First Lithuanian scout camp in SA

From 27 December 1954 through to the new year, Lithuanian scouts and guides gathered for their first camp in the State. On the morning of December 27th about 25 scouts and 23 guides boarded a specially hired bus from St Joseph’s church in the city to make their journey to the camp site at Lobethal in the Adelaide hills.  Thirteen tents were erected, with a wooden cross in between.  A kitchen, a dug in table that was decorated with a tower and cross with “rupintojelis’ in the middle.  Across the small creek the scouts build some steps to a site where the fire was built. 

Early the next morning the scouts arose for exercise which was followed by a quick tidy of their uniforms and tents before inspection.  Following this all marched to the cross for the flag raising where the scout prayer was said and the Lithuanian and Australian anthem sung.   After a hearty breakfast the days activities began. Sport, scout games, and camp improvements . After lunch followed some free time, then more activities.  As evening settled in the flag was lowered, a prayer said and the hymn ‘Marija Marija’ sung.  Once dark a fire was lit where campers would sing, perform skits or other performances.  The evening ended at 10:00pm and, only those on night duty were allowed to wander. 


Special guest, Mr E.W Dearman, the Country Fire Service area commander came to speak to the scouts.  He spoke of bush fires, how they occur, and how to avoid them. He lent the camp several fire extinguishers which was kept  outside the kitchen or by the campfire, or sometime used by the scouts for water fights.   Other speakers included P. Jasevičius spoke of the phenomena of folk meteorology.  Mrs Pacevičius spoke to the girls on hygiene and Stasiškienė taught the girls weaving, while some of the boys tried their hand at shooting a small calibre gun.

The camp was visited by distinguished ‘aunts and uncles”.  One evening Pulgis Andriušis visited and demonstrated how he could light a fire with one match.  He then spoke of his childhood.  Pakalnis sang  a moving ballad about the devil who tried unsuccessfully to build a bridge across the river Nemunas. Australian scouts leaders also paid visits, Mrs Trimble, Miss M Sullivan (SA District Commissioner) and Miss May Douglas (State Commissioner) and Mr W.R Thompson (Adelaide Commissioner).
Miss Douglas wrote a message to the scouts;


It is a great pleasure to see a such a good camp, particularly in conditions which are new to you all.  Congratulations on it all, good layout and most of all the evidence of real Scouting and Guiding spirit.


On another day the campers marched into Lobethal where they viewed the country town, then set about tidying up the war memorial and even sang a few songs to the hospital patients.

University graduates

Juozas Riauba compiled a list of Lithuanian's who had graduated from University (Adelaide, Flinders and SA Institute of Technology).  Apparently he was a man who read the death notices every day to see if any Lithuanian's had passed away.

The list is from 1954 to 1974.  In that period he recorded 81 Lithuanian names.  The most obtained degree was a Bachelor of Arts (17 people) followed by Medicine (14 people), the next Science (12), then Engineers (10). One completed a Music degree at Adelaide University.

A few of the students undertook their degrees to to be able to practice their profession in Australia, mainly those with a medical background.  Australia would not recognise degrees obtained oversees, or studies were interrupted because of the war.

Twenty five of the graduates were women and 26 moved away from Adelaide once graduated.  Some probably returned.  Riauba included a notes column where he recorded where they moved to.

Why are there Lithuanian scouts in Australia?

 

Vytas Neverauskas, GSM, Chief Commissioner for the Lithuanian Boy scouts and Gird Guides in Australia wrote this article in English in the Lithuanian newsletter Pėdsekis (The Pathfinders) No.12 in 1964.

 

Reasons for scouts in Australia can be summarised in three main groups.

The continuation of Lithuanian scouting traditions;

The safeguarding of our inheritance which we brought with us to Australia;
Our full participation in the world wide brotherhood of scouting.

 

Lithuania scouting began in 1918. In 22 years of Lithuanian independence scouting developed in its own way for meetings and campfires, for expressing scouting ideals and for adapting them to its own way of life.

 

The communist occupation of our motherland has now lasted 24 years. How many of our brothers in Lithuanian will be able to remember the ideals of B.P to revive this wonderful movement when the time comes? Will it not be our duty to return to our motherland what we received from her initially?

 

It should also be remembered that most of the boys in our troops would not be in the scout movement at all, if it were not for the national flavour. Our parents support national troops because here, the children acquire some of the Lithuanian way of life, which they very often after a hard day’s work, are not able to give them.

 

We are proud of the language of our fathers, our own traditions such as Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday, we are proud of our folk dancers, we are proud of our heritage and are grateful to scouting for helping us keep it all up.

 

Destination Australia: Sharing post WWII migrant stories

The National Archives of Australia has recently launched a new website, called Destination Australia. The website aims to draw on the stories of the people and their family members featured in the photographs showcased on the site to create an in-depth history of Australia’s post-war immigration.

The featured photographs come from a promotional series of photographs taken by the Department of Immigration which are now stored as the Immigration Photographic Archive collection (Series A12111) hosted within the National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch database.

The series contains more than 25,000 photographs and over 21,000 of those are featured on this site. With nearly six million migrants to Australia since 1945 it would be challenging to try to identify everyone who might appear in the photographs, and to collect and share their stories. But with the help of all Australia, we are going to try.

This is your opportunity to share your immigration stories related to the photographs.

The site is continuing until at least 2015 and the information shared will become part of the Archives’ RecordSearch system as a permanent part of Australia’s history.

You are able to tag people who you know, tag where they came from and came to, add descriptions and comments, and comment on others’ contributions, or scan photographs to explore what Australia’s post-war immigration boom was really about.

 www.destinationaustralia.gov.au

Australian Lithuanian history book

The book 'Australian Lithuanians' was launched in Adelaide on Sunday 3rd June, 2012.  We were fortunate to have the author, Luda Popenhagen present, who spoke of the experience of writing such a book.  The book was written for second and third generation people of Lithuanian decent.  People who may know a little about their family background and experiences in Australia.  By reading this book people may have a better understanding of their grandparents or great grandparents lives.  It may answer such questions for them, as why was the Lithuanian language important to keep alive, as was culture and traditions.

Luda spent many years on this book, over two gathering information, interviewing people and trolling through archives.  It certainly is no mean feat to write a book about a certain culture over such a large area.  People wishing to see their families names and achievements may be disappointed as this work can't cover the communities history in such detail.  The Lithuanian community in Australia has published two books, that deal with this in much greater detail, although that book is in Lithuanian.  I have spend 2 1/2 years on this blog that just details with the community in Adelaide, and I know I have only touched the surface about South Australian Lithuanian's.

I know I will learn alot about the community I grew up in from reading this book.  All copies that were sent to Adelaide were sold, but more have been requested from interstate.  They sell for $25 from Lithuanian House, maybe your library even has a copy.