This is our translation of an article which appeared in the 26 February issue of Mūsų Pastogė, written by Vladas Bosikis.1
On the first day of February, Lithuanians set off from Melbourne on a long-awaited excursion to Philip Island. It was organized by Leonas Baltrūnas, who we could rightly call the master of entertainment organisation, on behalf of the local District Council.
Phillip Island (lower right) relative to the older suburbs of Melbourne (top centre)
The reason for visiting Philip Island was the location of a "floating Lithuanian colony" of shark hunters, J Lipčius, Al Gabecas and K Kažemėkaitis, in the town of San Remo, next to this Island.2
One hundred and one participants set off on the excursion. Two excellent tourist cars were rented, accommodating 86 people, while the rest were taken to the island by Mr Špokevičius in his truck.3
We had to drive about 100 miles to the Island so we had to set off early in the morning.
During the trip, we never got bored. In addition to melodious songs and various jokes, we also listened to the driver's stories about various places we passed.
From his stories we got the impression that not only in the Lithuanian swamps but even in Australia, various creatures from hell had nests, from which, at night, they offered to exchange instruments with musicians returning from weddings. Only here they were much more cruel, because they would grab a late night traveller by the collar and drag him to the bottom of the swamp.
Although now, with the swamps drained, these scoundrels have run away, one area we passed is still called The Devil. Perhaps the same Pinčiukas mentioned in Baltaragis Malūnas was located here who, having no one to frighten in Australia, has moved to the Paudruvė swamps to tempt the pious Uršulė.4
After a cheerful two-hour journey, we reached the town of San Remo, where we were met by Lipčius, armed with a pipe, and Gabecas, hugging his inseparable guitar. After washing off the dust that had accumulated on our palates during the journey with a glass of beer and receiving information about the further program of the day, we all went to the sea for a swim.
The mood of the swimmers was greatly dampened by Gabecas, who announced that a couple of days previously a huge shark had been caught in this place. After this announcement, not a single daredevil remained in the water. When the same announcer explained how one can easily "defend" oneself from a shark, everyone calmed down and climbed back into the seawater.
It turns out that the secret to defence is very simple: when you see a shark, you need to dive and blow cigarette smoke into its eyes. Mr Lipčius claims that pipe smoke is better for such a task - it makes the shark start to tear up and rush to a deeper place to wash its eyes, and during this time the attacked person can safely reach the shore.
After washing, resting and having lunch, the most interesting part of the excursion followed — a ride on a fishing boat. We packed 30 passengers into the boat, which was captained by Lipčius.
At first, as we sailed into the bay, everyone was in a great mood. When we sailed into the open sea, the waves began tossing our boat like a matchbox. Our cheerfulness disappeared. We watched in fear as the large waves rolled over from time to time, submerging the picnic delicacies lying on the deck with sparkling water.
More than once we had disappeared into the hollow of a grinning wave, only for the next wave to grab us even tighter, lift us up on its foamy crest, turn us around, and throw us back into an even deeper abyss. It goes without saying that more than one of us had to lean heavily over the edge of the boat.
Upon returning, we managed to interview our fishermen to provide some information about their interesting work, dangers and future plans. The leader of this “floating Lithuanian colony” is Lipčius. Some time ago, he and an Australian bought a fishing boat and thus began their first steps in this industry.
The beginning, as usual, was difficult. There was a lack of theoretical knowledge, practice and money. Gradually everything changed for the better, and currently the sole owner of the boat is Mr Lipčius, who is assisted by Gabecas and Kažemėkaitis. They are fishing for sharks and seals.
The more profitable job, but at the same time more difficult and dangerous one, is catching sharks. For this purpose, 1000-1400-meter long metal ropes are used, on which hundreds of hooks are attached. Their size depends on the size and type of sharks being caught. Large pieces of fish are placed on the hooks and this deceptive device is lowered into the water at a pre-selected location.
To prevent the hooked sharks from dragging the entire fishing line to the depths and to make it possible to find, the ends of the line are attached to the bottom with special anchors, and flags attached to floats flutter on the surface. On a good day, casting 5-6 lines takes about an hour.
After that, the most difficult part of the work begins: pulling the lines out. One person uses a special wheel to pull the line into the boat, while the second, armed with a long iron hook resembling St. George's spear, stands in front of the boat and waits for what will appear from the waves: a bare hook or a thrashing shark.
When a shark appears, it is brought closer, and the fisherman sticks his hook into its throat to kill it. It often happens that only the shark's head is found on the hook. Its body has already been eaten by other sharks taking advantage of their friend's misfortune. In this way, about 30 and even up to a hundred sharks are caught per day, each weighing between 10 and 45 kilograms.
When the fishermen return home, the caught sharks are cleaned, butchered and packed into boxes. Soon these ocean pirates are being chewed with delight by ordinary people, biting into a piece of wilted potato, because the meat of these sharks is most often consumed in the form of so-called “fish and chips”.
When asked what dangers await our fishermen, Mr Lipčius smiled cheerfully and explained that the greatest danger is not to them, but the consumers, because they can choke not only on a larger bone, but also on a hook forgotten in the shark’s jaw.
The fishermen could have told us more, but a tour guide appeared to rush everyone into the cars to drive deeper into the Island to see the penguin parade, which takes place just after sunset. We got to the Island via a suspension bridge a third of a mile long, connecting it to the mainland.
While driving, we observed the real owners of the island — koalas, like teddy bears, and photographers jumping around them. Here, too, the secret of their calmness became clear — a notice was nailed to almost every tree stating that these creatures are not to be touched and that it is strictly forbidden not only to kill them, but also to pull them by their drooping tails.
Having reached the place on the island where the penguins emerge from the sea and walk along the path to the rocks where their nests are, we found many people already waiting. As this penguin walk is well known to the wider area and tourists, every evening large crowds of spectators gather here.
Having joined them, we sat quietly waiting to see what would happen. After waiting for a good hour and not seeing anything, the most impatient were already aiming to repay the tour guide for his deception, when suddenly, along with a wave, a flock of birds washed ashore. At first they looked around the whole area, stood on the shore for a long time, as if testing our patience, then went forward and headed back into the water.
Are they coming back, why are they not coming back, cried a pitiful female voice. Soon an even larger group of penguins appeared. Now they were boldly heading up the steep slope, not paying attention to the spotlights and the spectators crowding around.
Having enjoyed the parade, we headed towards our cars, because it was already late in the evening and we still had a long way to go. We said a heartfelt goodbye to the Lithuanian fishermen who had taken care of us and headed home. We returned after a truly excellent and useful picnic.
We were all especially grateful to the members of the Melbourne District Board and Baltrunas for organizing such a great picnic and to the great shark catchers who gave us the opportunity to have a fun and interesting time.
FOOTNOTES
- Vladas Bosikis arrived in Australia on 13 April 1949 on the USAT General Stewart.↩
- Both J (Jonas) Lipčius and Al (Aleksas) Gabecas were First Transport arrivals. K (Kazys) Kažemėkaitis was a 1948 arrival on the one voyage of the Kanimbla with DPs from Europe – more on that one day. It’s not possible to tell from the files listed on the National Archives of Australia’s RecordSearch Website who Mr Špokevičius was.↩
- The “tourist cars” may well have been furniture removal trucks with seats added, a dangerous form of transport if ever there was one. The back of a truck would have been no safer.↩
- "Baltaragio malūnas – Baltaragis' Mill" (full title, "Baltaragis' Mill, or What Happened in the Land of Paudruvės at That Time") is one of the most famous works of Lithuanian literature, written in 1945 by Kazys Boruta. It is a folkloric novel that masterfully intertwines motifs of folk tales, mythology, and a dramatic love story. The story tells of a miller named Baltaragis who makes a deal with the devil, Pinčiukas. In exchange for help on the farm and the mill, Baltaragis promises the devil something he doesn't have right now, but will have later — his daughter, Jurga. Uršulė is one of the most colorful and tragic characters in the work! She is an old maid, the mistress of Baltaragis, whose fate was carelessly ruined by the miller.↩
SOURCES
Bosikis, Vladas (1953) 'Sveciuose Pas Rykliu Gaudytojus' (‘Visiting the Shark Hunters’, in Lithuanian) Musu Pastoge (Our Haven) 26 February, p 2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article259362949, accessed 15 September 2026.
National Archives of Australia, Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; BOSIKIS VLADAS, BOSIKIS, Vladas : Year of Birth - 1919 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN.STEWART : Number – 76175, 1949-1949 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203685271, accessed 15 September 2026.
