I was always with you

Upon arrival in Australia, Česlovas Dubinskas, was sent to Woomera to work.  He ended up working there for ten years.  In 1992, he published a book entitled, I was with you all time. Written in Lithuania, these are some extracts from his time in Woomera. 

50 Lithuanians flew to Woomera. The plane landed on site, near Philips Pond camp because the airfield in Kulemilka was not completed, only ground levelling works was still ongoing.

There was already a building where the project administration, an engineering department and a drawing room were located. I was assigned to live in a large military tent where Jonas Meškauskas, Kostas Tymukas and Algis Žilinskas were already located. The first night was very hot – about +30 C, so it was not pleasant to sleep.

In Woomera, when I arrived, the first impression was terrible because the heat in January was terrible and hard to bare, especially when during the physical work on railroad, sewer, plumbing, etc. There often were sandstorms, penetrating the mouth, eyes, nose. Cars had to stop because drivers could not see the road. When a storm struck us working outdoors, we had to hide under the floors of future buildings. Wooden houses were built on raised poles, so there was a space to hide under the floor.  Sand was blown into our rooms and administration premises.  After the storm finished, it was necessary to clean, dust the sheets, clothes, and everything else.

I became a friend with the pastor of the Anglican Church because I would donate flowers to the Church.  Jonas and I planted flower beds near the administration building and our apartments. Our assistants cared for the flower beds when they have time, and we ourselves worked on them on Sundays. The flowers grew beautifully because we used sludge from the sewers, which was a very good fertilizer when it dried. We gave flowers to the Anglican chaplain to decorate the church. Farmers from Woomera and the surrounding areas visited our gardens and marvelled that plants in the desert grew so well.

Life in Woomera was going normally. I had to meet people of different nationalities on a regular basis; many English and Australians worked there also, in addition to migrants.  The whole social life took place in our club, mostly sipping beer.  Fellow workers still lived in the Philips Pond camp. There was also Captain Bennett's camp, where several Lithuanians worked laying cables.

Many migrants bought trucks and entered into contracts to collect stones to deliver them to the quarry.  There they were ground into gravel (rubble), which was used for the construction of buildings, roads, squares, and airfields.

It was a great pleasure to work and live in Woomera, and I got to used to it after ten years, so it seemed to be my permanent place to live.  Our patron managing director realized that that living/life style is detrimental to my and Jonas’ health because the desert remains a desert. He arranged for us to be relocated to Adelaide, into a department of planning roads and aerodromes.

Transcribed by Edita Meskauskaitė.

Jonas Žilinskas the man with the iron jaw

Jonas Žilinskas (sometimes Žilinskis.  He was known as Jonaas in Australia) was born in 1919 in Kretinga.  

As a young man he became a trainee acrobat with a troupe that spent World War II entertaining soldiers. At this time, Žilinskas developed the “strongman” aerial act that he later brought to Australia.  

Jonas was part of the first transport of DP's arriving on the General Stuart Heintzelman..  His two year contract saw him cutting timber in  the Yuraygir National Park, northern NSW.   Jonas designed and built what is thought to be the first swingsaw in Australia.  It had an immediate impact on sleeper production, increasing those made form 10 to 250 sleepers per day for a 2-3 man crew. 

Before leaving the forest, Jonas built a statue of himself in the Newfoundland State Forest.  Made from concrete the life size version of himself stands on a large column. The figure is covered in a keys.  He lived in the forest in a self made wooden slab hut.  He even erected a tightrope between the trees so he could practice his circus skills.  

He never forgot his first love of circus work.  By 1950's he began working again for Australian circuses, first joining Wirth's, Sole's, Bullen and then Ashton where he remained until his retirement in 1999.  His signature act was holding a ring in his mouth while on a trapeze.  From the ring would dangle another performer. He claimed he could hold the weight of three female aerialists.  On one occasion he suffered a broken jaw while performing. 

A lovely obituary was written for him by Pixi Robertson.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/jonas-zilinskas-circus-legend-a-hard-act-to-follow-20130826-2sm4a.html