Alfonsas Sadauskas (1916-1990), my father, by Vidas Sadauskas

Alfonsas was born on 26 September 1916 in Vabalninkas village in Biržai district, Lithuania.  As a young man he worked at various mills his father had rented, cutting lumber and milling grain. 

He volunteered for the Army at 22 and rose to the rank of Warrant Officer.  Towards the end of World War II, after the Lithuanian Army was disbanded, he fought against the Soviet invasion alongside partisans in Belarus. 

He was selected to come to Australia on the USAT General Stuart Heinzelman, arriving in Fremantle on 28 November 1947.

Alfonsas Sadauskas' photo from his 1948 Application to Register as an Alien

Source:  NAA: MT1078/1, V1959/44899

After initially being sent from Fremantle via Port Melbourne to Bonegilla in Victoria’s North, he was sent back to Western Australia.  His destination was the Mundaring Weir area about 40km east of Perth, cutting timber for his two years’ contracted service.  

He would travel to Fremantle to meet the ships coming from Germany to see if any relatives or friends had made the journey to Australia.  None had but, within a couple of years, he found his brother Bronius via the Red Cross.  He was able to sponsor Bronius' travel from the UK to Australia in 1950.  

On one trip to the docks he met Aldona Gražulytė whom he later married in Melbourne.

They raised three children and the family was active in the Melbourne Lithuanian Community:  Aldona taught at the Lithuanian Sunday school for many years; Alfonsas had stewardship of the Melbourne Scouts’ equipment.

Jonas, the eldest child, was a Scout leader and taught folk dancing for a number of years.  He completed a degree in Electrical Engineering and worked mainly with major computer networks and data centres.

Dona, the second child, also taught at the Sunday school as well as being a Scout leader and long-time folk dancer and choir singer.  She completed a degree in Social Work and remained in that field for her entire career.

Vidas, the youngest, danced and was a Scout leader prior to joining the Australian Army.  He worked as a linguist for the majority of his career. 

Alfonsas had six grandchildren (with a total of 10 children between them), some with tertiary degrees, and all with good jobs.

Alfonsas worked with timber his entire adult life, looking after the various machines at a timber yard until he retired at 65. He died on 24 September 1990, just 2 days short of his 74th birthday, and is buried at the Fawkner cemetery alongside Aldona.

ADDITIONAL SOURCE

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Victorian Branch; MT1078/1, European migrants general personal files 1959; V1959/44899, SADAUSKAS, Alfonsas,  https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4115588 accessed 5 April 2025.