Sydney Lithuanian Women’s Social Welfare Society

After the Lithuanian community settled in Sydney, many organisations began to emerge, and Lithuanian-style social and cultural activities flourished. However, women were always needed behind the scenes—for assistance, organisation, and preparations. Much of this work was being done informally and separately in different districts, but it was clear that a coordinated effort was lacking. There was also an urgent need for structured social support work, which could only be addressed by a unified women’s organisation.

At the time, there were already small groups of women active in charitable efforts under the Sydney District Council, as well as in areas like Bankstown and Cabramatta. While these groups weren’t yet united under one body, their efforts laid the groundwork for the creation of a formal organisation.

Recognising this, the Australian Lithuanian Community (ALB) Regional Board—particularly its social affairs representative, Vytautas Simniškis—took the initiative. On 18 March 1956, he convened the founding meeting of what would become the Sydney Lithuanian Women’s Social Welfare Society. Attendees included: Mrs. Ona Osinienė, R. Klimaitytė, Cecilija Protienė, Jadvyga Venclovienė, Bronislava Jarembauskienė, Pajauta Daukienė, Wilhelmina Jonaitienė, Elzbieta Kapočienė, Elena Badauskienė, Sofija Dryžienė, A. Zigaitienė, Ona Grosienė, and Marta Cibulskienė.

At this meeting, Simniškis spoke about the vital role an organised women’s group could play in the life of the Lithuanian community—emphasising its independence and self-governance. The idea was unanimously supported, and the Society was formally founded. Its first board was elected with Ona Osinienė as chairwoman, and R. Klimaitytė, Marta Cibulskienė, Bronislava Jarembauskienė, and Elzbieta Kapočienė as members. K. Narbutienė and Cecilija Protienė were selected as board candidates.

The community quickly felt the impact of this new organisation. The Society rapidly expanded its membership and activities, focusing on social service and charity. Within a few months, the board was restructured, and the organisation became a central part of community life. However, the women of the Society felt that their work should not remain limited to behind-the-scenes tasks or private gatherings.

In 1962, they decided to register officially with local authorities as a charitable organisation. On 25 January 1963, the group became legally recognised as the Sydney Lithuanian Women’s Social Services Association, with its own constitution and formal regulations. It was one of the first officially registered Lithuanian organisations in Australia. This step enabled the Society to organise public fundraising events, such as raffles and lotteries, and manage financial resources for charitable projects—including the acquisition of property.

A major goal of the Society was the creation of a retirement home for Lithuanian seniors—a place where they could live out their later years in dignity and among their own community. Through persistent effort, and with support from government programs, the Society acquired a two-acre plot of land in the suburb of Engadine, a location both beautiful and convenient. With further effort and assistance, including help from the Lithuanian SSR, the dream of a “Lithuanian Homestead” began to take shape.

Tanija Simniškienė, one of the Society’s founding members and most active leaders, chaired the organisation from 1959 to 1961.

As the name suggests, the Society’s work began with practical assistance to other groups: helping the sick, supporting those in distress, preparing food and hosting events, and raising funds for charitable purposes. Despite the demands of such work, the Society took on the ambitious challenge of building a Lithuanian Home for the Elderly—a project many considered too large to be led by a women’s organisation. But the Society’s determination only grew stronger.

Following registration as a legal charity, the long and difficult journey to realise this vision began. Finally, the Engadine land was secured, and financial support was obtained to build and furnish the facility. After 15 years of effort, the results were clear: six brick houses, housing 12 apartments, were completed and fully occupied by members of the Lithuanian community, forming a close-knit and caring environment. If not for the economic downturn in Australia, which led to the suspension of government grants, the project might have been completed even sooner.

Despite the scale of the Lithuanian Homestead project, the Society never lost sight of its original mission. Assistance to the living remained a core part of its work—but care for the dead also became part of its service. The Society arranged funerals for many lonely Lithuanian compatriots, maintained their graves, placed modest headstones, and managed their affairs with dignity and compassion.

The Sydney Lithuanian Women’s Social Welfare Society remains a testament to what can be achieved through unity, determination, and community spirit.

100 Aciu - Julija & Algimantas Grigonis

Julija & Algimantas GRIGONIS

As is true for most of us, the biggest influences in my life as an Australian born Lithuanian, were my parents Julija and Algimantas Grigonis.

Most of my generation typically started school in Australia with no English but went on to become very articulate in English and to do well academically.

Mum and Dad's generation were all bilingual as a minimum, but many were multilingual before they even came to Australia with English becoming their 3rd, 4th or more language. Hearing a variety of languages from an early age may well have sparked my interest in later language study.

Going to Lithuanian school on Saturdays at Lithuanian House was not always what we wanted to do as some of the classes were not easy and we needed help with homework which was often very hard especially for History as I struggled to understand what we had to read.

How Lithuanian grammar works did not fall into place for me until I started Latin in high school when it all became abundantly clear.  I can still decline and conjugate much better in Latin than in Lithuanian, but I understand that this kind of thing is often typical of native speakers of almost any language when it comes to grammar.

We had to catch two buses each way to Lithuanian school which was quite an undertaking back in the 1950s when I was only 9 and taking my sisters with me on the bus.  Luckily, we sometimes had Mr Kubilius, Mr Pakalnis, or other Lithuanian drivers kind enough to let us out at Eastry Street past the actual bus stop and not always ask us to buy a ticket.

Dad had taken us the first couple of times to show us the way.  After that we got used to the going back and forth.

At some stage Dad bought a car and drove us there.  I still often take the same route along Payneham and George Streets to Sydenham Road and Gray Street.

My family had little by way of material goods, but Dad was a good musician and we grew up with lots of books and music.

Packages of books from Lithuania, especially from Senelis Matas Grigonis were special as were the postcards he sent. I still have several of mine on which he wrote poems and stories. His language was beautiful but then he was a known wordsmith with a lot of his work having been published in Lithuania.  Dad told us a lot about him and we had books such as Žemuogėlės, Algimantelio Metai, volumes of children's poetry.   Senelis Matas was Lithuania's first poet who wrote specifically for children.  He wrote many letters and articles for magazines.  I learned much more about his work as an adult but as a child I knew that Dad's Dad was someone special and that fostered my own interests in words, languages, translation and being a bookworm.   At age six I decided I wanted to be a teacher and Senelis wrote that I had made a good choice. Although it did not come to pass I have always been interested in education and have pursued language studies along the way.

I finished Lithuanian school in 1962 and still have the certificate.

Many of us still have friends from those days. We might not meet that often, but we remain friends.

I am also very glad to have had Ponia Jurgelionienė teach me how to weave and I still know how.

Dad played music every day.  He played violin, accordion, ocarina, mandolin but we mostly heard the accordion.

He also had a lot of records including Lithuanian 78s. Some are now collectors' items.

We often stayed late after Lithuanian School on Saturdays as Dad played music for folk-dancing practice which I loved to watch.

I got to know the music and dances well but was never in the dancing group as we did not have tautiniai rubai/national dress.

Dad taught us songs at Lithuanian school and at home, which was not always fun, but I still remember most of the melodies if not all the words.

It was also usually Dad who scolded us for not speaking Lithuanian at home. "Nesuprantų!" (I do not understand!)

We attended Vasario 16, Motinos Diena, Tremimo Minejimas, Tautos Šventė , Tevo Diena, Kariuomenės Švente and other events for many years.  Some of the speeches were very long but we loved the 'meninė dalis' especially the dancing.

Later on, we also joined ALSK Vytis and played basketball for quite a few years.
Volunteers took us to training and games as Dad did not have a car at the time.

Dad told us about living in Panevežys and his Dad being school principal at the various towns in which they had lived such as Rožalimas, Anykščiai and Panevežys.  Today there are plaques on the walls of the houses indicating that Poet, Author, Teacher, Pedagogue Matas Grigonis had resided there and the dates.

Dad hardly mentioned anything of his time as a Plechavičiukas. All we heard from him was that he was in and out of three armies within a year; Plechavicius for which he volunteered, German (conscripted) and Red (conscripted).  He deserted the Red Army and never went back to Lithuania even when it was possible, as the Red authorities had long memories and he was sure that they would lock him up. That was really sad as he had left home for the war effort at age 16 and never saw his family again.

Dad was part of the group in Adelaide who started the local Lithuanian radio program. He worked on it for 15 years and created a complete archive of all the programs on tapes.  After his death a selected few ended up in the Mortlock Library in South Australia while his lifelong friend Vytas Patupas sent the rest (over 700) to Martyno Mažvydo Biblioteka in Lietuva/Lithuania. I heard the late Gabrielius Žemkalnis mention that they were there during one of his programs in which he spoke about the Mazvydo library.  Dad also sang in the choir for several years and was very involved with Adelaide's Lithuanian theatre group Vaidila, for which he prepared sound effects for many years.

Mum's maiden name was Žiukelytė. She told us about being born in Žiukeliškes (there were so many Žiukeliai that there was even a village named after them!) and growing up in Dūsetos.  When the lake froze over in winter she and her brothers watched horses in harness racing on the ice.  That event happens every year on the first Saturday in February even now and is know as Sartai.  Dusetos is on the shores of Sartu Ežeras/Lake Sartai.

Winters were very cold and Mum and her siblings had to cover up very well to prevent frostbite on the tips of their noses.

We learned about her older sisters Karūte and Marytė, brothers Vladas and Rapolas plus sister Elenutė who had died at age 20 from TB. Among the few possessions Mum had brought all the way from Lithuania via Germany was a photo album which she showed us. We learned about the people in them and what our grandparents looked like.  They both died just before WWII.  During our childhood the names and faces were only in photos and we never knew if it would be possible to meet our extended family.  We learned that Dusetos is in pretty countryside, very green and a lovely town. Mum went to live and work in Kaunas.  She worked in a bookshop and devoured books all her life.

Mum was a member of Moterų Sėkcija for several years.

One of my earliest memories of both Mum and Dad is from when we had moved from the city to Hillcrest.  I was not quite four years old . Mum taught me how to dance Suktinis while singing Bitutė Pilkoji, plus Klumpakojis and its song, with Dad's accompaniment on the accordion.

We also knew songs like Ant kalno murai, Ant kalno karkliai siubavo long before singing them at school.  Tautos Himnas was also in my head long before I really understood it but that happens with many songs and poems. When Dad took us for drives, we sang in the car. A favourite was Išėjo Tevelis į miška.

Childhood rhymes are still in my head eg. Lyja lietus per karaliaus pietus, Karalienė verkia, Karaliukai knarkia. (like It's raining, It's pouring).

I tried hard to speak Lithuanian but it wasn't easy when English dominated at school and with neighbours.  Plus when our brother Algiukas was little, those who supposedly 'know' advised that two languages in the home were delaying his speaking.  English had to take priority which was very disappointing for Mum and Dad. We all know that "Bilingual is beautiful"! Ironically when Algis grew up he understood Lithuanian quite well. The psychologist's advice was wrong.

Reasonable proficiency in Lithuanian language was a huge help on my first trip to Europe in 1975 when I met Mum's brother Vladas in Munich and spoke Lithuanian with him and his friends.  My German was limited.  Uncle Vladas took me to Lietuva where I met many people who had till that time simply been faces in photos.  Being able to communicate with them was wonderful and even though I made mistakes, Močiutė Jadvyga Grigonienė was amazed that I could speak the language at all.  She also remarked that I spoke old fashioned Lithuanian as the language over there had changed over the previous 30 years.

I am the only grandchild born in Australia who met Močiutė albeit for just 7 days.  While I was there, Uncle Kastytis organised a phone call to Adelaide and Močiutė got to speak with Dad once again.  Many years later Dad rang his brother Kastytis when Lithuania had regained independence in 1991.

I was so glad that I went to Lietuva back in 1975 and met so many members of the extended family on both sides.  I made a few more trips too, the last one having been in 2000 so I must go again.  Contact with relatives continues and quite a few are on Facebook!

I will forever be grateful to Mum and Dad for telling us so much about their lives and families before they came to Australia. They fostered my love and interest in my Lithuanian heritage, language, history, people and our culture, including great food.

Happily, Mum was able to see her sister Marytė again after 49 years when my sister Dana took her to Lietuva in 1993.

Much of my appreciation of being Lithuanian grew as I became an adult, but the seeds were sown right from the start as in the few examples I have outlined.

It is a major part of what makes me who I am.

An Australian friend once told me that I was so lucky to have this special cultural identity with its traditions.

I know! 

AČIU MAMA IR TĖTĖ!

Juratė Grigonytė

100 Aciu - Regina Bajoruniene

A+A Regina BAJORUNIENĖ

My earliest memory of Mrs Regina Bay is from my childhood when I was about 8 or so. She had just married Andrius Bajorunas and they came to visit my parents.

Mum and Dad congratulated them on their recent marriage. Their surname was changed to Bay which was easier for Mr Bay in his work as a pharmacist when he often took on weekend shifts in addition to his usual weekday work. We came to call them Mr and Mrs Bay.

Regina became Pirmininkė/President of the Adelaide Lithuanian Women's Committee (Adelaidės Lietuvių Moterų Sekcija) after having been a member for a few years.

Among many activities, these women provided morning tea for all of us who attended Saturday Lithuanian School and prepared Christmas Eve supper/Kučios at Lithuanian House. They also catered numerous other events.  Among popular events were the fashion parades which started in the early 1960s and the annual Kartunų Balius or Cotton Ball also a fancy-dress event, which was held in late spring Sept/October. Prizes were awarded for the best dressed at the ball and a lot of effort went into making the prettiest cotton evening dress. I went to a few of these events when I was old enough to start going to a ball plus I even participated in a fashion parade in about 1963.

During much of this time we did not have a family car. Regina visited us often and had long conversations with Mum over a coffee or tea. Mum drank tea while Regina drank coffee.  She and Mum both had terrific senses of humour and there was a lot of laughter.

They also had deep heart to heart conversations.
Regina was always excited if we did well at school and encouraged us to continue and do better.

She also told us off if we did not speak Lithuanian at home but also understood that there was a specific reason for that, courtesy of an education department psychologist but that is another story.

Nonetheless she often reminded us that carrying multiple languages in one's head was not a heavy load.

She spoke Lithuanian, German, Russian, Polish and English. She had also always worked very hard from the time she and many other young Lithuanians 'conscripted' by the Germans to dig trenches as forced labour right through her years with Moterų Sekciją.

She had worked at the Adelaide Railway Station cafeteria and was quickly made manager. She also worked at the Government printing offices near Parliament House in North Terrace during her early years in Adelaide.

She loved animals and had been very upset when she had had to leave her home in Tauragė and could not take her dog with her. She saw her parents and neighbours shot by Russian army soldiers. She was just 13 when WWII started.

She often took my sister Nemira and me out or to her house and we had a lot of fun with her pets especially her budgie who was multilingual.  He could say 'Kur Andrius', 'Labas rytas', 'Andrius dirba', Auf Wiedersehen', 'silly rabbit' and many other things.

She was an excellent cook too, she led Moterų Sekcija for 17 years and worked very hard throughout. In addition to the actual work, after a day's food prep she would drive home women who had come by bus in the morning.

In preparation for a big event she would go to the market at the crack of dawn for provisions, plus she got to know smallgoods wholesalers in the area and as a regular customer got good deals on behalf of the community.
With her help we often helped Moterų Sekciją prepare various events such as weddings, balls and parties at Lithuanian House.

Lithuanian House was already a home away from home as it was for many of us in the community, but we also learned much from interacting with the older women who were exceptional caterers and a lot of fun.

This was a time of not only speaking Lithuanian but also coming to appreciate what had brought these people to Australia.

My own pacifist leanings were a direct result of learning about these people's displacement from their home land and the trauma of having to start all over again in a very different country like Australia. Most of us had relatives in Lithuania or elsewhere whom we felt unlikely ever to meet at least in those early years.

Participating in community events under her tuition added to our parents' encouragement of 'lietuvybė'.

Regina's commitment to the Adelaide Lithuanian community was exceptional and she was a wonderful role model for me for when I was older and able to be involved in various committees myself.

On a more personal level she lent me books about deportations among other subjects and I used some material in radio programs.

She was proud of us as if we were her own children when we did well.

She also thought the world of our Mum and was there when needed on the death of our sister Nemira.

Her love of Lietuva and passion for traditions which she worked so hard to maintain in our little Adelaide community certainly rubbed off on to me and others.

I remain grateful to this day for Regina Bajorunienė’s role in my life.

Submitted by Juratė Grigonytė

A neighbourly helping hand

War experiences would have been traumatic and many had long term consequences.  It is not surprising that some would be admitted to an institution.  Here is a moving article, that talks about how the community responded.

In a small cafeteria sits 14 men.  From their appearance you can tell that they are Lithuanian.  Some of them have nicely tanned faces, clean shaven and wearing clean clothes.  We talk of everyday things, about the weather, food, autumn. If you look more closely at them in their eyes you can see a warm Lithuanian palpable sorrow. They miss genuine freedom.  On the table is piled a package for each person in which you will find fruit, biscuits, sweets, cigarettes, tobacco, Lithuanian newspapers, handkerchiefs, tooth paste and other small items.  Inside the room are two Adelaide Women Society members who have brought the packages.  They have known these men for a long time.

They talk to each one of them. “I could leave, the doctor would let me, just there is no one who will give me work.  I am bored here”.

Others have been here for 12 years, and from appearance you would think they could live like us.  Some have been here 6, 8 or 9 years, they all speak lovely Lithuanian, some of them are real Žemaičiai (Samogitians), Dzukai or Aukštačiai (Highlanders) (References to the regional groups of Lithuania). After an hour we say our goodbyes.  We visit 2 women and one man lying in hospital. Going through the doors, the guard unlocks and then locks, the doors with large rattling keys.  The sound goes through your heart.  On the other side of the door are our blood brothers.  Born on Lithuanian soil, grown up in the Lithuanian countryside, through grass and forests they ran as children.  Today there are 17. Only a few remember them, only a few visit.  Every 4-6 weeks they receive small gifts from the Adelaide Women’s Society, so they are not forgotten.

The outside is beautifully kept, the lawn and flowers trimmed, by the gate you notice a modest sign, “Parkside Mental Hospital”.

Bledzdingėles prie Torrenso, Lietuvių Isikurimas Pietų Australijoj 1947 – 1962

Health in migrant communities

I was fortunate to recently meet a historian who is researching health in post war migrants to Australia.  Our conversation raised many questions about health in migrants communities, which of course I wanted answers to.

What would new Lithuanians do in the first years if they needed a doctor?
I know there a quite several Lithuanian doctors who came to Australia.  To practice medicine in Australia, the new migrants would have to undergo further study.  This would have been extremely hard for any new arrival.  Firstly there was the language, secondly you would have to work your two year contract before you were free to pursue a career and thirdly you had to work to support yourself and family.   

Language would have been an important factor.  To be able to communicate personal detailed information in your own language and to understand treatment would have been vital.  If no Lithuanian doctor was available, going to a doctor of a similar migrant background would suffice.

Did the community provide support to its members?
One of the principle aims of the Lithuanian Women's Society and Lithuanian Catholic Women's Society was to offer assistance, financial or in kind to members in need.  Some aims of the society were to visit the sick in hospital and assisting disadvantaged families, assist with payment of school fees, medicine.  The society’s focus has always been on the elderly members of the community.  The society in its formative years remembered Lithuanians still displaced in Germany, they sent monetary donations twice a year.

The Society has a focus on older members of the community that are alone, or have not adapted well to Australian environment.  Their moral and material needs are supported by the Women’s Society.  In exile we are one large family.

How was mental health issues viewed in the community?

Cases of suicide and detainment in mental institutions are recorded.  But are these figures any greater for one ethnic group?

I will do some more research on this, but in the mean time if anyone has stories or information to share, please do.

A women's work is always done!

The year is 1995. 

In the year 1995, Salomėja Vasiliauskienė was president of the the Lithuanian Catholic Women’s Society , Saulienė Pušdešrienė was secretary, Birutė Budrienė was Treasurer and Jovita Vosylienė looked after everything else.

They did have helpers, Terese Gasiunienė was the Prayer Coordinator, Stefa Ciplienė organised the church decorations, Prane Horskienė took care of the priests robes and Judita Nekrošienė visited those sick in hospital.    Elena Baltutienė was in charge of inventory and Stasė Bardauskienė oversaw the kitchen.

In that year, Judita visited 74 sick people, 48 of whom were in nursing homes.

Six priests visiting and stayed at the Catholic centre, which meant the women oversaw all their food and accommodation needs.

The Catholic Women held 15 meetings, they participated in the Australian Catholic procession in honour of St Mary.  They visited the Baltic homes, organised and catered for the ‘Užgavėnės Balius’ (Ash Wednesday Ball).  They organised the annual ‘Šiupinys’ (medley concert), this being the 35^th one. 

Lithuanian participating in the Catholic procession
of St Mary, at Rostrevor.

Lunch followed by coffee and cake was made after each Sunday mass.  Then the dishes had to be washed, the church hall cleaned and the church cleaned.

The women held lotteries which supported the Australian Lithuanian newspapers, Šventadieno Balsas, Melbourne’s Tėviškes Aidas, and churches in Lithuania.

Many of these activities made money, and so what did the women do?  They donated it of course.  The profits were donated to those in hunger, Lithuanian church, St Casimir’s College in Rome, a blind nephew of a church member, and the Deportees home in Vilnius.  Money was donated to local groups, the Vytis sports Club, the Radio hour, the Lithuanian weekend schools.  Some money was spent on new table cloths for the church hall and a new meat mincer.

The Women’s Society earned that year $10,399.15.  They spent $10, 221.54, leaving them with a total of $177.61.

The hours of volunteer work that these women gave, year after year always astounds me.  They had their own families, their work, their own homes to tend, but the Lithuanian community was so vital to their existence that they always found time.

76 men worked 2706 hours

76 vyrai isdirbo 2706 valandas
76 men worked 2706 hours

In the year 1961, men and women donated their time to build Lithuanian House.  They worked 2706 hours, equivalent to 339 work days.  The men were fed by the Women's committee consisting of 18 women.  

Special mention for Architect Karolis Reisonas who never missed a working bee.  He not only organised the group but also worked side by side the other men.   The other special mention goes to V. Petkunas whose directs all his energy into Lithuanian House and motivates others.

Adelaides Lietuviu Zinios 
15.III. 1962  

Journey to the Pacific Region III

December 30th


Bachunas spent some time with members of the Adelaide Lithuanian Women's group.

On March 1, 1952 a Lithuanian Women’s group was formed. The groups role was to generate social occasions where Lithuanians can meet. Another function was to visit the sick in hospitals. The women would take food, sweets or special dietary food and have a chat to the sick. The group would send money twice a year to German sanatorium in Gauting.

The women have instigated several new traditions in Adelaide. The Christmas ‘Eglutė’ for children, where Father Christmas visits and gives each child a gift, followed by a communal meal. Each New year or Mother’s day, women over 70 are honoured and presented with a gift. The women assist in preparing lunch each Saturday for the children attending Lithuanian school. Children who take first communion do so in a decorated church and partake in a meal afterwards prepared for by the women.

Not one newborn into the community did not receive a gift or those who died did not receive a wreath from the Women’s group.

In 1957 the women had collected £600, this was profits from balls, lotteries and donations. All the women’s time were freely given. The president is Garbaliauskienė, other committee members, Janavičienė, Varnauskienė, Navakienė, Šerelienė.

Bachunas referred to the Women’s group as the heart and soul of the community.

Adelaide Lithuanian Women’s Society

Women's Society committee, 1962

From left back row: A. morkuniene, K. Garbaliauskiene, P. Gavaliene, M. Navakiene

Front: B. Vaboliene, S. Jonaviciene, E. Reisoniene, N. Varniauskiene.

The Society was formed March 1st, 1952, and open to all Lithuanian women in Adelaide. Some of the aims of the society were to visit the sick in hospital and assisting disadvantaged families. The society in its formative years remembered Lithuanians still displaced in Germany, they sent monetary donations twice a year.

The women would cook traditional food for Christmas for the school children and would purchase presents to give to all the children, at times over 160.

Money raised from numerous sources, lotteries, donations were forwarded to the Lithuanian school in Germany, as well as donations to the local sports club, library, choir, students.