Bonegilla 1947-1948: Another Two Weeks, from New Year's Day (January 1-13) by Endrius "Andrew" Jankus

This is the fifth 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 full memoir to me in 2012.

1 January 1948 

With hope and apprehension we welcomed in the New Year. It poured with rain all day. We stayed inside our hut and occupied ourselves by reading books, with some playing cards and others telling jokes. 

There were a number of drunks wandering around the camp. Those with a permanent job in the camp had money and spent it on plonk, the local wine. Someone gave me a taste. I didn’t like it at all.

2 January 1948 

I attended the English classes today. We had a photo taken by one of our people of the whole class with our teacher Mr Lightfoot from Adelaide. That photo is still in my possession. 

We were told that all of us would be leaving the Camp soon and allocated to our workplaces all over Australia. I stretched out on my bunk and read a book that I had. 

Someone we knew brought in an Australian sausage. We cut it up and all of us had a taste. It wasn’t the standard "Belgium"; it was obviously made by some butcher in Albury or Wodonga. It was quite delicious. Later on in life we had the privilege of tasting Tasmanian Belgium. We thought we were eating sawdust mixed with a bit of mince. It was edible fried up. 

The other horrible product was Kraft Cheese. It looked like a piece of soap and tasted like chewing tobacco. Toasted on a piece of bread with oodles of salt on it, it wasn’t too bad. But there was nothing else. 

3 January 1948 

I spent the day at the English classes. We had to say goodbye to our teacher, Mr Lightfoot, as he was leaving for home. He gave us top marks for our learning ability and the attention we gave him. He got to know us personally very well. He shook hands with everyone when saying goodbye and shed a tear or two. He was a very nice chap who was appreciated by all the class. 

After lunch, we collected our five shillings pocket money. We went to the shop and bought tobacco and cigarette papers. There wasn’t much money left but there was enough for an ice-cream. Naturally, we all smoked as it kept the hunger pangs at bay during the war years, and kept you calm when bombs rained down, or artillery fire harassed you or the Gestapo interviewed you. 

Today, the first list of people being allocated to jobs appeared at the Camp Office. My friend Henry and a few others were being sent to the paper manufacturing industry in Tasmania. In those days it was Boyer plant at New Norfolk. But he ended up working in the bush near Maydena. *

One of the largest groups went to South Australia to some water reticulation scheme. Some others went to the building industry. This was the beginning of the disintegration of the camp. 

4 January 1948 

It was Sunday so we went to the Lake [Hume] for a swim and stayed there all morning. We had a visitor, an emigrant from pre-war Klaipeda. Obviously he was a German national as he had been interned during the war for three years and nine months. **

He told us that in Albury during the night a board had been found painted with a swastika and the words, “We will kill all the Jews here". 

After dinner we went for a walk. We saw the Camp’s flag at half-mast and wondered what had happened. We returned via the Camp Office and were told that on this day Alex Vasiliauskas had drowned at the age of 23. The circumstances of his drowning were a bit sketchy at the time. 

Later we found out what had happened. He had a girlfriend among the girls who used to come to the dances. Apparently, he was invited by the girl’s family to lunch. Afterwards, they all went for a swim and poor Alex drowned. He was the first casualty from the First Transport. 

5 January 1948 

This morning I didn’t go to classes as all the former Scouts went into the bush to get leafy branches to make two wreathes. We made them out of gum trees and decorated them with sashes. One sash had the inscription, "From the Lithuanian Community". The other inscription read, "From the Sea Scouts of Lithuania". 

The Sea Scouts and the Rover Scouts in their respective uniforms went to the Wodonga church where the coffin with Alex’ remains was lying in state. We placed the two wreaths at the base of the coffin and stood by the coffin as an honour guard. Two Sea Scouts and two Rovers carried the coffin out from the church to the hearse. 

The Sea Scouts and Rover Scouts carry the coffin from the church

Source:  Collection of Endrius Jankus

Then all of us proceeded to the Albury Cemetery for the burial. At the graveside, the priest said his eulogy and the Camp Commandant, Major Kershaw, praised the person now deceased. Our community leader, Jonas Motiejunas, put the gold chain with a cross that Alex wore round his neck on top of the coffin. He added a holy picture found in Alex’ belongings. 

Then the coffin was lowered into the grave. There were wreaths from us, Mr Calwell, Major Kershaw and Alex’s girlfriend. It poured throughout the graveside ceremony. Hurriedly we took some photos and departed for home. 

6 January 1948 

This morning I spent my time at the English or assimilation classes. My issue jacket was somewhat short in the sleeves so I went and exchanged it for a better-fitting one. In the afternoon I did a bit of washing to be ready for my work assignment. At 8 pm I went to the pictures in the Great Hall to see a film called Holidays in Mexico. ***

7 January 1948 

I didn’t get to the classes today, but read my English book. I collected my photos from the wedding. Finally the names of the people who were to depart on the next morning for work on the Adelaide water supply were announced. Four fellows from our hut were amongst them. 

Somebody obtained a bottle of wine from somewhere and we all had a drink. One drink and my head seemed to be swimming in space. It must have been a "good grappa"! 

8 January 1948 

Today, at 7 am, all the fellows selected for work on the Adelaide water supply left the Camp. The remainder of us gathered to say goodbye. 

After seeing them off, we went for breakfast but our table was bare. There was nothing left for us as we were late and others had consumed our share of the breakfast. This problem was always there. You had to send someone fairly early to guard your table rations or you found that nothing was left. Poor organisation. 

After lunch I went for a swim and stayed there till teatime. It was just as well that we had a Lake to help us acclimatise to Australia. 

9 January 1948 

This morning 33 people left for forestry work. Another six went to for mining jobs in South Australia. 

I ordered 10 photos from Alex’ funeral and 21 photos from our trip out from Europe to Australia. I would have to pay 13 shillings them so would have to save up.**** 

My group of friends spent all the afternoon in the Lake, swimming, diving and larking around. 

10 January 1948 

I wrote a letter to a firm in Sydney to inquire about the possibility of sending food parcels to Germany. I had seen an advertisement in the local paper advertising food parcels for Britain. I handed the letter to a friend with instructions to show it to his English teacher and to correct it if necessary. The teacher praised the writing and offered few corrections. 

The No.14 Class recorded its entire lesson into an audio recorder. Then all the pupils were told to assemble in the Big Hall. We had to record a few songs on the recorders. After that we went to collect our five shillings pocket money. 

All of the Lithuanian group decided to donate two shillings each for the cost of the monument for poor Alex Vasiliauskas. The community committee was responsible for arranging and overseeing the construction of the monument. It has withstood the ravages of time and was still there in 1998. Somewhat worse for wear, with an inscription which was hard to decipher, but still there. A surprised local historical society was advised of the monument’s existence and assured us that it will look after it. 

After lunch, one of our chaps decided to drive to Wodonga to get some wine. He returned with two Army chaps, a Major and a Corporal and eight bottles of wine. Two of my good friends got paralytic and it took all my time to get them to bed. They were as drunk as skunks. 

After all that trauma I went to the dance. There I was confronted again by the recording crew. They asked a lot of questions and the answers were recorded. 

One of the Australian girls whom I got to know was there as well. We had a few dances and talked a lot, probably because my time had arrived to depart Bonegilla. She promised to write but I never received a letter. 

11 January 1948 

Somehow, I got up this morning with a great headache. I had drunk only one glass of the plonk. It must have been a poisonous substance. I went for breakfast and then went back to bed and slept till lunchtime. 

I dreamed that I was talking to my mother who had just arrived in Bonegilla. I asked where father was. She told me he couldn’t come as he had duty to perform. And that he was being sent to England. What for, I didn’t know. 

At lunchtime it started to rain. At night we played cards to pass the time. 

We didn’t know that furious warfare was being waged by the media throughout Australia against our arrival. The "Poms" were frightened that a takeover of Australia was under way. We didn’t get any newspapers and only a few of us had radios. The Immigration Minister, Mr Calwell, was under constant attack. 

12th January 1948

I skipped classes to see off the three groups of labourers who were going to their employment placements. At 10 am, my friend T. came and asked me to go to Albury with him. My excuse was that I didn`t have any money, so he offered to pay my fare. The real reason was that he needed me as an interpreter. 

We caught the bus to Albury. With my help T. bought a suitcase and a pair of shoes. After the purchases, we had lunch in a cafe and at 2 pm caught the bus back to Bonegilla. 

I posted my letter to the Sydney firm asking for the details of sending food parcels to Germany. They were sending food parcels to Mother England, but Germany was the pariah and all the convicts and Poms wished that all Germans would die of starvation. Not knowing that they were cousins of the Germans. 

All my previous years of study of the English language had finally paid dividends. I was reading a book in English and interpreting the contents to my friends. 

13th January 1948 

Four groups left the Camp this morning for their work assignments. It was raining and very cold. I stayed in the hut and read my book. 

To be continued.

Footnotes

* Henry probably is Henrikas Juodvalkis, whose obituary written by Endrius was published in this blog on 29 April 2021.  This is confirmed not only by the first name but Juodvalkis' 'Bonegilla card' showing that he was sent to Maydena.

** The visitor probably was David Pallaks.  See Jonas Mockunas' comment below for more on his life, including why he was regarded as a German during World War II.

*** Actually, Holiday in Mexico, a 1946 Technicolor musical, the first film made by 17-year-old Jane Powell and with Fidel Castro as an extra, particularly in some crowd scenes.  More information is in Wikipedia.

**** This record from Endrius confirms what I have written below the entry from Endrius about his first five days (in Port Melbourne, travelling by train and at Bonegilla), that passengers with a camera and some film could run a business selling photos to other passengers.  Thanks to Endrius, we can calculate that 13 shillings for 31 photos means that they cost about 5 pence each.