First published on 15 July 2023, updated on 2 December 2023 and 23 February 2024.
During his 11-12 months working for the Goliath Portland Cement Company in Railton, Tasmania, Endrius Jankus collected photographs taken by another of the refugees. Presumably, he purchased these at the going rate, around 5 pence per photograph, as calculated from information he provided in his translated diary entry, published here in the Bonegilla 1947-1948: Another Two Weeks, from New Year's Day (January 1-13) blog entry. Probably, it was 6 pence or half a shilling for an individual photo, with a reduced rate for bulk purchases. So here are the photos.
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| A group of Goliath Cement workers in 1948; From the left, Mindaugas Sumskas, a local, Povilas Niaura, Vacslavas Kalytis, Endrius Jankus, Kazys Vilutis and (in front) Aleksandras Zilinskas |
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| Smoko while loading a rail wagon of cement Front: Povilas Niaura; Middle: Mindaugas Sumskas, Aleksandras Zilinskas, Tony Viknius; Rear: unknown, Endrius Jankus with a dark face, Kazys Vilutis, unknown |
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| Lunchtime at the cement factory Standing: Povilas Niaura and a local; seated: Endrius Jankus, Aleksandras Zilinskas, unknown, Henrikas Surkavicius, Mindaugas Sumskas |
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| Another 1948 lunch group at the Goliath factory: Left to right, Endrius Jankus, Povilas Niaura, Vacslavas Kalytis, Henrikas Surkavicius, Antanas Viknius, Kasys Vilutis, Mindaugas Sumskas, Vytautas Stasiukynas |
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| Four of the men have a smoke before a concert at Railton: Left to right they are Endrius Jankus, Aleksandras Zilinskas, Kazys Vilutis and Vacslavas Kalytis |
The Bonegilla cards of 18 men show that they were sent directly to the Goliath Company at Railton. Endrius Jankus' card shows that he was sent to Tasmania for fruit picking but we know from the photographs above and other evidence that he then moved onto Railton. There might be others like that, such as Vacslavas Kalytis and Aleksandras Zilinskas. Comparing names from various sources, I have come up with a list of 21, consisting of 2 Estonians, 5 Latvians and 14 Lithuanians:
Napoleonas Butkunas
Vacslavas Kalytis
Mykolas Kartanas
Armands Laula
Povilas Niaura
Edmundas Obolevicius
Juozas Peciulis
Jonas Razvidaukas
Harolds Ronis
Alfred Saik
Antanas Simkus
Vytautas Stasiukynas
Evalds Stelps
Mindaugas Sumskas
Henrikas Surkevicius
Endel Uduste
Helmuts Upe
Antanas Viknius
Kazys Vilutis
Ojars Vinklers
Aleksandras Zilinskas
As recounted in Paul (Povilas) Niaura's story, the initial accommodation was in Goliath's single men's camp. At first, they moved into the existing huts, but new ones for the new arrivals soon were built. Ray Tarvydas says that, after wood and tools for making furniture were provided, it was Anton Viknius who showed the others how to do it.
Ramunas adds that, at first, most worked in the factory or the quarry, where the work was harder but the pay better. Henrikas Surkevicius was promoted to the analytical laboratory after 3 months. A document from post-WWII Germany made available by the Arolsen Archives shows that this is not a surprise: his occupation was recorded there as 'Chemiker' or 'chemist'.
What is surprising is that a younger brother apparently left a gold mine in Canada to join Henrikas at Goliath Cement! On his Bonegilla card, Henrikas recorded his next of kin as a brother, Teodoras, whose address was Picle (sic) Crow Gold Mines, Picle Crow, Ontario. Teodoras has his own Bonegilla card showing his arrival in Australia on 24 March 1949 on the Mozaffari and his departure from Bonegilla on 6 June 1949 for Goliath Portland Cement Co Pty Ltd, Railton, Tasmania.
Perhaps Henrikas thought that his brother was headed for the Pickle Crow Mines but this turned out to be a plan which lapsed. Arolsen Archive documents show Teodoras in Germany in 1946 and his 1949 Mozaffari voyage brought Displaced Persons from Germany who had travelled by train to Naples in Italy.
Someone has typed onto Teodoras' Bonegilla card 'none' in the Address of Next of Kin field, but his older brother in Australia was still working at Goliath. Papers which appear to be working documents created by Ramunas Tarvydas have been acquired recently from the Goliath office through Stephen Niaura, son of Povilas (Paul). Ramunas has recorded that Henrikas left Goliath on 30 June 1950. His younger brother arrived one year earlier, on 8 June 1949, and stayed for more than the contracted 2 years, not leaving until 2 October 1952.
One of Ramunas' papers shows that 5 of the men 'absconded' during February 1949, so after only 9 months of labour at Railton. Another 6 'left of own accord' during March and subsequent months. These numbers do not include Endrius Jankus. The labour expected of them could well have been way too hard after the wartime and post-war years of deprivation.
As per Endrius Jankus' story, the Commonwealth Employment Service may have tracked down the absconders and early leavers, to insist that they were not free to chose where they wanted to work. They had been brought to Australia to fill vacancies which the Government had decided were in the national interest. Finding where they were sent next probably will be difficult after the destruction of personal employment files, unless their absconding finished up on a policy file still held by Australia's National Archives.
By 2 October 1948, the local Burnie newspaper was reporting on a Railton function to celebrate one of Lithuania's national days. Tarvydas writes that the singing was led by Vaclovas Kalytis and the women joining in the national dances were locals who had been taught the steps by Lithuanian men in the list above. Kalytis kept the music going at other gatherings with his piano accordion.
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| Lithuanian migrants celebrate a national day, with help from their Latvian, Estonian and Australian friends Source: Burnie Advocate, 2 October 1948, p 3 |
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| Arthur Calwell's Information Department considered the celebration so important that it was included in the first draft of its newsletter for migrants, the New Australian Source: NAA, CP815/1, 021.148 |
It's not a surprise that the newly arrived Baltic men challenged the local young men for single women. Tarvydas reports that Aleksandras Zilinskas was supposed to have had two local girlfriends at the same time. Their former boyfriends challenged Zilinskas to a fight, which he won. That caused the local lads to gather others to their cause and march on the Baltic men's huts. They had to be separated by the local policeman, who told them all to shake hands or "I'll bash your heads in". The policeman prevailed.
We don't know who Aleksandras married but we do know that Mindaugas Sumskas was successful in marrying one of the local ladies. She was Beverley Barker, daughter of Freda Barker, a widowed schoolteacher living in Railton. Endrius Jankus remembers that Freda, "... opened her doors to us. Her knowledge and advice helped many of us especially with problems in English and with government officials".
Another surprise, knowing Baltic habits, is that five of the men were non-drinkers. A notable example was Edmundas Obolevicius, who was thought to be saving money to return to Europe. This desire to return was a second reason why he was exceptional.
Tarvydas adds that, "Two more Baltic groups came to Railton later that year, and the last one in 1949". The small town (2021 Census population still only 1,079) must have seemed very cosmopolitan in the years when it had its additional Baltic population.
We know that Povilas (Paul) Niaura stayed in Railton and that Endrius Jankus travelled to find his own work but returned to Tasmania. I know that Henrikas Surkevicius and Mindaugas Sumskas moved to mainland Australia. I've met with Armands Laula in Melbourne and Helmuts Upe in the hills to the east of Perth. Any news of what happened to the remaining 14 will be received gratefully.
References
Advocate (Burnie, Tas), 'Migrants celebrate national day', 2 October 1948, p 3, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/69190232, accessed 13 July 2023.
Harasym, R, 'The Pickle Lake Story', Sunset Country, Ontario, Canada, https://visitsunsetcountry.com/history-pickle-lake-ontario-canada, accessed 12 July 2023.
'Henrikas Surkevicius' in Lists of names of the town of Freiburg/Breisgau, Arolsen Archives DocID: 70850177, https://collections.arolsen-archives.org/en/document/70850177, accessed 12 July 2023.
National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; Surkevicius, Henricas : Year of Birth - 1913 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - GEN. HEINTZELMAN : Number – 1041, 1947-1948; https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203899949, accessed 13 July 2023.
National Archives of Australia: Migrant Reception and Training Centre, Bonegilla; A2571, Name Index Cards, Migrants Registration [Bonegilla], 1947-1956; Surkevicius, Teodoras : Year of Birth - 1913 : Nationality - LITHUANIAN : Travelled per - MOZAFFARI' : Number – [unknown], 1949-1949; https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=203899948, accessed 13 July 2023.
National Archives of Australia: Department of Information, Central Office; CP815/1, General correspondence files, two number series, 1938 - 1951; 021.148, Immigration - From Minister [correspondence with Immigration Publicity Officer], 1947 - 1948, https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=263676, accessed 23 February 2024.
Tarvydas, Ramunas, From Amber Coast to Apple Isle: Fifty years of Baltic immigrants in Tasmania, 1948-1998, 1997, Hobart, The author, pp 46-8.
