Born in 1909, Latvian Roberts Miezitis was one of the older passengers on the First Transport, the USAT General Stuart Heintzelman. His spoken English was so good that he was one of 15 nominated by cable from Germany as suitable for employment in an Australian staging camp as teacher or interpreter. His written English, if transcribed faithfully in the typescript below, was a work in progress, but still easy to understand.
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| Robert Miezitis' letter with at least one transcription error (the spelling of his family name) Source: National Archives of Australia |
Why do we have it still? It was attached to a report sent from Perth to Canberra, by the Acting Commonwealth Migration Officer for Western Australia, RW Gratwick, to the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration (Arthur Leonard) Nutt. Gratwick attached two other reports will I will put up soon.
"Oronge" is mentioned three times, as a symbol of luxury, I suspect. Not necessarily in Europe before WWII, but certainly during the War.
Given the abundance of oranges and orange juice in Australia today, it's hard to image them as luxuries. Only one hundred years and more ago, they were luxuries in Europe. Hence the "orangerie", a greenhouse rich people had on their properties specifically to grow them.
Sources
National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A445/1, Correspondence files, multiple number series (policy matters); 174/4/8, Bonegilla Centre - Education of new Australians https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=75444 accessed 27 June 2025.
National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Western Australian Branch; PP482/1, Correspondence files [nominal rolls], single number series; 82, General Heintzelman - arrived Fremantle 28 November 1947 - nominal rolls of passengers https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=439196 accessed 27 June 2025.
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