities.

The building is known as Hinchcliff House and still stands, a street away from the Harbour.  It is a heritage-listed former wool store and hostel for homeless men. This three-story building plus basement, was built as wool store.

The firm of A Hinchcliff, Son & Co built the stone store in the late 1880s replacing an earlier iron shed. The Bank of New South Wales, as mortgagor, leased the property in 1937 to German woolbuyers. A mortgagee sale in 1945 saw the property acquired by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.

In 1949 it passed to the Society of St Vincent de Paul and was named Ozanam House in acknowledgment of the founder of the Society, Frédéric Ozanam. During, 1950 – 1952 the premises was used as the Sydney Lithuanian community house.  Part of it was known as Catholic United Services Australia (CUSA) Navy Club, conducted by the Catholic church for sea farers.  The Club was staffed by volunteers who prepared food and provided Christian entertainment each night.

Also using the premises were the Chaplain for Migrants. It appears that the Lithuanian priest Butkus resided here.  The premises served as the venue for the Lithuanian Catholic Association, Community Committee, Australian Lithuanian lawyers society, the Lithuanian library and Australian Lithuanian newspaper, Mūsų Pastogė.

References

Mūsų Pastogė Wednesday 21 November 1951, page 6

Draft conservation management Plan URBIS, Nov 2012

 

Albinas Pocius, the Lithuanian Minor Activist

Albinas was born on December 13th 1918, not far from Sėda. His parents were farmers. He finished Sėda Primary school and then the Sėda middle school. He first joined the scout movement  in 1930, as a 12 year old, an interest that he retained throughout his life.  Albinas attended high school in Mažeikas, but finished high school in Klaipėda.  He studied journalism at the Vytautas Didysis school.  During the soviet occupation Albinas worked on the railways.

In August 1944 he fled the Russian front and fled to the west.  He found himself in the Montomery camp in Dorverdene camp and later Seedorf, the British zone.   It was in a Seedorf Displaced Persons camp in Selsingen that he met Ruta Pociute whom he later married on the 23 March 1947.  

On February 1949 they left Naples on the boat Nea Hellas, bound for Australia.  Albinas spent his two work contract planting pine trees and later working in Housing Trust building homes.  The skills he learnt on the job allowed him to build his own home in Warragul. In 1949 he was actively involved in the Lithuanian scout movement and helped V.s B. Dainutis organise the Australian district.  He had been in Australia only one month before he sought out other Lithuanian scouts, corresponding with them.  

Albinas continued writing for various Lithuanian newspapers over the years.  He wrote “Po Svetimų Dangum” (Under a foreign sky) about scouts in the Sydney Lithuanian newspaper, Mūsų Pastogė.

Later Ruta and Albinas moved to Melbourne where they spend many years.  They became heavily involved in the Lithuanian community, Albinas in scouts, Ramovė even become president of the Australian Lithuanian and regional director of the Lithuanian Scout Association.  Albinas was Ramovės secretary and for six years was Vice-President of the Melbourne Lithuanian Club from 1968 to 1972.  For many years he was the Scouts Ramovė president and also held position of President of the Melbourne Lithuanian community for eight years and in 1980 was elected to the Australian Lithuanian community as President.  He was awarded the World Lithuanian community Karaliaus Mindaugas and Vilnius Universitetas 400m medal.  

Albinas became heavily involved in the fight with the Whitlam government acknowledgment of the Baltic states as being incorporated into the Soviet Union.  He joined the Australian Baltic Committee & Captive Nations and served on both as vice-president.

Albinas was very concerned with the plight of Mažoji Lietuva (Lithuania Minor) and wrote many articles and booklets on the situation.  He lectured extensively throughout Australia and Melbourne. In 1951 he organized the Mažosios Lietuvos Bičiulių Draugija, (Friends of Lithuanian Minor) and became the President.  

After retirement, the couple moved to Adelaide, as Ruta had family there.  Albinas involved himself in the Adelaide community and continued writing. 

In 1997 Albinas and Ruta celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  Family and friends gathered at Lithuanian House in Norwood for a lunch.  He passed away two years later in 1999. Mass was held in the Lithuanian chapel and later at the Centennial Park where he was cremated.  

Albinas was a big bulky bear of a man with a gentle soul.  He was softy spoken, well educated and a true Lithuanian patriot.  He dedicated many years of his life to the Lithuanian community, in the hope of seeing his country free again. 

Digitised Lithuanian heritage

It was with much excitement that I learned that Lithuania had began to digitise and place on-line historic records. 

They are calling it The Virtual Electronic Heritage System (VEPS).  Through the portal called epaveldas you can access thousands of cultural heritage objects newspapers, manuscripts, maps and sound recordings.  So far they have digitised 2 295 506 pages of documents preserved in archives, libraries and museums, 17 500 images from the Lithuanian Art Museum and 11 000 musical works (sound recordings with the total duration of 71 580 minutes).

There are several reasons why this is great news to anyone researching Lithuanian history or their family.  Digitised records include Birth death and marriage records for numerous areas.  Its not complete and you may have to know Latin, Russian or Lithuanian cursive.  It is also not indexed, so you have to go through page by page.  You also need to know the area your family came from and then search for records around that area.  If you do find something yo can save and or print.

The other great news is that they have digitised the Australian Lithuanian newspaper 'Musu Pastoge" from 1949 to 2010.  Again its not indexed, so unless you have a reference it may take awhile to go through.  

You can translate the web page to English, but all documents are in Lithuanian. Having been used to our wonderful Trove website, this appears very clunky, but it can only get better.  Its well worth a play and a few hours of your time, you never know what you will find.

http://www.epaveldas.lt/home