Vytautas Simniškis (1918- 1987), Leading Australian Lithuanian, by Daina Pocius and Ann Tündern-Smith

Lithuanian Leader in Australia

Vytautas Simniškis very quickly became a leader of the Lithuanian community in Australia.  Less than 5 years after arriving here on the First Transport, he became the second National President of ALB, Australijos Lietuvių Bendruomenė, the Australian Lithuanian Community, during 1953-54.

The earliest photo we have of Vytautas Simniškis is
from his 1947 selection papers for migration to Australia

Source:  National Archives of Australia

He stayed on the ALB board, initiating important developments for his community.  As well, from 1960 to 1983, he chaired the board of Sydney’s Lithuanian House.  During this time, he oversaw the club’s move from inner city Redfern to much larger, modern premises in Strathfield.  They have been described as “one of the most beautiful Lithuanian houses in the entire diaspora”.

Daina already has detailed this on her blog, Australian Lithuanian History.  In summary, during his ALB presidency, he was

• Responsible for developing close relationships with other exile organisations and Australian political parties;
• Raising the case for Lithuania’s independence through these organisations, nationally and internationally;
• Initiating a united Baltic committee to campaign for independence for all 3 countries.

Also while on the ALB board he

• Called together Sydney women to establish their Women's Social Care Association, in 1956: his wife was a member and served as President;
• Strengthened finances for the Australian-Lithuanian newspaper, Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven).

Daina published the Simniškis story only 6 months ago, but documents held by the National Archives of Australia for him and his wife have become available since then. Let’s see what they add to the story.

Vytautas' early life

Vytautas Simniškis was born in 2 October 1918, in Marijampolė, into a large family of a wealthy farmers.

Like many Lithuanians, Vytautas ended up in the Seedorf Camp after the end of the war in Germany.  This Camp was in Seedorf bei Zeven in what is now Lower Saxony, north-western Germany, in the British occupation zone.  It lay roughly midway between Hamburg and Bremen.  The British gave it the DP Accommodation Centre number DPAC 249.  There he used his previous clerical experience to be a warehouse manager.

According to the report of the selection panel for migration to Australia, he had reached Germany in October 1944.  His reason for coming was the usual, “Fled from Russian regime”.

He had completed 4 years of secondary education in addition to the minimum 4 years of primary school. 

In Lithuania he had been a clerk for 7 years, his qualifications for this being “trade school”.  Presumably that was his 4 years of secondary education.  He also had served in the Lithuanian armed forces for 18 months, during 1938-40.

Vytautas Starts Out in Australia

He served the Australian Government’s minimum of two years’ employment here at the brown coal mines of Yallourn, Victoria.

There had been a haircut and a shave before this photograph
was taken later in 1947 for Vytautas' Bonegilla card

Source:  National Archives of Australia

At the beginning of 1950, Vytautas moved to Sydney, where he put down his roots and devoted himself wholeheartedly to Lithuanian activities.  He bought a grocery store, which he modernised and expanded.  It was his livelihood until he retired.

The two years (likely to have been reduced by some months to a period ending 30 September 1948 by a decision of the Minister for Immigration) at the brown coal mines means that Vytautas should have a place in Josef Sestokas’ book, Welcome to Little Europe. Indeed, he is there, as someone “Only remembered for what he did after his time at the North Camp: Went to Sydney, opened a bottle shop (sic) and became a leader within the Sydney Lithuanian community.”

Vytautas the Administrator

From the beginning of 1952 until 1958, Vytautas was a member of the board of the Lithuanian Community of Australia, serving for three terms.  Soon after he joined, he was chosen to be President when the previous office-holder left Australia.

In 1955, Vytautas married fellow Lithuanian Tatjana Chodeckaitė.  Tatjana, born in Siauliai, had been a dental assistant in Lithuania and Germany.  She had earned her income for 10 years from needlework, including embroidery.  She was 39 years old when she arrived in Australia on the Svalbard on the 16 August 1948.  Vytautas was something like 9 years younger.

When Vytautas turned 60 in 1978, Mūsų Pastogė published a front page tribute.  Its position was not a surprise, given that he had taken on the role of publisher of this newspaper from January 1954 to September 1959.  This appears to be the period of time in which he was strengthening the finances, so he was not a publisher in name only.

The photograph used to illustrate Vytautas'
60th birthday tribute

Source:  Mūsų Pastogė

The anonymous author the tribute finished by writing, in Lithuanian of course, “Calm and careful, never hot-tempered, always with 'gaspadorian' wisdom [that of the head of the household or the farm owner] and light humour, Vytautas persistently ploughed furrow after furrow in the entire soil of our social activity and grew a rich harvest. We congratulate Vytautas Simniškis on this anniversary and wish him not to let go of the plough and reins from his strong hands for a long time.”

Vytautas' Death

Sad to say, Vytautas lasted less than 9 more years, dying on 3 July 1987.  His funeral was attended by around 200 mourners 5 days later at St. Joseph's Church, Lidcombe.

The Chairman of the Sydney Lithuanian Club, Vytautas Bukevičius, spoke on behalf of his Board.  He urged those present to continue Vytautas’ work by committing to maintain the Lithuanian Club and leave it for future generations as an eternal monument.

A final photograph, to accompany Vytautas' obituary

Source:  Mūsų Pastogė

The larger mourner numbers meant a long motorcade to the Rookwood Crematorium.

This time, the man who wrote the obituary in Mūsų Pastogė is known.  He was Anskis Reisgys, who had arrived on the First Transport with Vytautas and served on committees with him. Translated from Lithuanian, some of Anskis’ words follow.

“The path from the old Redfern walls to the current licensed [Lithuanian] club with new buildings was winding and full of obstacles. It was necessary to compete in the courts with bar lawyers, municipal bureaucrats, builders; to study the basic laws of this land, binding the clubs, and to listen to disputes among themselves.  Vytautas overcame all this.

“He had neither magical power nor supernatural abilities, but he had a 'gaspadorian' hand, was straight-thinking and, after patiently listening to mutual disputes, would say with a light sense of humor: '...let's get back to work, men, because we need to do it now.'  And thus, ploughing furrow by furrow, he grew a great harvest.  He was not proud of his achieved result, but quietly, quietly rejoiced in the beautiful harvest.”

Some of those words and phrases ('gaspadorian', '… ploughing furrow by furrow, he grew a great harvest') suggest that Anskis was the author of the earlier tribute also.

The misspelling on Vytautas' Rookwood Cemetery plaque
is not how he should be remembered

Source:  Billion Graves

Tatjana died just over a year later, on 11 August 1988, and her ashes are interred with those of Vytautas at Rookwood.

CITE THIS AS:  Pocius, Daina and Tündern-Smith, Ann (2026) 'Vytautas Simniškis (1918- 1987), Leading Australian Lithuanian', https://firsttransport.blogspot.com/2026/05/vytautas-simniskis-1918-1987-leading-Australian-Lithuanian.html.

SOURCES

Billion Graves 'Search Results of Vytautas Simniskis' https://billiongraves.com/search/results?CollectionID=&CatalogID=&PageNumber=1&PageSize=20&GivenNames=vytautas&GivenNamesExact=false&MaidenName=&MaidenNameExact=false&FamilyName=Simniskis&FamilyNameExact=false&EventBirthYear=&EventBirthYearRange=5&EventDeathYear=&EventDeathYearRange=5&MilitaryConflict=&MilitaryBranch=&MilitaryRank=&YearRange=&ID=2f5e5799-00b2-4377-b876-449bd9096ed3, accessed 9 May 2026. 

Find A Grave ‘Vytwatas (sic) Simniskis’ www.findagrave.com/memorial/150628633/vytwatas-simniskis, accessed 9 May 2026.

Find A Grave ‘Tatjana Simniskis’ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150628632/tatjana-simniskis, accessed 9 May 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1978) ‘V. Simniškiui 60 metų’ (‘V. Siminiskis, 60 years’, in Lithuanian), Sydney, NSW, 10 September, p 1 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1978/1978-10-09-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 9 May 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11772, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Stuart Heintzelman departing Bremerhaven 30 October 1947, 1947-1947; 276, SIMNISKIS Vytautas DOB 2 October 1917, 1947-1947 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5005991, accessed 9 May 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11841, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per Svalbard departing Bremerhaven 21 May 1948, 1948 - 1948; 312, CHODECKAITE Tatjana DOB 27 December 1909, 1948 - 1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5124221, accessed 9 May 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; CHODECKAITE TATJANA, CHODECKAITE, Tatjana : Year of Birth - 1909 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - SVALBARD : Number - [UNKNOWN], 1948 - 1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203670444, accessed 9 May 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; SIMNISKIS VYTAUTAS, SIMNISKIS, Vytautas : Year of Birth - 1917 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number – 672, 1947-1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203711663, accessed 9 May 2026.

Reisgys, Anskis (1987) ‘A A. VYTAUTAS SIMNIŠKIS’ (‘In Memoriam, Vytautas Simnisksi’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven), Sydney, NSW, 20 July, p. 3 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1987/1987-07-20-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 9 May 2026.

Šeštokas, Josef (2010) Welcome to Little Europe: Displaced Persons and the North Camp, Sale, Little Chicken Publishing, p 94.

Bronius Bukevičius (1915-1990): builder of furniture and community, by Daina Pocius, Ann-Tündern-Smith and Rasa Ščevinksienė

This is the story of a First Transport passenger who became well known around his adopted home town of Hobart and further afield for his singing and his willingness to support his community.

Bronius in Lithuania

Bronius was born in 20 October 1915 in the village of Kumečiai, near Kalvarija in Suvalkija, the southwestern region of Lithuania. His parents were Tomas Bukevičius and Petronėlė nee Pečiulytė. He grew up in a family of five brothers and a sister. 

He finished secondary school, although this is stated to be ‘8 years of elementary school’ on the record of his interview with the selection team for migration to Australia. He then worked in a government office.

In 1944, as the Russians approached, he left with his older brother Juozas for Germany. His Mūsų Pastogė obituarist wrote that he had reside in various DP camps. Arolsen Archives has not been able to digitise any documents for him, so we have no further evidence from that normally useful source. Juozas appears on one list only, which tells us nothing more than the date he embarked on the ship which brought him to Australia.

Bronius embarked on the First Transport, the USAT General Stuart Heintzelman, on 30 October 1947, or we would not be researching him.

Bronius Bukevičius in his 1947 photograph for his application to migrate

Source:  National Archives of Australia

The Particulars of Displaced Person Wishing to Migrate to Australia form typed up on his behalf in Germany says that he had 10 years of farming experience in Lithuania and 7 months more recent months. Presumably, the Lithuanian farm experience was before, during and after his work in the state office, when he was needed on the family farm or elsewhere in the district.

Bronius' early life in Australia

In March 1949, Bronius lodged an application to sponsor his brother for migration to Australia. Bronius then was working for HV Locke of Premaydena as an Orchard Hand, earning £5/17/6. This was less than the then basic wage of around £6/8/-, so we have to hope that the difference was due to Bronius also received a place to live and meals.

When he applied for Australian citizenship in 1957, he stated that his occupation before coming to Australia was clerk. That fits better with the obituarist’s recollection that he had worked in a government office. His current occupation was joiner, that is, a builder of furniture rather than houses.

Forming a choir on the way to Australia

When he applied for Australia, his German was ‘fair’ but he had no English. The selection team gave him a B+ score, enough to get him out of Germany on the Heintzelman.

On the voyage to Australia, Bronius joined with Kazys Mieldažys and Petras Morkunas to start a 40-man choir. Bronius had been managing a choir called Aušrinė in Germany.

In addition to singing on the ship, the choir performed for an audience of 9 local Lithuanians while the Heintzelman passengers had their 4-day Perth stopover. It continued to perform in the Bonegilla camp until the last of its members were dispersed to their first jobs in Australia. While in this camp, its singing was recorded by Albury’s radio station, which continued to broadcast the songs after the choir had disbanded.

The choir’s history and Petras Morkunas’ later achievements were recounted by fellow First Transport passenger, Kazys Mieldažys, in a celebration of Petras’ 70th birthday published in Mūsų Pastogė in December 1982.

More on his early life in Australia

Bronius’ first job in Australia was Goulburn Valley fruit-picking in Victoria, employed by W Young of Kelvin Orchards. He stayed there for more than 9 weeks, unlike some who came back to the Bonegilla camp after a few days. Then it was off to Tasmania after one day back at the Bonegilla camp. There he was sent to the New Norfolk, upriver from the State’s capital city of Hobart. His Bonegilla card adds nothing to this but Ramunas Tarvydas has him working with the Tasmanian Government’s Housing Department, perhaps a later destination.

A later 1947 photograph of Bronius for his Bonegilla card:
same man, same outfit (his best? but the tie is different)

Source:  National Archives of Australia

However, we know from his sponsorship of his brother, Juozas, that he was working as an orchard hand or assistant at Premaydena in March 1949. This still is nearly 2 hours’ drive from New Norfolk, so Bronius must have been able to move from one workplace to another in Tasmania while still under contract to the Australian Government.

When his contract period was up, probably on 30 September 1949, he moved to Hobart. The obituarist said that he worked as a carpenter in house construction for a Derwent Park company.

From the start, Bronius involved himself in the Hobart Lithuanian community. He was the secretary of the founding meeting for a community organisation. In 1954, by which time the organisation had become the Hobart District of ALB (the Australian Lithuanian Community), he was elected to the board alongside Jonas Motienjūs and Aleksas Jakštas, both of whom we have met already in this blog.

Bronius and the Hobart Lithuanian Quartet

His choral interests were expressed in Hobart’s male quartet. When first making the news in Hobart’s Mercury newspaper on 25 November, 8 and 9 December 1950, he was the first tenor while the other members were Vaclovas Kalytis (second tenor), Karolis Maslauskas (baritone) and Juozas llciukas (bass).

According to a report in Mūsų Pastogė on 23 September 1953, the quartet now had 5 members: Bukevičius, Maslauskas, Kalytis, J. Šlyteris and Aleksas Jakštas. On that occasion, a celebration of what Lithuanians called National Day, on September 8, the author remarked that the singers would be of a high standard if they had a conductor. Unfortunately, he wrote, the Hobart Lithuanian community lacked a musician knowledgeable in choral conducting.

Bronius, his brother and their sister

Bronius’ sponsorship of Juozas was successful. Juozas, also a joiner, was accepted as a labourer and joined Bronius in Hobart. He left Marseille on a ship called the Sagittaire with his passage paid by the International Refugee Organization (IRO, one of UNRRA’s successors), landing in Sydney on 29 July 1949.

Their sister also had fled Lithuania, with her husband and daughter, ending up with Juozas in France. Juozas applied to the Australian Government for them to be accepted as migrants. Questions then arose, including whether they were still eligible for IRO assistance, because otherwise they would have to pay their own fares to Australia. Eventually the sister, brother-in-law and niece emigrated to the USA.

Juozas starred on the lead story on page 1 of Hobart's Mercury newspaper on 12 January 1954.  The occasion was his airport reunion with his wife and two children, whom he had not seen for 11 years.

Bronius 10 years on

In June 1958, Tėviškės Aidai told its readers that Bronius had been seriously injured in a car accident two months previously. Although his health had improved, he had not been able to return to work.

On 5 March 1959, Bronius became an Australian citizen.

The quartet plus one was still performing in 1960, again at a Lithuanian National Day celebration which was reported in the 30 September issue of Mūsų Pastogė. This time, the quartet was again a quintet, with the core of Bukevičius, Maslauskas and Kalytis joined by Stasys Domkus and a later arrival, Bonifacas Šikšnius.

Bronius in later years

In 1963, he along with many others was thanked publicly for contributing a donation to the Australian Lithuanian Community (ALB) for its activities. In his case, he donated £1, the equivalent of around $120 in today’s buying power.

To support the travel of a North American Lithuanian basketball team to Australia in 1964, his donation was £5, not calculated by the Reserve Bank to be worth 5 times as much as his previous donation but still a helpful $180.

Another unhealthy episode occurred in 1971, when he fell and broke a leg. On that occasion, the Tėviškės Aidai correspondent had to report again that he was still in hospital but hoping to go home soon.

Bronius was a member of the Audit Commission of the Australian Lithuanian Community Hobart District in 1973. The thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Hobart District was marked by a gathering in the suburb of Glenorchy in September 1980. Bronius’ name was one of a number singled out for special mention for having served on the board at times over the previous years.

Bronius died on the 10 April 1990, and was thought worth of two slightly different obituaries, one in Mūsų Pastogė for 7 May 1990 and one in Tėviškės aidai for 15 May.  He was cremated in the Cornelian Bay crematorium.  Juozas had died already, on 27 June 1988.

Baltic people and singing

Hobart’s Lithuanian Quartet, anchored by 3 men from the General Stuart Heintzelman, was not the only musical expertise and enjoyment brought to Australia by the First Transport. We know of a Lithuanian quartet or double quartet in Adelaide and Lithuanian choirs in Melbourne.

Sydney-based EMA (Eesti Meeskoor Austraalias, Estonian Men’s Choir in Australia, while ‘ema’ is the Estonian word for ‘mother’) performed for 65 years after its start on the voyage to Australia. At least 2 Latvians on the voyage were trained singers, so it is not a surprise that their Melbourne community founded the Rota choir in 1949, followed by other Latvian communities.

This blog will have more about them as soon as we can put their stories together but, meanwhile, it can be said that, wherever there are Baltic people, there is singing.

FOOTNOTE:  Lithuania's National Day was commemorated after WWI until the chaos of WWII, to promote Lithuanian statehood.  Of course it became but a memory once a Communist government took over.  

The date itself is that on which Vytautas the Great was to be crowned King of Lithuania in 1430.  His crown was seized by Polish nobles opposed to his elevation while on its way from the court of the Emperor Sigismund, so the coronation did not take place.  Lithuania remained a Grand Duchy.

Continued celebration of National Day in Australia was a strong way of opposing Lithuania's WWII fate.

It is still a day of commemoration in modern Lithuania, but not a public holiday. It is most often commemorated today at monuments to Vytautas the Great (for instance in Kaunas, Jurbarkas, Veliuona), in schools, especially those named in honor of Vytautas, and briefly in cultural centres.  Some municipalities conduct short ceremonies, perhaps with flower-laying.

CITE THIS AS: Pocius, Daina , Tündern-Smith, Ann and Rasa Ščevinskienė (2026) 'Bronius Bukevičius (1915-90): builder of furniture and community' https://firsttransport.blogspot.com/2026/05/bronius-bukevicius-1915-90-builder-of.html

SOURCES

Augustavičius, S (1990) ‘Mūsų mirusieji, A † A Bronius Bukevičius’ (‘Our Deceased, In Memoriam Bronius Bukeviius’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven), 5 July, p 7 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1990/1990-05-07-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 21 April 2026.

Augustavičius, S (1990) ‘Hobartas’ (‘Hobart’, in Lithuanian) Tėviškės Aidai (The Echoes of Homeland), Melbourne, Vic, 15 May, p 6 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1990/1990-05-15-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 22 April 2026.

Mercury (1950) ‘Lithuanian Quartet’ Hobart, Tas, 9 December, p 6 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26744818, accessed 30 April 2026.

Mercury (1954) 'For 11 Years They Dream of This' Hobart, Tas, 12 January, p 1 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/27208269, accessed 1 May 2026.

Mieldažys, Kazys (1982) ‘Petrui Morkūnui 70’ (Petras Morkunas 70’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) Sydney, NSW, 13 December, p 5 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1982/1982-12-13-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 26 April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1953) ‘Pavykęs minėjimas’ (‘A Successful Commemoration’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 23 September, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1953/1953-09-23-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 22 April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1954) ‘Nauja Apylinkės Valdyba Hobarte’ (‘New District Council Hobart’ in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 3 February, p 4, https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1954/1954-02-03-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 29 April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1960) ‘Hobartas, Tautos šventės minėjimas’ (Hobart, National Holiday Celebration, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 30 September, p 6, https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1960/1960-09-30-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 29 April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1963) ‘Aukos al bendruomenei, Hobarto apylinkėje aukojo’ (‘Donations to the community, donated in the Hobart area’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 4 December, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1963/1963-12-04-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 30 April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1964) ‘Aukos, Šisurės Amerikos Lietuvių krepšininkų rinktines kelionės Į Australiją išlaidoms Padengti’ (‘Donations, to Cover Expenses of Lithuanian-American Basketball Team's Trip To Australia’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 23 November, p 5 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1964/1964-11-23-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 26 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11772, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Stuart Heintzelman departing Bremerhaven 30 October 1947, 1947-1947; 52, BUKEVICIUS Bronius DOB 20 October 1915, 1947-1947 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5005488, accessed 8 May 1948.

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Tasmanian Branch; P3, Personal case files, annual single number series with 'T' (Tasmania) prefix, 1951 - ; T1959/1842, Bukevicius, Juozas, 1949-1951; recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4095877, accessed 8 May 1948.

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Tasmanian Branch; P3, Personal case files, annual single number series with 'T' (Tasmania) prefix, 1951 - ; T1969/2261, Bukevicius, Bronius, 1957-1958; recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=9592497, accessed 8 May 1948.

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Tasmanian Branch; P1185, Incoming passenger cards, lexicographical series, 1948-1968; BUKEVICIUS, BUKEVICIUS, Juozas (Lithuanian), arrived Sydney per SAGITTAIRE, 29 July 1949, 1949-1949 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1613685, accessed 8 May 1948.

National Archives of Australia:  Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; BUKEVICIUS BRONIUS, BUKEVICIUS, Bronius : Year of Birth - 1915 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN.HEINTZELMAN : Number - 452 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203669658, accessed 8 May 1948.

Paškevičius, (Juozas?) (1980) ‘Hobartas, Tautos Šventė’ (‘Hobart, National Holiday’, in Lithuanian) Tėviškės Aidai (The Echoes of Homeland) Sydney NSW, 20 September, p 3 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1980/1980-09-20-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 1 May 2026.

Reserve Bank of Australia ‘Pre-Decimal Inflation Calculator’ https://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualPreDecimal.html, accessed 25 April 2026.

Tarvydas, Ramunas (1997) From Amber Coast to Apple Isle: Fifty Years of Baltic Immigrants in Tasmania 1948-1998, Baltic Semicentennial Commemoration Activities Organising Committee, Hobart, Tasmania, pp 66, 161.

Tėviškės Aidai (The Echoes of Homeland) (1958) ‘Iš Tasmanijos padangės’ (‘From Under the Tasmanian Sky, in Lithuanian) Melbourne, Vic, 4 June, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1958/1958-06-04-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 21 April 2026.

Tėviškės Aidai (The Echoes of Homeland) (1971) ‘Hobartas’ (‘Hobart’, in Lithuanian) Melbourne, Vic, 18 May, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1971/1971-nr18-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 21 April 2026.

Tėviškės Aidai (The Echoes of Homeland) (1973) ‘Hobartas’ (‘Hobart’, in Lithuanian) Melbourne, Vic, 23 January, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1973/1973-nr03-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 21 April 2026

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Saliamonas Antanas Martišius (1920-1971), Early Accidental Death, by Daina Pocius and Ann Tündern-Smith

Updated 9 May 1948.

Saliamonas Antanas’ life ended tragically, when he was aged only 51.  After work one day, as he tried to cross Macquarie Street near its intersection with Elizabeth Street in Hobart’s business district, he was hit by a bus.

He received serious head injuries and was taken to hospital for an operation.  He died the following day, 5 October 1971, without regaining consciousness.

For Tasmania’s Lithuanian community, what made this accident even more distressing was that the bus driver was another Lithuanian.

St. Teresa’s Church was almost full with Lithuanians for his funeral and the procession to the cemetery had about 50 cars in the convoy.  Juozas Paškevičius, the Chairman of the District, gave a farewell speech at the grave on behalf of the Lithuanian Community, and a fellow First Transporter, Vladas Mikelaitis, also said some words.  Saliamonas was buried in Cornelian Bay Cemetery, Hobart.

Saliamonas Antanas was an unusual example of a Lithuanian commonly known by his middle name, Antanas.  From the viewpoint of this blog, this presents a problem: there was another Antanas Martišius on the ship which brought him to Australia, the First Transport, the USAT General Stuart Heintzelman.  The other Antanas, the namefellow, already has a biography on this blog which you can find here.

For the remainder of this biography, though, we can used the name by which Saliamonas Antanas was called in life, Antanas.  And we will ignore one given to him by someone at the Bonegilla camp, who crossed out Saliamonas on his Alien Registration form and wrote instead, ‘Selemous’.  He also got ‘Selemons’ on his file when he applied for citizenship, and when that citizenship was granted and gazetted.  Really, Antanas was a safer option.

His Mūsų Pastogė obituarist described him as a quiet, modest Lithuanian, but sensitive and generous to the activities of Lithuanians.  He supported the work of Lithuanian organisations as much as he could, and every year, when he sent his subscription fee to the Mūsų Pastogė newspaper, he added extra to help the publication.

He wanted his children to speak Lithuanian, and sent them to weekend school, as well as national dancing and singing lessons.  Despite being in poor health himself, he volunteered as a teacher at the school when needed.

Antanas had been born in Sintautai in the Lithuanian district of Šakiai, into a farming family.  There is official confusion about the date of his birth, with some records stating 23 April 1920 and others 4 March 1920.  His obituarist preferred 1921.

His Australian selection papers say that he “fled from Russian regime”, which differentiates him from all those forced to travel to Germany by the German military.  He did this in August 1944, so he somehow got out despite the Soviet military have returned to Lithuania in July 1944.

He was recorded to have had 3 years of primary school education and 2 years in secondary school, so more than the minimum for a Lithuanian at the time.  Although rated as B+ by the selection team, he certainly got onto the First Transport.

At the time of his interview and health examination for Australia, it looks like he was living in Camp 223/H, Assembly Centre 223, Controlled by 11 DPACS, wherever that was.  Fortunately, ChatGPT has been able to decode this, based on a German language account of the Baltic camps in the Oldenburg region by Günter Heuzeroth.  

Herr Heuzeroth and Chat GPT say that this camp was in Oldenburg in the Lower Saxony region, there being a second Oldenburg in Holstein, near Lübeck on the Baltic coast.  11 DPACS was the joint British and UNRRA administrative unit responsible for the centre

Now that we know that Antanas was in the British zone of occupation, we can point out that he was living in harsher conditions that the refugees in the American zone.  After all, Britain itself had been bombed and battered during WWII, unlike the United States.

He had been working as a cleaner for two years, while the examining doctor rated him suitable for agricultural work.  The Particulars of Displaced Person Wishing to Migrate to Australia form completed on his behalf before his interview recorded that he had farmed in Lithuania for 10 years and also in Germany for 8 months.  Since those ten years would have been before July 1944, it looks like he started when he was aged 14.

After World War II in Germany, while being treated in a military hospital, he met a nursing sister called Helma Rohleder.  Even though he left for Australia on 30 October 1947 on the First Transport, they stayed in touch through letters.

Post-War photograph of Saliamonas Antanas included with his selection papers

Source:  National Archives of Australia

From the Bonegilla camp, Antanas was one of 12 men sent to Tasmania to work for the Electrolytic Zinc (EZ) company at Burnie.  It may be that he completed his two-year contract at another EZ facility, at Risdon in the State’s capital city, Hobart.

Antanas Martišius from his Bonegilla card

Source:  National Archives of Australia

He later worked at the Cadbury chocolate factory.  In his spare time, he built a house and in 1955 invited Helma to be his wife.  She arrived from Germany in April 1955.

The coroner’s report into his death gave his then occupation as carpenter.  He certainly would have learned a lot of carpentry from practical experience when he built his own house.

The Melbourne Tėviškės aidai newspaper reported in June 1958 that Antanas Martišius had been seriously injured in a car accident, as a result of which he had lost an eye “some time ago”.  We know that this refers to Saliamonas Antanas because the report is in a column headed with a poetic version of “From Tasmania”, while the other Antanas Martišius left Bonegilla to spend the remainder of his Australian time in Victoria.

Is this why the Tasmanian Antanas did not see the bus coming 13 years after the first accident?  The coroner’s cursory finding made no mention of anything which might have contributed to the second, fatal accident.

Antanas has been buried in very Australian surroundings in Cornelian Bay

Source:  JMcL on Find A Grave

Antanas’ sudden death later left Helma to raise two children on her own, 12-year-old Petras and 9-year-old Alyssa.  Valued for probate in January 1998, his estate amounted to $2865, but that is around $40,000 in today’s prices so enough to give the family some initial support.

Another headstone in need of restoration, sad to note;

Helma appears to be buried here as well

Source:  JMcL on Find A Grave

CITE THIS AS:  Pocius, Daina and Tündern-Smith, Ann (2005) 'Saliamonas Antanas Martišius (1920-1971), Early Accidental Death' https://firsttransport.blogspot.com/2026/04/saliamonas-antanas-martisius-1920-1971-early-accidental-death.html.

SOURCES

Augustavičius, S (1994) ‘A † A Helma Martišius’ (‘RIP Helma Martisius’, in Lithuanian) Mūsų Pastogė, Sydney, NSW, 27 June, p 7 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1994/1994-06-27-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 10 April 2026.

Heuzeroth, Günter (2014) Baltenflüchtlinge nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg im deutschen Exil, Ein Balanceakt zwischen Diktaturen und Demokratie, Dargestellt an den Baltenkolonien im Oldenburger Land (Baltic refugees in German exile after the Second World War: A balancing act between dictatorships and democracy, illustrated by the Baltic colonies in the Oldenburg region) Günter Heuzeroth, Oldenburg www.oldenburg.de/startseite/kultur/freizeitstaetten/kulturzentrum/geschichte.html, accessed 17 April 2026.

Geni 'Saliamonas Antanas Martišius' https://www.geni.com/people/Saliamonas-Antanas-Marti%C5%A1ius/6000000009108228460, accessed 9 May 1948.

Libraries Tasmania, Names Index, ‘Martisius, Saliamonas Anton’ [Inquest report] https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/results?qu=martisius#, accessed 15 April 2026.

Libraries Tasmania, Names Index, ‘Martisius, Saliamonas Antanas’ [Will] https://librariestas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/results?qu=martisius#, accessed 15 April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (1971) ‘Dar viena skaudi eismo nelaimė’ (‘Another painful traffic accident’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 6 December, p 8, https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1971/1971-12-06-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 14 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11772, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Stuart Heintzelman departing Bremerhaven 30 October 1947, 1947-1947; 195, MARTISIUS Saliamonas DOB 23 April 1920, 1947-1947 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5005612, accessed 10 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Tasmanian Branch; P1184, Registration papers for non-British migrants, lexicographical series, 1939-1966; MARTISIUS H, 1955-1955; MARTISIUS H, MARTISIUS [nee ROHLEDER] Helma [German], 1955-1955 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1776113, accessed 16 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Department of Immigration, Tasmanian Branch; P1184, Registration papers for non-British migrants, lexicographical series, 1939-1966; MARTISIUS S, MARTISIUS Selemous (sic) [Lithuanian], 1947-1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=1776115, accessed 15 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; MARTISIUS SALIAMONAS, MARTISIUS, Saliamonas : Year of Birth - 1920 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number – 591, 1947-1948 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203615120, accessed 10 April 2026.

Tėviškės aidai (1958) ‘Iš Tasmanijos padangės’ (‘From under Tasmanian skies’, in Lithuanian) Melbourne, Vic, 4 June, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1958/1958-06-04-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 13 April 2026.

Tėviškės aidai (1971) ‘Iš mūsų parapijų, Hobartas, A A Antanas Martišius‘ (‘From Our Parishes, Hobart, RIP Antanas Martisius’ , in Lithuanian), Melbourne, Vic, 19 October, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/teviskes_aidai/archive/1971/1971-nr40-TEVISKES-AIDAI.pdf, accessed 12 April 2026.

Edmundas Obolevičius (1906-1996), Doctor of Economics and Slave Labourer, by Ann Tündern-Smith, Daina Pocius and Rasa Ščevinskienė

Updated 21 and 26 April 2026.

Edmundas' background

Edmundas was one of the older refugees on the First Transport, having turned 41 in the middle of the selection process.  He had been born in Lithuania on 17 October 1906.

An entry on the Geni.com genealogy Website records his parents as Kiprijonas and Elžbieta.  He had a brother and 2 younger sisters.

Photograph of Edmundas Obolevičius in his selection papers

Source:  National Archives of Australia

Australian documents give his birthplace in Lithuania as either Pasekine, Pocejkien or Pacejkinie but Web searches could not find these places with these spellings.  Rasa has found that, in 1909, Edmundas' family was recorded as attending their church from a place called Paceikiniai, which no longer exists.  

The nearest place now is the village of Ceikiniai.  Over time, small villages were often annexed to larger villages or simply disappeared due to population decline.   It looks like Paceikiniai may have become part of Ceikiniai.

Edmundas' selection documents reveal someone single at 40, who had spent 25 years as a farmer in Lithuania but was well educated.  In addition to 4 years of primary school, he had 5 years at a teachers' college and 4 years in a faculty of economics.  

The economics presumably had been studied at Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas, Lithuania's only university during the inter-War period.  It offered economics, but did not have a separate faculty in this area.  He was enrolled in doctoral studies in economics at the time of applying to move to Australia.

Edmundas the Displaced Person

Edmundas was living in '46 DPAC Brauweiler' at the time of the application.  DPAC stands for Displaced Persons Assembly Centre.  While there are 2 places called Brauweiler in Germany, the one in which a DPAC was known was just west of Cologne.  The British occupation administration repurposed the Brauweiler Abbey to accommodate the Displaced Persons, while the Wikipedia summary of its history indicates that it has accommodated a wide variety of other people during its now 1000-year history.

Brauweiler Abbey, the former Assembly Centre (hardly a 'camp')
for Obolevičius and other WWII Displaced Persons

Source:  A Savin in Wikipedia

Edmundas scored a D Recommendation after his interview, possibly because of his age, lack of English, and academic interests.  His 25 years of farming and his recent employment as a mechanic should have stood in his favour.  Despite the D, he was a passenger on the First Transport, the USAT General Stuart Heintzelman, leaving Bremerhaven and Germany on 30 October 1947.

Edmundas in Australia

His Bonegilla card tells us that he was one of the 187 or more sent to pick fruit in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley in late January 1948.  His employer there was TE Young of Ardmona.  He picked the fruit for more than 2 months (unlike some who gave up much earlier) returning to Bonegilla on 10 April.  He was then employed as a casual labourer in the camp for one week, between 13 and 20 April.

Photograph of Edmundas Obolevičius from his Bonegilla card

Source:  National Archives of Australia

He was one of a group of 20 sent to the Goliath Portland Cement company in Tasmania on 22 April 1948.  Ramunas Tarvydas, in his 1997 book, From Amber Coast to Apple Isle, has been able to compile a detailed picture of life there for the 20, and another 3 who joined them later.  It’s worth noting here that Edmundas gets a special (misspelt) mention, as a teetotaler who was saving his money to return to Europe.

More on Life in Germany

Where in Europe is the question, with Lithuania occupied and the only available Arolsen Archives document suggesting that Edmundas had a nasty time in Germany while the War was still on.

The Arolsen Archives document is stamped Organisation Todt Speer, indicating that Edmundas was likely to have been employed as a slave labourer.  Apart from Edmundas’ birthdate, the only date on it is 6 December 1944.  A second page notes, in German, that it has been recorded, and was received from the Federal Archives in Aachen.  This is a city in the west of Germany, near its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands.

If there was any more detail, it has gone.  The Organisation Todt Speer name, however, is enough to tell us that Edmundas survived probable hard labour in difficult conditions.

Despite this, his Australian interview form reports that he 'fled from Russian regime'.  Most likely he had, but into the worst that Germany had to offer, it seems.

After what must have been equally hard labour but under much better employment conditions, Edmundas is said to have moved on from Goliath Cement to the Electrolytic Zinc company’s Risdon operation in Hobart.  Zinc from Tasmania’s west coast was smelted there.  This information was recorded by Ramundas Tarvydas during his research.

Edmundas Leaves Australia Early

Records maintained by the Goliath Company (now part of Cement Australia) show a different picture.  Papers which appear to be working documents created by Ramunas Tarvydas were acquired from the Company’s office through Stephen Niaura, son of Povilas (Paul or Cocky).

Obolevičius is one of 11 with Absconded, or Left of Own Accord, written against their names.  In his case, the approximate date recorded is 16 March 1949.  In Edmundas’ favour, the date is more than two weeks after the date recorded for most of those absconding, and more than one month after the first 2 disappeared.  He had plenty of examples to follow.

Underneath the record of absconding, someone has written, possibly in pencil ‘Back to Germany; why?’

An item in the Mūsų Pastogė newspaper in August 1951 suggests that Edmundas was still in Australia and perhaps in Melbourne.  This is because he had donated 7 books to a library which the Lithuanian community had started in Melbourne.  Could he have donated them from Germany?

A 1956 Mūsų Pastogė item reports that enough candidates had been found to have an election for a committee to oversee the Sydney community’s affairs.  Obolevičius (no given name) was one of them.  The National Archives of Australia has only one Obolevicius in its RecordSearch: Edmundas.

This conflicts with a 1952 comment in a Canadian newspaper, Tėviškės Žiburiai, reporting on Lithuanian students still in Germany.  The report includes the Doctor of Economics Obelevičius, who went to Australia but who has returned to Hangelar, a district of the city of Sankt Augustin located between the centre of Sankt Augustin and Bonn.  If that Dr Obelevičius is indeed Edmundas, the question asked by the Goliath Cement management is answered easily.

Despite the absence of a second Obolevicius from the National Archives’ records, a report in the Mūsų Pastogė sports section of the 8 May 1959 includes a B Obelevičius living in a Snowy Mountains settlement named River Camp.  This is some distance from Sydney in 1956, but it is possible that B Obelevičius was volunteering then for the Sydney community committee, rather than Edmundas.

We’ve tried to find more information about the PhD in Economics, but available evidence on the Web has not yielded more information.  The University of Cologne, near Brauweiler and with an excellent reputation in the field of economics, replied to a query that its 1947 enrolment records could be examined in person only.

The best that Artificial Intelligence can do is suggest a number of reasons why further information is missing, such as, the successful candidate was not required to lodge his thesis back then, or, it was completed at the University of Königsberg, now Kaliningrad, whose records might be buried in Russian Archives.

Edmundas Returned to Lithuania

What we can find is the return of Edmundas Obelevičius to a liberated Lithuania, where he died in 1996. He may not have married, or remarried, as he is buried by himself in the Ignalina City Cemetery.  

Remember that we told you earlier that Edmundas' birthplace of Paceikiniai seems to have been replaced by Ceikiniai?  This village is 12 Km southeast of Ignalina, so Edmundas now lies as close as is possible to his birthplace.

He had lived what must have been a varied life to a considerable age of around 90.

Edmundas' headstone in the Ingalina Cemetery, Lithuania

Source:  Cemety.lt

Ignalina Cemetery from the air

Source:  Cemety.lt

SOURCES

Cement Australia ‘Railton community’ https://www.cementaustralia.com.au/railton-community, accessed 18 April 2026.

Cemety.lt ‘Edmunas Obolevičius’ https://cemety.lt/public/deceaseds/2287576?type=deceased, accessed 18 April 2026.

(Edmunas Obolevicius) DocID: 77182225, 2.2.3.1 Card file of the "Organisation Todt" / File cards of foreigners who were deployed by the OT/Speer, 12.7.1934, 16.1.1941, ITS/Arolsen Archives https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/document/77182225, accessed 16 January 2026.

Elektroninis Archyvų Informacinė Sistema (Electronic Archives Information System) 'Ceikinių RKB atlikusių išpažintį ir priėmusių komuniją parapijiečių sąrašas' ('List of parishioners who have made confession and received communion at Ceikiniai Roman Catholic Church', in Lithuanian, p 106) https://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-viewer/?manifest=https://eais.archyvai.lt/repo-ext-api/view/267953384/269907871/lt/iiif/manifest&lang=lt&page=106, accessed 25 April 2026.

Geni ‘Edmundas Obolevičius’ https://www.geni.com/people/Edmundas-Obolevi%C4%8Dius/6000000181316756829?through=6000000026482812166, accessed 16 January 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1951) Iš mūsų buities’ (‘From our Life’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 30 August, p 4 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article259365682, accessed 167April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1956) ‘Sydnejus, Nauja LN taryba’ (Sydney, New Lithuanian Council’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 5 September, p 4 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1956/1956-09-05-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 17 April 2026.

Mūsų Pastogė (Our Haven) (1959) ‘Sportas, Sportiškumo pavyzdys’ (‘Sport, An Example of Sportsmanship’, in Lithuanian) Sydney, NSW, 8 May, p 5 https://www.spauda2.org/musu_pastoge/archive/1959/1959-05-08-MUSU-PASTOGE.pdf, accessed 18 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Central Office; A11772, Migrant Selection Documents for Displaced Persons who travelled to Australia per General Stuart Heintzelman departing Bremerhaven 30 October 1947, 1947-1947; 858, OBOLEVICIUS Edmundas DOB 17 October 1906, 1947-1947 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=5005963, accessed 20 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia:  Department of Immigration, Central Office; A12508, Personal Statement and Declaration by alien passengers entering Australia (Forms A42), 1937-1948; 37/395, OBOLEVICIUS Edmundas born 17 November 1906; nationality Lithuanian; travelled per GENERAL HEINTZELMAN arriving in Fremantle on 29 November 1947, 1947-1947 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=7272948, accessed 20 April 2026.

National Archives of Australia:  Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla [Victoria]; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; OBOLEVICIUS EDMUNDAS, OBOLEVICIUS, Edmundas : Year of Birth - 1906 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number - 1231 1947-48 recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203728249, accessed 20 April 2026.

Tarvydas, Ramunas (1997) From Amber Coast to Apple Isle: Fifty Years of Baltic Immigrants in Tasmania 1948-1998, Baltic Semicentennial Commemoration Activities Organising Committee, Hobart, Tasmania, pp 48, 174.

Tėviškės Žiburiai (The Lights of Homeland) (1952) ‘Iš lietuviškojo pasaulio’ (From the Lithuanian world’, in Lithuanian) Toronto, Ont, 3 July, p 4 https://spauda.org/teviskes_ziburiai/archive/1952/1952-07-03-TEVISKES-ZIBURIAI.pdf, accessed 17 April 2026

Wikipedia 'Brauweiler Abbey' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brauweiler_Abbey, accessed 19 April 2026.

Wikipedia 'Ceikiniai' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceikiniai, accessed 21 April 2026.

Wikipedia ‘Hangelar’ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangelar, (in German) accessed 18 April 2026.

Wikipedia ‘Organisation Todt’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_Todt, accessed 16 January 2026.

Anton Warapnickas, formerly Antanas Varapnickas (1914-1995), by Rasa Ščevinskienė and Ann Tündern-Smith

Updated 6 May 2026

Antanas in Germany

The Germans use the letter W to represent the sound we make when a V is used in Lithuanian and English.  Antanas, the Lithuanian equivalent of the English language Anthony, also is likely to be Anton in Germany.  Changing his name to make it easier for the Germans is the most likely explanation for the Lithuanian refugee, Antanas Varapnickas, arriving in Australia as Anton Warapnickas.

The Arolsen Archives is yet to digitise any German records for Anton Warapnickas or Antanas Varapnickas.  Likewise, the Australian Archives in yet to digitise Anton Warapnickas’ papers relating to his application to migrate to Australia and his selection interview.  This means that we do not know when or how Antanas or Anton arrived in Germany.

However, a Lithuanian language newspaper published in Germany, Mūsų kelias (Our Path), carried advertisements from Antanas in May 1946.  He then was looking for his brother Jonas and someone called Ona Šimonelytė.  He also enquired after his married sister, Ona Kikilenė, her husband, Zenonas Kikilas, and their children, Gyliai and Gylytė. At this time he was based in the German coastal city of Lübeck.

Antanas in Lithuania

We also know that he had married in Lithuania, to Judita Stonkutė.  Their marriage took place on 18 September 1938, when Antanas was 24, in the Seda parish church.  He had been born on 11 March 1914 in Grūstė village, Seda parish, Mažeikiai district, in Lithuania.  From the marriage record, we know that his mother’s name was Petronėlė Varapnickaitė (the name of an unmarried woman) and his father’s name was not stated.

The marriage record also tells us that his occupation, in Lithuanian, was darbininkas. This is the equivalent of labourer in the English language.

Anton Warapnickas from his Bonegilla card --

whatever was wrong with the eyelid on the right had been fixed by the photograph below

Source:  National Archives of Australia

His Bonegilla card confirmed that he had been the Antanas Varapnickas whose next of kin was a mother called Petronėlė Varapnickienė living in the Seda Grūstės village.  It might have been that a new Lithuanian arrival with good English and typing skills was helping the staff fill out the Bonegilla cards (someone like Viltis Salyte), in which case the married form of the family name (the one ending in -ienė) would have been assumed — and who was Anton to argue against this?

Antanas arrives in Australia

His Bonegilla card also advises us he had arrived in Australia on 28 November 1947 on the First Transport.  He then became one of the 26 men sent from the Bonegilla camp to help build the Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme.  He left the camp on 14 January 1948, so he had spent roughly 5 weeks there.  For his sake, we hope that he was committed to attending the weekday English language classes.

He married for a second time in Melbourne in 1951, to Maria Pilelis.  It looks like she too modified her first name, perhaps in Germany, to suit the local orthography, as it usually is spelled Marija in Lithuania and Latvia.

Maria and Stepas

She had arrived with Stepas Pilelis, 11 months older than her, on the Amarapoora.  This ship reached Fremantle in Western Australia on 22 July 1949.  Sad to say, Stepas was dead just over a year later, at the age of only 49.  An unsourced newspaper clipping on one of his files said that he was a tuberculosis patient who had hung himself from a tree, leaving a letter of explanation behind.  (The National Library’s Trove service reveals that the relevant newspaper was the West Australian.)

Stepas’ tuberculosis would not have been detected until Australia despite the careful checking for possible tuberculosis among all potential immigrants, which continues to this day.

Stepas was a Lithuanian born in Latvian.   We can tell Stepas' ethnicity from his first name, as it is not Stefans in the Latvian style.

We know from a Tėviškės aidai obituary for Marija that her brother, Juozas Narušis, had a Lithuanian name. From this we deduce that Marija too was from a Lithuanian family and we know already that she was a widow before her second marriage to Anton or Antanas.

Anton and Maria become citizens

Together Anton and Maria advertised their intention to apply for Australian citizenship in the required 2 newspapers in August 1954.  They received this citizenship on 25 November 1955, when living on Bardsley Street, Sunshine, a northwest Melbourne suburb.

Antanas Varapnickas was another friend of Rasa's grandfather, Adomas Ivanauskas:
here, Adomas (standing, left) has his hand on Antanas' shoulder (standing, right);
others in the photograph include Adomas' friend Beryl (front left) and, possibly, 
Marija Varapnickas (second from left)

Source:  Private collection

The earliest available digitised electoral roll on the Ancestry Website, for 1963, shows Anton working as a labourer while Maria had found employment as a weaver.  She may have been working for a factory in the Sunshine area manufacturing fabrics – or perhaps at home, weaving folk fabrics for members of the Lithuanian community.  Their situation remained the same in electoral rolls for 1967 to 1972.

Moving to Daylesford

At some stage they sought the rural life, moving to Daylesford, a spa town 114 Km northwest of central Melbourne.  Perhaps they thought that living here was more like living in Lithuania than Sunshine had been.

Their move to Daylesford occurred before one of two joint Commonwealth-State electoral 1977 rolls for Bendigo were compiled.  The compilation date for the digitised one possibly is 22 April 1977.  Anton still was working as a labourer, while “Mary”, now 67 years old, had moved to home duties.  This means that her previous work as a weaver was likely to have been in a factory.

On the 1980 roll, Anton had modified his occupation to builder’s labourer and they were at a different Daylesford address, suggesting that they were renting rather than buying.  From the Ancestry digitising we cannot tell the date on which the roll was compiled, but Anton had reached eligibility for the age pension on his 65th birthday, 11 March 1979.  The roll makes it look like Anton preferred to continue working for builders to retirement.

Deaths

It was in Daylesford that Marija died on 13 January 1993 at the age of 82.  The Tėviškės aidai obituary records that she had been seriously ill for 26 years, a statement that suggests cancer as the cause of death. In Lithuanian, the obituary continued, “Deeply saddened are her husband, Antanas Varapnickas, sister Mercelė Matulionienė, sister Magdė Rimušaitienė in Berlin (and) brother Juozas Narušis, who endured 26 years of suffering in Siberia and lives in Lithuania”.

Anton or Antanas followed nearly 3 years later, on 19 September 1995. Both had spent their last days in the Daylesford Hospital. Antanas was 81 when he passed, a good age.

Although Anton Warapnickas never had changed his name back to its Lithuanian spelling, Tėviškės aidai used the Lithuanian version in its brief obituary.

This notes that he was buried with Marija in the Daylesford Cemetery. It adds, “We have no further information about the deceased.”

Why Anton Came to Australia

May this blog entry put on record that he was one of the 727 men thought young, fit, sturdy and alert enough to be chosen for inclusion in the first post-WWII party of refugees from Germany to Australia – a social experiment testing whether or not the Australian people were ready for migration from Europe so soon after the War’s end. The experiment was an immediate success and a resounding one too, in that it started the culturally diverse migration program Australia still has today.

The headstone on the Warapnickas grave in the Daylesford Cemetery

Courtesy Daylesford & District Historical Society

CITE THIS AS:  Ščevinskienė, Rasa and Tündern-Smith, Ann (2026) 'Anton Warapnickas, formerly Antanas Varapnickas (1914-1995)' https://firsttransport.blogspot.com/2026/04/anton-warapnickas-formerly-antanas-varacknickas.html.

SOURCES

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