This is the third part of the recollections of Endrius Jankus, a Lithuanian refugee who arrived in Australia on the First Transport, the General Stuart Heintzelman. Endrius became known as Andrew in Australia. He was born in Draverna in the south of Lithuania on 7 July 1929. He died in Hobart, Tasmania, on 23 July 2014. He sent the memoir to me in 2012.
All the Lithuanians worked hard today to erect and decorate a welcoming portal for the Archbishop of Melbourne who was to arrive in the late afternoon. Another group erected an altar in the Great Hall.
During the celebration of Mass, one Lithuanian couple took the vows of marriage from the Archbishop. This was the second Lithuanian marriage at the camp.
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| Source: The Advocate (Melbourne), 8 January 1948 page 7 |
One elderly Lithuanian woman was offering her daughter to me as a bride and prodded me to "tie the knot". She used the old Lithuanian saying that “two beggars live better than one", or words to that effect. Or "if you have to beg, two beggars will bring home more than one". Nevertheless, I remained a proud bachelor.
20 December 1947
The loudspeaker was working overtime and kept repeating the message. We all were called to assemble at the Great Hall as Dr Crossley had something important to tell us. He spoke to us in German and assumed that everyone understood the German language.
He talked about our contracts, saying that Parliament had decided to increase our obligation to work under government authority to two years, instead of the one year we had been told in Germany. He tried to explain to us that the one-year contract was meant as no less than one year.
When this drastic news sank in, there was almost a riot. Most of us felt betrayed even before we started work. There was an angry confrontation, with people shouting Nazi slogans at the Professor. He bounced up and down the stage calling us ungrateful immigrants.
By that time Dr Crossley was screaming and asking us not to take any notice of our sergeants, inferring that some still had influence over us. There were a few ex-sergeants among us, but they were in the minority and certainly had no influence over anyone.
He finally left the stage and retreated to the Commandant’s Office. No doubt, he passed the message on to higher authorities.
A few days later, we were recalled to assemble in the Great Hall and Dr Crossley informed us of changes. Immigrants from the First Transport would have contractual obligations of 12 months, but immigrants on subsequent transports would have to serve two years.
Unfortunately, this information was not passed on to all the employment bureaus. This resulted in threats of deportation and or imprisonment. When we left our employment after 12 months, we were all threatened with deportation from some of the Anglo-Saxon bureaucracy. The Communist Party’s inspired hatred of us lasted a lifetime.
At night we had a dance. All the usual local Albury-Wodonga girls arrived. Some had already made romantic attachments with some of the new arrivals. It was becoming boring and the attendance from the men was dropping off. There were never enough girls to go around.
21 December 1947
Today a basketball competition was organised against an Australian team and a Latvian team. Both got a hiding from the Lithuanian Team, as basketball was a national sport in Lithuania and they were European champions.
At lunchtime, one of the Australians employed at the camp, who used to accompany the girls moving to work in Canberra, died of a heart attack.
We had a big contingent of Scouts. There were Air, Naval and Rover Scouts and Girl Guides among the Lithuanians. We had a meeting to organise a traditional Scout gathering for the next night starting at 8 pm.
The centrepiece was always the bonfire with a performance of funny skits, songs and much merriment. It was just like we used to have back home in the pre-war days. Everyone had a job to do, from performing, to singing, to welcoming guests and seating them. We invited the Boy Scouts and friends from the surrounding area.
22 December 1947
In the morning I attended the classes organised for us in familiarisation with our new country and English lessons.
Later, at 8pm, we had our traditional Scouts’ bonfire. Lots of Scouts from around the Albury-Wodonga area arrived and brought us a present, a case of apples. That was very nice of them. We did enjoy chomping into them later.
The ceremony by the bonfire was an outstanding success and an eye-opener for our visitors. We selected skits which included miming with no interpreting required so that everyone watching could understand. In between, a choir sang old Scouting songs. The words were different to those our audience knew but the melodies were the same.
The continuous robust acts impressed all our visitors, our teachers, the Commandant and his retinue and the Scouts.
Amongst us we had a few outstanding performers. Two fellows carried in a stick from which hung a dozen bottles with various amounts of water in them. The "Maestro" appeared suddenly with two sticks and played the tune of "My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean”. The clapping took a long time before it stopped.
Our "Maestro" played a few more tunes before he called it quits. Most of the audience didn’t know that less than one month earlier we had put on the same performance for the Scouts of Western Australia on one of their beaches.
We all had worked hard in one capacity or another late into the night and decided to have a rest day. We slept late and spent the day diving and swimming in the Lake, to get away from the infernal heat.
Inside the corrugated iron barracks was worse than outside. It was like an oven even at night. Most of us took our blankets outside and bedded down in the long grass. That was a good idea until one chap jumped up with a barbaric scream in the middle of the night, just because a friendly snake had slithered inside his primitive bed for a bit of company. That ended the sleeping in the grass episode.
One another night as we rested on our wire stretcher beds, having a chat with one another with the doors opened at either end for some air, a snake navigated the three steps into our barrack. She was about to enter our space, when someone threw a boot at her and she beat a hasty retreat.
24 December 1947
Christmas Eve used to be celebrated throughout our country and most of Europe. It didn’t seem right that Christmas Eve was boiling hot in Australia. It was very unusual for us and it certainly proved to be at Bonegilla. It was obvious that our new bosses either didn’t know the significance of the day or could care less. It was a big disappointment to us.
That night, all of us gathered in the big hall. A decorated Christmas tree stood there like an orphan. A few streamers hung down from the rafters in a careless fashion.
We each received two slices of bread with butter and jam on it and an orange. To drink, we had orange juice. We sat around the Christmas tree and sang carols like we used to do at home or wherever we found ourselves to be on this Holy Night.
Someone produced a blessed Eucharistic wafer and broke it up in tiny pieces on a plate to go around 400 Lithuanian Catholics. The plate was passed around and each of us licked the end of the finger and retrieved a tiny piece of wafer to put on our tongues. This bound us in unity to our nationality.
The Commandant, the professor and the teachers wished us a Merry Christmas. At midnight we left the place for our quarters.
It was a far cry from our country’s tradition, when everything had to be spick and span. Hay was put on the table and a white tablecloth was put over it. The plates were set out, including plates for the recently departed. A candle was lit on their plates to welcome the departed spirits.
It was a feast for Jesus, with a twelve-course cuisine. That day, no meat was to be consumed. Although the Church allowed the consumption of meat, the people still carried out the old traditions.
The eating began when the first star appeared in the sky. On an overcast day, the family elder decided when it was time to eat.
The twelve dishes started with a pea gruel, a bean gruel, dumplings made from ground wheat, some traditional Lithuanian dishes, dumplings with cottage cheese, cranberry jelly, apple cakes, little Christmas cakes, marzipan and various nuts. To drink there were various fruit juices. The heavy eating was left for Christmas Day.
25 December 1947
On Christmas Day at Bonegilla, it rained cats and dogs as they say. The rain stopped in the evening and some of us went for a walk. The day was a non-event.
To be continued.
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