Juozas Maksvytis, the first Lithuanian to graduate from the University of NSW

Juozas was the first Lithuanian to graduate from the University of NSW. Eighteenth and seventh president of the Australian Lithuanian Community.

Juozas was a person devoted to science, loved music and song, and had a sense of responsibility for Lithuanian community work, and everything was connected with a sense of the beauty of life, with undying optimism.

Juozas Maksvytis was born on November 7, 1924, in Grūšlaukė, Salanta village, Kretinga county, in the family of a pharmacist, the middle of seven children.  In 1938 he joined the scouts in Taurage and in 1944 graduated from Plungė Gymnasium.

After moving to Germany, due to the occupation of Lithuania, he gained a degree in electrical engineering, graduating from Nürtingen-Schwäbisch Gmünd Lithuanian Technical School in 1948.

In 1949 he arrived in Australia on the Svalbard 29 June 1948, his younger sister, also came to Australia a few months before him.  Juozas completed a two-year work contract at a factory in Yallourn, Victoria. After moving to Melbourne, he immediately got involved in national cultural activities, such as Lithuanian folk dancing. He enrolled into the University of Melbourne, but due to his limited English he was unable to complete the course.

In 1952, Juozas moved to Sydney, where in August 1954 he married a fellow Lithuanian.  They had two daughters.  He again enrolled into the newly opened University of NSW, Faculty of Science and Mathematics.  In 1959 he received his diploma in applied chemistry and in 1960 received a Bachelor of Science degree. 

He worked during the day and studied in the evening; he had to support his family.  It was reported that chemistry student Juozas Maksvytis, had become the first radioactive person in Australia. While studying in the chemistry labs he helped to remove from the laboratory a container with radioactive material.  It was later noticed that liquid had leaked from the leaden container that he had been carrying.   After conducting tests, it was established that his wrist was radioactive. The university took urgent measures, and he spent 14 days in hospital, where intensive blood tests were carried out.  He survived.

From 1963-64 and 1969-70 Juozas was a member of the Regional Board of Australian Lithuanian Community (ALC).  From 1973-75 Juozas was the chairman of the Sydney area of ​​ALC, and when Gough Whitlam recognised the Baltic States incorporation into the Soviet Union, Juozas was a member of the BAG (Baltic Action Group), who actively fought for the cancellation of the recognition.

In 1983-84, Juozas was again a member of the ALC Regional Board and simultaneously the chairman of the ALB Cultural Council.

He worked as a biochemist at St. Vincent's Hospital, until his retirement in 1987.  By then he was head of the hormone research department.

The following year he studied philosophy and history at Macquarie University, then 1991-92 he attended a museum management courses (graduated in November 1992), and since 1993 worked with the University of Third Age until his death.

In 1989 to 1990 Juozas again served on the ALC board as chairman.  From1995 he actively joined Sydney Lithuanian sports club "Kovas" and played golf.

Juozas had a lifelong love of music.  Since 1954 he sang in the Sydney Lithuanian choir and saw him join Algis Plukis "Rozytės", later he performed with his own group "Tie patys".  After the creation of the "Ansamblio" choir, Juozas helped this choir prepare individual voices, occasionally conducting the choir himself in concerts.  Since 1960 until 1970 for a whole decade, Juozas was a singing and music teacher at the Sydney Weekend School.

Juozas even composed a series of his own songs and hymns, such as "Longing", for which he wrote the music and lyrics.  Juozas performed in the opera "Aida" in the chorus of the Sydney Opera House.  In 1996 Juozas sang in four Australian choirs: Sydney Men's Choir, Sydney Mixed Choir, Beethoven 9th Symphony Society Choir and University of Third Age Choir.

Since 1975 he acted in the Sydney Lithuania "Atžala" theatre, in 1980 he switched to directing and theatre administration. Together with Paulius Rūtenius, he organised the first Lithuanian theatre festival in Australia.

On 2 February 1977, the sad news about the unexpected death of Juozas Maksvytis, was received which painfully shocked his large group of friends and acquaintances.

Mykolas Zakaras - Eleventh President

Mykolas Zakaras was born on 21 October 1909 at the Urniežiai farmstead in Dotnuva parish, Kėdainiai County, into the family of a prosperous farmer. The eldest of nine children, he grew up with five brothers and three sisters.

He attended primary school in Dotnuva before continuing his secondary education in Kėdainiai and Kaunas, including studies at the Pavasaris Higher Commercial School (Gymnasium). He later studied at the Institute of Trade in Klaipėda and also attended the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Vytautas Magnus University. He was unable to complete his university studies after the university was closed during the German occupation of Lithuania.

Mykolas completed his military service with the Sixth Squadron of the Lithuanian Military Aviation in Šiauliai, finishing his service with the rank of private. From 1938 to 1944, he worked as a bookkeeper at the electrical station in Telšiai. In addition to his native Lithuanian, he was fluent in German, Russian and Polish.

On 21 January 1942, Mykolas married at the Church of the Resurrection in Kaunas. A daughter was later born in Kaunas. In 1944, as Soviet forces reoccupied Lithuania, the family fled to Germany. Mykolas initially worked in a factory at Schwopnitz in Saxony and, from 1945, as a warehouse checker for the International Refugee Organization (IRO) in Hanau. Their son was born in Germany in 1945.

After the war, the family emigrated to Australia and eventually settled in the Sydney suburb of Kingsgrove. Mykolas worked hard in a glass factory, establishing a new life for his family and ensuring that his children received a good education. Once his children were older, he became increasingly involved in Sydney's Lithuanian community.

From 1961 to 1962, Mykolas served as Chairman of the Bankstown District Board. In 1963, he was elected to the Regional Board of the Australian Lithuanian Community (ALB). Following the death of the Regional Board Chairman, Stasys Narušis, in 1969, Mykolas briefly assumed the duties of Chairman. He also contributed to the establishment of the Bankstown Lithuanian House and remained active in the affairs of the local Lithuanian community.

In 1967, Mykolas joined the Sydney branch of the Lithuanian Veterans' Union Ramovė. He became an active and dedicated member, was frequently elected to the branch board and held a number of positions within the organisation. In recognition of his longstanding service and contribution to Lithuanian veterans, he was elected an honorary member of Ramovė on 20 May 1989.

Mykolas was also involved in Lithuanian sporting activities in Sydney and was recognised for his contribution to the Lithuanian sports club Kovas, which elected him an honorary member.

Mykolas Zakaras died on 16 August 1995. On 21 August, family, friends and members of the Lithuanian community accompanied him on his final journey to Rookwood Cemetery. At the graveside, Mindaugas Šumskas delivered a farewell address in which he recalled Mykolas's contribution to the establishment of the Bankstown Lithuanian House and his work within the Bankstown Lithuanian community. Juozas Dambrauskas also remembered his contribution to Lithuanian sporting life and the recognition he had received from Kovas.

The Engineer and the President, Balys Daukus

Balys Daukus was born on 23 November 1900 in Samanių village, Južintai region, Rokiškis district, under the surname Dobkevičius. During Lithuania’s struggle for independence, he restored his great-grandfathers’ original surname, Daukas.

After completing elementary school, he enrolled at the Daugavpils Gymnasium. With the outbreak of World War I, he left for Tashkent to stay with his uncle, where he witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution and the mass killings carried out by the Soviets. After the war, he returned to Lithuania, continued his studies at the Rokiškis Gymnasium, and later at the Panevėžys Men’s Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1923. He then studied engineering at Kaunas University. During his studies, he supported himself by teaching adult courses and working at the Kaunas railway workshops, as well as serving as a technician in peat bogs. At the university, he joined the student organisation Corp! Neo-Lithuania, becoming one of its earliest members when it was founded in 1922.

He married Pajauta Linartaitė, who was also a student at the time. In 1931, he graduated with a degree in technological engineering. 

From 1932 to 1934, he headed the railway workshop in Virbalis. In 1934, on the recommendation of Minister of Transport Vytautas Vileišis, he moved to Klaipėda to serve as head of the port mechanics department and port dredging operations. He managed a staff of 450 employees, was frequently invited as an expert to other organisations, and travelled abroad to England, Sweden, and Germany on official assignments. In 1938, he was also appointed head of anti-aircraft defence for Klaipėda city and the Klaipėda region.

While living in Klaipėda, he actively participated in sports activities, helped organise Lithuanian football players, and often accompanied teams traveling between Klaipėda and Kaunas.

After Klaipėda was seized by Germany in 1939, he briefly served as deputy director of the Pavenčiai Sugar Factory. In 1940, he became director of the Panevėžys Sugar Factory. Under his leadership, the company—employing 2,000 workers—completed construction of the new plant.

During this time, he also witnessed the murder of twenty high school students from Kupiškis. Through his efforts, a temporary memorial—a large wooden cross—was erected to honour the victims. In the summer of 1941, after the Bolsheviks were expelled from Lithuania, numerous resistance groups emerged in Panevėžys. Recognising the continued danger posed by the new German occupation, Balys organised a joint meeting of resistance leaders to coordinate future activities.

In October 1944, he left for Germany, where he worked for a time as an engineer at a sugar refinery near Leipzig. By late 1945, he was living in the Lithuanian camp in Kempten.

From Kempten, he emigrated to Australia, arriving in June 1949 aboard the General Langfitt. He worked under a two-year contract at the Army workshops in Bandiana, Victoria. The family later moved to Sydney, where he worked as a factory mechanic in a ceramics plant, and later as a design engineer for the New South Wales Electricity Commission until his retirement.

Prior to emigrating, he had founded the Lithuanian Engineers and Architects Society and served as its head. After settling in Sydney, he established a branch of the World Lithuanian Engineers and Architects Society on 22 July 1951, led the branch, and kept its yearbook of professional activities. He maintained close ties with branches in Melbourne and Adelaide, founded a new branch in Canberra, and kept contact with engineers across Australia and New Zealand.

In Sydney, he was an active contributor to Šviesa and regularly participated in Lithuanian Community meetings. In 1951, at the Regional Council session in Melbourne, he was elected vice-chairman of the presidium. In 1956, at the session in Sydney, he was elected chairman. He chaired the session effectively and was re-elected to the Regional Council for the 1957–1958 term, again serving as vice-chairman. He also took part in the 1958 session held in Melbourne. At the end of 1960, he was once more elected to the Regional Council for the 1961–1962 term, this time as chairman. During his term, the Provincial Government published the monumental 290-page Australian Lithuanian Yearbook, which remains an important source on Lithuanian life in Australia.

Balys Daukus died on 9 January 1968 and was buried in the Lithuanian section of Rookwood Cemetery.